Rainforest Visualisation & Simple Pranayama Practice

This meditation invites you to journey into the heart of the rainforest — a living, breathing world where water connects all things. Here, we explore the circularity of life through each droplet, each leaf, each breath. Allow the sounds, textures, and sensations of this sacred place to calm your mind and awaken your senses.

Let nature remind you of your own natural rhythm and the quiet intelligence within all things.

Transcript

Welcome to this meditation.

Thank you for joining me.

My name is Faye and let's start by getting ourselves into a seat or lying down on the ground if that is how you normally meditate.

So take your time to set yourself up.

If you are seated try to have your hips slightly above your knees,

Your spine should be nicely stacked and your chin should be slightly in.

These are just invitations if that's not comfortable for you and you find yourself sitting in a chair or lying on the floor that is perfectly fine,

Just do what feels good in your body today.

I'll just let you have a couple of minutes to get really settled wherever you are going to be meditating.

Now if you want to add a mudra which is a hand position you can add that now,

You can use a jhana mudra which is finger and thumb together or a dhyana mudra which is when you have your dominant hand underneath your non-dominant hand and your thumbs touching.

Again these are more if you're in a seated position,

If you're lying down it might be nice to just have your arms by your side,

Palms facing up or maybe your hands one on your hat and one on your belly.

Again these are just options for you and let's find some stillness by closing down the eyes.

As we run through today's meditation we'll start with a sankalpa or intention and then we'll move into some gentle pranayama or breath work and then I will take you through a visualization journey which will invoke some imagination and hopefully you will find yourself in a very relaxed place.

Then at the end I will bring you back to your body and you can enjoy the benefits of the meditation once we are finished.

This meditation lasts for about 60 minutes,

Feel free to save this for later or just do it for as long as you possibly can.

Let's get started.

Let's take a journey together to explore the power of water,

It's connection to the forest and how that enables us to breathe.

The element of water connects into your sacral chakra and along with the air that we breathe forms the basis of all life.

As I guide you into this deeper relaxation we will let the power of water help our imagination take us to somewhere else.

Let's just make sure that we're relaxed everywhere that we possibly can be.

So starting with the tips of your toes as I call out different body parts see if you can take your awareness there and if possible just consciously relax any tension in these parts of the body.

Like I said tips of the toes taking the awareness there,

The ball of the foot,

Arch of the foot,

Heel,

Ankle,

Arm,

Calf,

Shin,

Knee,

Thigh,

Glutes,

Hips,

Belly,

Chest,

Shoulders,

Upper arms,

Elbows,

Lower arms,

Wrists,

Hands and fingers,

Neck,

Jaw,

Face,

Eyes,

Back of the head.

Letting everything weigh heavy and fall into the ground beneath you.

Any thoughts that arise just let them pass you by not attaching any story or letting them distract you from the stillness that you found in your body.

Just gently wander back towards the breath.

Let's notice how it feels in our body right now and without judgment be curious about any feelings that arise in this place of quiet.

Maybe this is the first time you've found stillness and quiet for a little while so just stop and notice just for a moment.

Be open to the wonder of the spiritual self where it might take you and what it might show you.

Lean into it.

Know that you're part of something more and you might get a glimpse of that here.

Let's take three deep breaths together.

Inhaling deeply through the nose and exhaling out the mouth.

Inhaling deeply through the nose and exhaling out the mouth.

One more time in through the nose and out through the mouth.

Our first pranayama practice for today will be simple box breathing or samarita.

We'll complete eight rounds of this together and the premise is that you inhale for a count of four,

Hold for a count of four,

Exhale for a count of four and then wait for a count of four.

Now if my count is too slow or too fast for you,

You can do this alone but when somebody instructs you in a pranayama practice it does allow the mind to have a moment where it doesn't have to think about anything.

So taking a nice deep inhale through the nose and emptying the lungs with your exhale.

Let's inhale,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Exhale,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Pause,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Inhale,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Exhale,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Pause,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Inhale,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Exhale,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Pause,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Inhale,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Exhale,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Pause,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Inhale,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Exhale,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Pause,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Inhale,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Exhale,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Pause,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Inhale,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Exhale,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Pause,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Inhale,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Exhale,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Pause,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Now return to your natural breath.

And again,

Just noticing if that's had any effects on the body.

