Nature Meditation | Walking Through A Forest

A guided visualization of walking through a forest. A gentle saunter that meanders through pathways to a clearing in the middle of the woods we end in the clearing to rest and absorb the sensations of calm and stillness. Loosely guided to invoke your own senses.

Transcript

Welcome to this guided visualization of a walk through the woods.

So before we start,

Maybe we'll just take a few moments to get yourself into a really comfortable position for you.

Ideally lying on your back,

You may want a small pillow behind your head.

Think about cushions or a pillow underneath your knees if that's comfortable for you.

You may want a blanket to make it really cozy in your nest and listening through earbuds or headphones too.

That just helps to listen to my voice really within.

So I often turn my head really gently from side to side so that I can find a natural comfortable position for my neck,

Bringing your attention to the sound of my voice,

Ensuring that it's not too loud or too soft,

That it's at just the right volume for you.

And then when you're ready,

Consciously closing your eyes,

Symbolizing a closing of doors to the outside world.

If that's not comfortable for you,

Lower your gaze so you are barely seeing through your eyelashes and just bring your attention to the subtle movements of your breath.

We're not trying to change anything,

Just noticing those tiny movements within your body and then checking in again with your body,

Noticing any tension and consciously releasing the muscles around that area.

Really paying attention to your cheeks and unclenching any teeth helps to lower your jaw a little.

You may want to relax the muscles around your eyes,

They work so hard,

And around your lips,

Releasing the muscles around your shoulders and your neck through your torso and just paying attention to your knees and also your feet and just allowing yourself to slowly sink into the surface beneath you,

Melting into the floor or the bed or wherever you are today.

And then we'll begin by bringing into your mind a woodland or a forest that maybe you know,

Maybe you've seen,

Or maybe one that you can envisage as I guide you through this walk.

So imagining we've arrived at the gate,

Threshold of the forest,

And it's a wooden gate,

A wooden kissing gate,

And then in front of you there is a pathway as far as the eye can see.

On either side of this pathway there are rows upon rows upon rows of trees.

So we're going through the kissing gate and onto that pathway,

And as we start walking along this pathway firstly become aware of what is underneath your feet.

Is it a form of tarmac?

Is it bark?

Is it earth with lots of leaves and twigs?

How does it feel?

How soft does it feel?

Maybe there's a rustling or sound of twigs breaking as you walk.

I wonder what you can hear as you walk step by step.

So looking all around you,

I wonder what type of trees there are.

Whether they're all the same or is there an array of different varieties?

How tall are they?

What colours can you see?

How many different types of green?

How much foliage and leaves do they have right now?

And I wonder if there's any shrubs,

Whether this is bringing an array of different colours?

And just continuing down your path,

Maybe taking a deep breath in,

And what could you smell?

What kind of trees are emitting the aromas?

What's the most prevalent?

And I wonder where these smells take you in your memories.

And if you look in between the trees into where the trees are more compact,

How dark does it appear?

Or can you see light cascading down through the branches,

Maybe bouncing off the different trees and leaves?

How does it look?

And you just continue walking down your pathway,

Taking all of this in from the steps by step.

All of your vision,

The different trees,

The smells,

And just becoming aware of how quiet everything is around you.

How peaceful.

And just up ahead of you,

Your path continues straight on,

But plus there's also a pathway to both your left and your right.

And you decide to take the left-hand path.

But before you do,

You just pause and take a look down that pathway,

Noticing whether it's more narrow or wider than the pathway you've just been on.

Noticing maybe what's different about it.

Maybe there's more colour.

Maybe the path itself on the ground is different.

Maybe there's a different type of tree line.

You just walk down that pathway,

Just becoming aware of some of the differences this path is giving you.

Noticing the smells,

How it feels under your feet,

And just taking everything in.

You just meander and wander.

Then you notice through the trees what looks like a big clearing.

You decide to go off track and zigzag in and out of the trees.

There may be some trunks which are lying on the side,

That you either need to climb over or walk your way around.

You're curious as to what this clearing is.

As you zig and zag and meander through the trees,

You notice how at peace you feel,

How calm you feel,

And how nice it is to be wandering underneath the canopies of the trees.

Maybe touching and feeling some of the bark on the different trees.

And even the ones that look quite sharp,

Got really soft,

Smooth elements to them.

Maybe you find them quite silky.

You become curious at the different trees having completely different bark.

As you're touching them,

As you're walking by,

Still focusing on walking towards that clearing.

And when you get to the clearing,

It just looks like one big kind of square,

Not quite square,

But near enough square.

And over one side there's a few logs and a boulder.

So you walk across and you sit on the bottom log.

And the way they're stacked,

You can actually lean back on a higher log,

Almost like you're sat on a bench.

You decide to stay here for a while,

Just to rest.

And you lean back and find yourself looking up in through the clearing into the sky.

Maybe noticing how blue the sky is,

How still the clouds are,

And also how the sun is filtering down what feels like purely and utterly into this clearing.

And just becoming aware of how harmonious,

How peaceful,

And how completely and utterly balanced and at ease with yourself you feel right now.

Close your eyes for a few moments so you can just really soak in the atmosphere,

Being surrounded by these trees.

It feels like you are engulfed with just a big arms of the forest around you.

And it feels so safe and so still.

Noticing the natural sounds of the forest,

From the odd bird calling,

Slight break of a twig,

And every now and then just a slight rustle of leaves.

You notice the warmth on your face,

And just that feeling.

Just take a few deep breaths and almost breathing in that atmosphere so you can inwardly bottle that beautiful feeling,

Almost like every breath you're taking is going and reaching to every cell within your body.

So just enjoy this time of breathing,

Every breath in,

Reaching even further in your body,

That feeling of at ease with yourself,

Feeling so content.

You decide just to stay here and soak up all of this before returning on your journey back.

So you can come out of this guided sensations any way that you wish to.

You can stay there for a little bit longer and just carry on soaking it all in,

Feeling the sensations,

Coming out of the that clearing.

Or for you,

You may want to retrace your steps and walk back up your pathways until you get back to the wooden gates.

But either way,

Giving yourself time to really soak everything in,

To feel that stillness,

That natural silence,

That contentment,

That ease,

That sense of total balance.

And when you are ready,

Just bring your focus back into your body,

Noticing your breath,

Noticing how your body feels,

Before beginning to awaken your body gently with really tiny movements from your fingers and your toes,

Bringing in your wrists and your ankles.

You may want to rub your face just to give it a little massage.

If you've been lying down on your back,

You might want to bring your knees in,

Into your chest,

And just gently rock from side to side to give your back a massage.

Having a really big stretch of your body and opening your eyes really gently and slowly when you feel ready to do so.

Thank you for joining me.

Reviews

This walk through the woods was so peaceful & calming. Thank you.