Hello and welcome.
Today we will embark on a sensory journey of relaxation that doesn't require sight.
Everyone is free to participate.
Please take a moment to get into a comfortable position with your eyes closed.
Take a deep breath through your nose,
Keeping your shoulders down.
Expand your rib cage and belly.
Pause and release all the way.
Breathe in again and feel your heart rate slow more into alignment with your relaxed state.
And breathe out.
We will remain in this position,
Breathing slowly and steadily as we envision our journey together.
Let's begin.
You breathe slowly in and out and you are transported to a special place.
As you breathe,
You begin to notice your new surroundings.
You are lying on soft,
Warm sand.
As you sit up and put your hands to the ground at your sides,
You feel the sand is a very fine and slippery powder.
You dig your fingertips in deeper.
Taking another deep breath in,
You notice the fresh scent of salty ocean air.
It floats on the breeze with the smell of sweet,
Tropical flowers and tussles your hair like a gentle and warm friend.
As you listen closer,
You can hear the sound of the water lapping the shore a short distance ahead of you.
Goals call out from far off in the sky.
You lift your hands to feel your body and you're wearing a loose and light cotton shirt and pants.
They are almost weightless.
They're the most comfortable clothing you've ever worn.
You feel pleasantly warm but fresh and free of dirt or sweat.
You realize this place is safe.
No harm can come to you here.
You are free and there's nothing that can hurt you.
With another deep breath in and out,
You sit with your knees up and wiggle your toes into the sand.
With both hands,
You scoop the sand into your palms and hold them up and out at your sides.
Feel the salty sand slip through your fingers,
Slowly at first and then accelerating.
It brings a smile to your face so you return your palms to the ground and move the sand around some more.
Now you decide to explore.
Gently you stand up and listen to your surroundings.
The water ripples on the shore ahead of you but behind you,
There's a gentle rustling of leaves in sync with the breeze.
The sounds are both at ground level and high above.
The sounds of vegetation.
You smell the musk of plant life so you turn and take a few careful steps with your arms in front of you.
A few paces behind where you had been sitting,
Your hand comes in contact with the cool,
Smooth texture of a palm tree.
You feel it with both hands.
Some of the hair-like fibers create texture along the otherwise smooth and round trunk.
You feel the trunk all the way around and move your hands up and down the light ridges.
It's not very big around but you can hear the palm fronds dancing against each other high up overhead.
The trunk bows slightly back and away from the water and you can feel high up that it begins to curve forward.
The slight shape of a sea.
You decide to leave your palm tree momentarily.
The water calls to you.
Even though your temperature is perfect,
The cool water still beckons.
You can hear that the shoreline goes on for miles,
Yet nobody is around.
After walking forward away from the tree for five paces through the perfect and unobstructed sand,
You feel it get tighter and more firm under your feet,
Cooling to a refreshing temperature.
Soon you feel the cool and liquid water curl up between your toes and hug your ankles before retreating.
With another step forward into the water,
You feel the texture of the sand under your feet grow slightly more coarse with softly tumbled shells and coral.
Nothing is uncomfortable or painful.
It feels perfect.
You know this is exactly where you're meant to be in this moment.
Your mind is clear and free of worry.
You stand in the ankle deep water as the tide ebbs and flows slowly and rhythmically and you lift your chest,
Spreading your arms wide into your sides.
You feel the soft rays of the warm sun hug your skin and the breeze brushing your face and gently pulling at your light clothing.
You breathe in,
Hold it a moment and breathe out.
You are completely at peace and grateful for your life.
As you smile and appreciate the water,
The breeze,
The sun and the happy sound of distant birds,
You know it's time to return to your palm tree.
The curve of the tree as it meets the sand is a perfect resting place,
Just waiting for you to relax.
You take the short walk towards your tree,
Toes slowly gliding through the impossibly soft warm sand.
You pay attention to the sensation on your heels,
The arches of your feet,
The balls of your feet and finally between your toes.
Each step you take feels special and rewarding.
As the palms of your hands connect with the cool trunk of your palm tree,
You follow the trunk to the ground where you kneel before it.
The texture turns to twine and skinny rigid roots at the base as the sand softly comes up to meet it.
Before you turn to rest your back against the sloping trunk,
Your right hand feels something on the ground next to it.
In the sand a satin smooth and rounded young coconut lies heavily.
You scoop your hand around it and pull it towards you through the sand.
Turning to lie with your back against the palm tree,
You lift the heavy coconut in both hands.
It's not small and coarse,
It's young and has the firm smooth husk around it.
You breathe in the scent of the green oxygen rich plants as you lift it to your nose.
Shaking it you feel its weight and hear the splashing of liquid inside.
You set the heavy coconut on your lap as you happily lean your head to rest against the trunk of the palm tree.
As you breathe slowly and restfully you listen to the water,
The hollow chime of palm fronds,
And the free birds overhead.
Then you notice an unusual sound,
A sudden thud and crack sound,
Soft but clear,
Coming from the coconut.
Curiously you feel your hand around the smooth rubbery texture of the coconut,
But when you feel the top it's been cut clean off.
To your delight you can carefully balance the young coconut in both hands,
Bringing it to your lips.
Before sipping from the coconut water you take a slow and deep breath in through your nose and smell the sweet and fresh nectar.
With gratitude and pure satisfaction you put your lips to the rim of the coconut,
Tip it to your mouth and take a long refreshing sip.
Some of the precious coconut juice spills down your chin.
After you carefully lower the heavy coconut back down,
You wipe the juice away with your sleeve.
There's plenty of water for you to sip as you please so you don't worry about it running out.
With the coconut resting back on your lap you return to leaning your head back against the tree in pure,
Peaceful bliss.
You can remain resting here for as long as you wish.
Slowly you drift away,
Back to your original surroundings.
The place we journeyed to is a real place of peace in your mind.
Remember that at any point in your day,
Whenever you wish to feel a moment of peace and relaxation,
The beach and the palm tree await.
You can return at any time.
It's always there and will remain forever.
Now that you've created this place it will exist as an oasis within you.
Thank you for coming with me on this beach journey.
I hope you feel relaxed and at peace.
