Communing With Your Green Space

Today we're going to take a moment to commune with nature and to create and embrace our favorite green space.

You can take a moment to either practice this meditation outside near a window with sunlight and fresh air or you may otherwise visualize your favorite green space.

Bring it to mind as you get comfortable.

Allow your spine to be supported and straight.

Allow your shoulders to feel heavy.

Feel your shoulders moving away from your ears.

Allow your feet to soften.

Place your hands in your lap with your palms facing up.

Allow your fingers to feel soft and limp.

Imagine there's a huge fluffy pillow behind the back of your head cushioning,

Supporting your head and resting gently around your shoulders.

Take a breath in and as you inhale,

Imagine the belly is expanding,

Pushing out.

As you exhale,

Allow the breath in the belly to leave as you draw your navel in towards your spine.

Inhale once again filling the belly with air and exhale contracting,

Allowing all the breath to leave the belly with an empty cavity.

Practice a few more moments here,

Inhaling extending the belly and exhaling contracting,

Emptying the belly.

Inhale,

Exhale,

Inhale,

Exhale.

You can now begin to breathe at your own cadence and pace,

Allowing the rhythm of your breath to slow down and finding a sense of ease and presence.

Take a moment here to scan your body,

Allowing your breath to travel to any space that may be tense or tight.

We whisper your breath into these spaces,

Softening,

Guiding,

Soothing.

You can allow your breath to begin to expand as wide as the width of the body and to extend as long as the length of the body.

Touching each space,

Filling it,

Softening.

Allow your breath to anchor you in this moment.

Allow the rhythm of your breath to gently soothe and calm you.

Visualize yourself in your favorite green space.

It could be a wide open field,

Your backyard,

A park,

Forest,

Or wherever this green space is.

Imagine that it is lush and fertile with vegetation,

That the grass is soft beneath you,

That tall trees sway gently in the breeze around you,

And you can hear the leaves rustle in the wind.

As you inhale,

Imagine that you're breathing in the life force of the trees with fresh oxygen,

Rich air,

Vibrating with vitality.

As you exhale,

You return your breath to the trees as if it's a sacred exchange between you and the forest.

As you look up,

You see crystal clear blue skies,

Bright and you feel the warmth of the sun shining down upon your face.

And you appreciate all of the plants and the flowers are in this space.

You can smell the rich,

Fertile soil.

Perhaps you can feel it either under your feet or if you touch it,

The moisture within your hand,

The deep rich color,

The earthy smell of the soil.

You feel supported by this earth beneath you,

Solid and grounding.

And there's a water source near this deep green vegetation.

Imagine it's crystal clear.

You can see the sunlight dancing off the surface.

You can hear the rippling soft sound as the water cascades gently over rocks and pebbles.

And with each breath,

You can imagine this water flowing through you,

Cleansing,

Cooling and carrying away anything you no longer need.

As you inhale,

You're inhaling the greenness,

Light,

Healing and calm,

Exhaling stress and tension,

Melting away any other noises.

Inhaling clarity,

Fluidity,

Purity,

Releasing emotions,

Thoughts and stagnation.

Feeling the flow of this water sinking with your breath,

Washing through your chest,

Belly,

Legs and feet.

And you're part of the water.

The water is part of you.

And you're comfortable in this space and you bring your focus,

Awareness and attention to the sun.

Returning to the warm feeling of the sunlight as it touches your face.

Your shoulders and your heart.

This golden energy nourishing like the morning after a long night.

Inhaling radiance,

Courage and joy.

Exhaling and releasing any heaviness or darkness.

Let the sunlight up your inner world.

Let it awaken your cells,

Your soul and your spirit.

Breathe in the sunlight.

Breathing out with gratitude.

And perhaps you now begin to settle in into this green space.

Finding a comfortable seat in a grassy patch underneath a tree or resting comfortably against a rock covered with moss.

As you've settled into this space,

Imagine that you've brought with you to this space a container filled with ice cold,

Sweet delicious lemonade.

And you take a sip appreciating the cool refreshment.

As it goes down your throat and rests in your belly.

You appreciate the taste and the smell of the lemons.

You're savoring the sweetness of the taste and you appreciate having this drink in this space,

In this green fertile area by the water source in the sun.

And observe what you see within this space.

Perhaps there are butterflies,

Birds flying overhead.

Maybe a pair of squirrels playfully chasing each other up a tree.

There are no animals at all,

Just you within this green space.

You can place your hand on the tree and feel the bark of the tree.

It's cool to the touch.

It feels strong.

It grounds you.

It absorbs any remaining tension you may have,

Taking it away.

I feel grateful for the tree.

Spend a few more moments here breathing in and out.

Sitting on the grassy green space.

Sipping your cool,

Sweet,

Refreshing lemonade by the water source.

Underneath the crystal clear blue sky,

Feeling the warmth of the sun upon your face.

You can place your container of your sweet lemonade.

Move closer to the water source.

Dip your hands in and feel this cool water in your hands.

And as you cup this water in your hands,

Bring the water up to your face.

Allow it to wash over your face and shoulders.

Appreciate the coolness.

Allow it to rise to your feet in this space.

You can bring along your lemonade container if you wish as you make your way back to your chair or wherever you began your journey today.

Bringing your awareness fully back to your breath.

And you can turn around and see this space one more time.

And hold the memory of it within your heart.

And feel the space,

The essence of the earth,

The water,

And the sun,

The clear blue sky,

And the sweetness of your lemonade.

Fully awake and aware.

Fully back into your breath.

Inhaling honor and life.

Exhaling,

Continuing to join the peace within this space and the world.

Quiet and still connected.

Once aware of your feet on the surface beneath you.

The imaginary pillow behind your head.

The support of your spine straight.

Your hands in your lap.

Begin to wiggle your fingers and your toes.

And open your eyes.

Retain the sensation.

Retain the feeling and the savoring of flavors.

Retain the smells.

Retain the sounds.

Retain your green space within.

Fully awake and aware as you look around the space where you currently are.

Take a deep breath in.

This breath to fill the belly once again.

Extending the belly out.

Exhale,

Collapsing and contracting,

Belly drawing towards the spine.

Take a second deep breath in.

Extending the belly out.

Exhale,

Draw the belly in,

Collapsing towards the spine.

Take a third breath in.

Expanding the belly out.

Exhale,

Collapse,

Draw the belly in.

Now begin to breathe at your natural cadence and pace.

Perhaps you're smiling with appreciation.

As you keep all of the spaces that you've created today in the back of your mind.

Feeling lush and green.

One with the earth.

In communion with nature.

In connection with your breath.

Take this thought,

This space,

This journey with you all throughout your day so that you can recall it at any time that you wish.

You can always extend gratitude and honor the nature within and around you.

Namaste.