Just enjoying the sensation of that simple pranayama as it moves through the body.

Now as we move into our second pranayama,

It's some resonant breathing,

Which is a breath in and out for a count of six.

We will again hold the breath on the exhale and hold the breath on the inhale.

If the count of four was enough for you,

Then you can repeat that.

Or you can just count with me in and out for six and not hold the retention at the exhale.

So again,

Taking a deep inhale to prepare through the nose and exhaling out the mouth.

Let's breathe in together.

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

Hold.

Exhale,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

Pause.

Inhale,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

Hold.

Exhale,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

Pause.

Inhale,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

Hold.

Exhale,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

Pause.

Inhale,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

Hold.

Exhale,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

Pause.

Inhale,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

Hold.

Exhale,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

Pause.

Inhale.

Hold.

Exhale.

Pause.

Inhale.

Hold.

Exhale.

Pause.

One more round.

Inhale.

Hold.

Exhale.

Pause.

And return to your natural breathing rhythm.

Again,

Taking a moment to notice the resonance.

And with your breath,

Return to its natural rhythm.

Let's explore our sankalpa.

Now,

Exploring the circularity of water and how each new raindrop has the opportunity to fall wasted onto the land or onto a plant to nourish it,

Feed it,

And help sustain it.

And what that means in our lives as we go through experiences that change and alter our future,

Opportunities that we don't see as opportunities in the moment,

And we move beyond them.

Maybe they're wasted,

Forgotten,

Or just not observed in all of their potential.

Now let's explore this more deeply as we walk through a rainforest together.

If you've ever been to a rainforest and there's one that you can bring to mind,

Just take yourself there now.

And if you've never been to a rainforest before,

Just let your imagination create one for you.

Maybe from a documentary you watched as a child,

A TV show,

Or a movie.

And see if you can start to create the shapes and the texture of a rainforest.

And as you find yourself in this rainforest,

Let's take a deep breath,

Relaxing the shoulders and the neck as you exhale,

Letting this version of your rainforest really come to life.

And let your picture expand,

Noticing the vastness,

The height of the trees,

The shades of green,

And the way the light shines through the canopy above your crown.

Think about the time that each of these trees in front of you has been in existence,

The things that they would have seen in their lifetime,

The water that they would have seen,

All of that time,

The oxygen that they have provided for our planet.

Choose one tree to look at more closely.

Notice the texture of its bark,

The depth of its outer skin.

Touch it and what does it feel like as you run your fingers along its edges?

Following your senses,

Let's notice the smell of this place.

Is there heat or moisture in the air?

The smell of the plant life around you.

Is the air warm as it enters through your nose?

Can you smell the vegetation?

Allow your body to feel the moisture in this beautiful rainforest.

And notice if you're wearing shoes or if you are barefoot.

Can you feel the ground beneath you?

Maybe if you're barefoot,

You can feel the dampness in between your toes.

Let's walk into the forest and as you do,

Touch more of the trees,

Feeling alive with them,

Feeling their energy,

Their life force.

And their life force is ours and vice versa.

Notice there's a humble respect from you to these trees.

And it brings you joy,

Maybe a playfulness.

And there's a safety here in this rainforest within your imagination,

In this humble,

Natural playground.

You listen for other nature and you hear the beautiful singing of birds far in the distance and it soothes you.

The birdsong is a signal for safety and ease.

You can hear a stream in the distance and the dripping of raindrops from above.

And as you continue to walk deeper into the forest,

Does the earth crunch underfoot as you wander more deeply into this wonderful place?

Exploring deeper into this plant paradise,

Treading carefully not to disturb any vegetation underfoot,

Watching for movement around you,

You can feel that the trees are alive and you wish to see them move.

This place is expansive,

A universe that exists all of its own.

The trees seem to communicate to one another just like we do,

But it's beyond our abilities to hear.

You know that they have an intelligence,

You can feel it just by being in their presence.

They share a warmth and you can sense it even if you don't understand it.

It somehow makes these trees more interesting to you,

That in your silence they are talking.

Your mind returns to the idea of water.

You can see beaded water droplets amongst the leaves that surround you and you wonder what they would taste like.

You know that this water would quench your thirst,

Just like it has for many years in the trees around you.

