Breathing nature in.
This is a meditation to do outside in nature or if you're in a town or a city,
It could be in a garden,
A park or a green space somewhere.
Starting by making yourself as comfortable as you can,
Finding a suitable position either sitting or lying down and settling into stillness.
Taking a short while to orient yourself to your surroundings,
Noticing what is around you,
What is above you,
What is below.
Noticing what sounds can be heard,
What smells you can detect.
Noticing the feel of the earth beneath you and the touch of the air on your skin.
And then for the first part of this practice the invitation is to close the eyes or alternatively to lower your gaze.
To help you settle a little more,
Perhaps just taking a few longer,
Slower breaths.
Taking the air in through the nose and then letting it out slowly through a small hole in the mouth.
And particularly with each longer out breath,
Just seeing how much tension you can allow to drain out of the body and the mind.
Just seeing how much more you can let go.
And then after a few longer breaths in this way,
Just letting the breath rest back into its most natural rhythm.
But staying as attentive as you can to the breath.
Being aware of all the sensations relating to the in-breath and all the sensations relating to the out-breath.
And perhaps with the in-breath you can really appreciate the freshness that the breath is bringing into the body.
The oxygen-rich air flowing down into the lungs and then being distributed around the whole body to every cell.
And perhaps with each out-breath you can really appreciate the sense of letting go,
As the body just naturally releases through the exhalation what it doesn't need to be holding.
Appreciating the in-breath and appreciating the out-breath.
One cycle after another,
Receiving fresh air into the body and then letting it go.
Staying with the breath,
But opening the eyes now and taking in what is around you.
And even if you can see or hear transport,
Buildings or machinery,
Being particularly attentive to the natural world,
To plants,
Trees,
Birds,
Insects and other animals.
Seeing what your attention is drawn to and then breathing it in.
Making use of the in-breath to help you connect more closely with what is around you.
As if you're breathing in what you can see,
Whether that be clouds,
Trees,
Plants,
Flowers or the activity of living beings.
You might stay with something in particular for the duration of a few breaths or you may change each time.
Just finding what works best for you.
Using the breath to connect more deeply with your surroundings.
You may also choose to breathe in the sounds of nature too.
Sounds relating to the wind or rain.
Sounds relating to insects,
To birds and to other animals.
You may also take in smells or the sense of touch,
Such as the touch of the air on your skin,
The warmth of the sun or the feeling of the earth below.
Making use of the breath to appreciate all these things more deeply,
To really take them in.
You will of course become distracted time and again,
Perhaps getting lost in thought or zoning out.
When that happens,
There's no need to judge yourself.
Just come back to the breath as often as you need to,
Using it to take in more deeply what is around you.
Whether it is what you can see or what you can hear or smell,
Really breathing in what is around you and in this way connecting more deeply with the natural world of which you are a part.
Every breath,
The chance to appreciate your home in nature more fully.
And so continuing in this way for the last short while until you hear the bell or for as long as you like,
Perhaps even walking and continuing to use the breath to appreciate everything around you.
