Sitting with Nature

A guided relaxation that helps you to explore the some of the elements of nature using your sense and imaginal senses. It has been recorded as if you were listening to this at home, however you can also bring this into nature, maybe sat in your garden, and add an additional layer to this experience.

Transcript

Welcome to Sitting in Nature. You could actually listen to this anywhere. I am going to deliver it as if you are sat at home, But equally you can bring this out in nature with you as well, Just to add an extra layer to the experience. So wherever you are at home, Just take a few moments just to check in with your comfortability. Check that the room isn't too hot or too cold, Turning off notifications, So you have these few moments just for you, Consciously closing the door to the outside world. And however you are seated or lying down, Just ensure that your back is being supported and your head is being supported, Relaxing down your shoulders, Paying attention to some of the tension areas that we tend to hold in our foreheads, Our jaws. And if you place your hands on your thighs, It actually, Especially if you are sitting down, It actually opens your chest a little bit and helps to bring your shoulders down into a more relaxed position. And then I am just going to ask you to have a really good look around your room, Maybe noticing any nature elements that you have got around you. And the nature element can be anything from a plant, It may be a rock or a crystal, A feather, A stone, A cone, Or it could be your view out of your window. Maybe from your position, You might just see the tops of a tree waving, Or maybe it is higher up for you and it is noticing the sky and the clouds and the ways that they move. So when you feel ready to do so, Just gently come in into yourself, Closing your eyes if that feels good to do so, Or lowering your gaze so you are barely seen through your eyelashes, And holding a fixed gaze so you are allowing your eyes to have this rest. And then bringing in your imaginal sense and bringing yourself to a place, Your favourite place in nature. That could be by the side of a lake, It could be in a woodland or a meadow, It could be along a canal, On a coastline somewhere on the beach, It could be up a hill, Wherever that is for you, Or it could be a picture that you have seen as well as somewhere else you have been. It can also be your garden. So just bringing your place of nature to your mind, And as you do, Just having a really good look around that area, Just bringing all the elements in as you remember them into your focus, And just holding them softly, Still using our imaginal sense, Just bringing to our attention all the contact points of our body, Whether you are seated or lying down, And they could be the heels of your feet or the soles of your feet, The backs of your calves, Your thighs, Your buttocks, Could be some elements of your back, The back of your head and your arms. Then imagine from each of those contact points that you have got roots coming down, They are coming down through your layers of rooms and concrete and foundations until it reaches the earth, And then you just let those roots just find their way. Maybe they want to go and meet another root, Maybe they want to explore under the ocean. Just allow your roots to roam, Just knowing that you are completely connected with Mother Earth, Bringing to attention how the earth has evolved, How many different layers there are to the way that this earth, Where you are right now, Has evolved. I wonder all the people that have tended the land and the different ways that it looked from my sit spot in my garden. This was once an orchard, So there would have been many people tendering the land, Picking the apples and the various fruit that they may have grown. Prior to that, It was just an open farm. I wonder what other living beings have walked and stood in the exact place where I place my feet. So when you feel you have explored, Just gently and slowly start bringing those roots all the way back through the earth, Through the foundations and up to each of your contact points until they disappear completely within your body. Just allowing your body to relax a little bit more and almost sink into whatever you're sitting or lying on. Do you feel that energy pulling you from Mother Earth? And then imagine sitting into that place of nature that's your special place with your eyes closed. I wonder what you can hear around you. I wonder what natural sounds call out. For me, In my sit spot, I often hear the breeze rustling through the leaves of a red robin. I have a blackbird that sings quite prolifically and so beautifully at various times through the day. I may notice a slight rustle as a few leaves have fallen onto the ground and the wind gets beneath them. I wonder what you can hear where you are. Then bring into mind the sensation of the air on your face and noticing how different it feels on your bare skin as opposed to the areas that are clothed. That sensation of touch. Maybe it'd be good for you to put your fingers together and actually touch your own skin, Starting on the pads of your fingers and then feeling the backs of your hands and notice the differences. I wonder how it actually feels to touch your own skin. And then maybe expanding that out to your clothing, Maybe your hair or jewellery. If you are sat up and you're next to a plant or you're outside, Maybe touching an element of nature and seeing how that feels between your fingers. And then bringing you back to your sense of sight with your eyelids remaining closed. I wonder what you can actually see. I wonder if you can see flickers of movement in the air. I wonder if you see colours, If there's differentials with light and shade, Whether there's movement and shapes or whether for you it is completely and utterly still. Bringing our sense of smell into play and again in your imaginal place, If you were to take a deep breath in, What would you smell? And using that imaginal sense, I wonder if you can actually smell that today. And what memories those smells conjure in your mind, Still in that favourite place. And with the smells that maybe you've just brought to your mind, I wonder if you were to lick your lips, Whether your tastes would coincide with the smells. I wonder what you can taste. And then I'm going to invite you just to sit in some stillness, Just hearing the sounds around you, Allowing yourself these few moments just to sit and be in a place where you've given yourself permission for this time, A window of time where nobody needs you right this second and nobody wants anything from you right this moment. Just giving this time to you. Often we invite you to sit still in nature, With nature for 20 minutes at a time. And the reason we do this is if you remain that still, You will notice how nature comes to you. It may be a small bird coming closer, Curious as to this other being that's been so quiet. It may be a bee that comes to a flower near you. I've got jasmine up ahead of me. And I quite often will have a bee that lands in the flowers just above my head. I don't move, I don't flinch. Just allow them to go along their way. And then when you're ready, In a moment, Not quite yet, I'm going to invite you to open your eyes slowly and gently. And when I do, Have a look around you. Have a look around you as if it's the very first time you've seen the elements that are here. So go ahead now and open your eyes gently and have a really good look. And I wonder what you'll notice. Remembering to look up and to look down and look all around. And then just take your time to come out of this practice fully. Thank you for sharing this with me today.