You try the water,

Gently tipping the leaf into your mouth,

Pouring droplets onto your tongue and quenching your thirst.

This water revives you for a moment from the heat and the moisture soothes you.

You think about the power of the water and all that it offers us,

All of the natural things that you are surrounded by.

You feel grateful not only for the water quenching your thirst on this day,

But always.

You feel connected through this water to the trees and you wonder why the leaves are the perfect size for pouring water into your mouth.

Like a single serve jug and you wonder if there's some intelligent design here and that we are all designed to fit somewhere and today you fit right here.

You look to more of the leaves for their surface is covered in beads of water.

Each bead is perfectly round,

Its edges invisible but containing the liquid of each individual droplet.

You wonder if each leaf holds the same quantity of beaded water and your curiosity allows you to begin counting the beads on each leaf.

Then you look for patterns in the way that the water sits so gently on the surface of the leaves.

You notice as the light hits the beads it makes them glimmer like magic.

In the light the water looks transparent and you trace the edges of the droplet wondering where the edges are.

You wonder how many droplets there are in this vast forest of yours.

Walking deeper into the forest you notice how your curiosity has relaxed you.

Your mind is quiet and you are happy here exactly where you are in this moment.

This happy feeling is in your heart.

It makes you feel silly,

Childlike and carefree.

Walking deeper into the forest you notice how this silly childlike version has come to the surface.

You begin to run like you did as a child.

Playing with the leaves,

Tapping them as you pass and watching the beads of water fall to the ground.

Spilling the water to nourish whatever sits beneath the leaf.

You find joy in this play.

Running through the forest tapping as many leaves as you can.

Each drop of water reused with your intervention.

This joyful expression nourishes you in a way that you haven't been nourished for years.

You run through the forest innocently enjoying the dance of the leaves as they spring back into position.

A little lighter maybe relieved from the weight of the beaded water droplets.

You laugh as you run creating a symphony with your ruckus.

The crunch of the vegetation beneath your feet.

The laughter and the swishing of the branches as they bounce back into place.

You explore this place freely and safely and you run here letting this sense of joy fill every part of your body.

Now as you continue to play in the rainforest I'll leave you here to explore this alone and just for a few moments it's time to come back and be curious and be joyful and be free.

The water in the rainforest.

It's never wasted.

Renewed,

Reused and recycled through all beings.

It nourishes everything it touches on its journey always moving forward.

You are just like the trees that surround you nourished by the same source.

As you start to make your way out of the forest you notice if the trees look different from this side,

From this view.

Are they just as grand,

Just as beautiful?

Or now that you're familiar with them do they feel more friendly somehow?

As you leave the rainforest you have a newfound gratitude for the place the plants hold in our ecosystem.

And there's a place in your heart for this natural and mutual relationship.

And think about the way that water always finds a way.

This flow of life ties you into your imagination and how it's taken you on this journey through this rainforest.

And you've explored the circulation of water and its life-giving elements.

The movement of water reminds us that there's always a way forward.

And as you start to come back into your body let's take our attention back to the breath.

Maybe taking one hand on the heart and one hand on the belly.

And I'll read you a short poem.

What is the meaning in a raindrop?

And when the rain drops from the sky and it transforms the ground beneath it,

If only for a moment,

This temporary change is part of the cyclical nature of our world.

What in your world is like this?

A change that is temporary,

Life-giving or momentary.

One that you wish to explore.

A ritual that could hold more meaning.

A moment that you wish you could steal back.

Each raindrop either falls pointlessly to the pavement or lands on a plant providing nourishment,

Growth and endless possibility.

What if we could see the same patterns in our moments?

Moments of opportunity or a reason to try something again as it calls us to repeat the actions until we have learnt the lesson it is trying to teach us.

Imagine for a moment if you were a raindrop.

Every time something doesn't go as planned you simply evaporate and try again.

And when you do land the way that you want to it changes the very makeup of you.

Your journey alters and a new path appears.

You are forever changed by the pattern of something that once felt pointless.

Just take a moment to let the words and your meditation just wash over you.

Showing yourself some gratitude for the time that you have carved out for yourself here.

And whenever you feel ready start to wiggle the fingers and the toes.

Breathing deeply into the belly and sighing loudly out of the mouth.

Thank you for joining me on this meditation.

Namaste.