Welcome to this guided meditation where we're going to connect to nature,
To yourself and your breath as a force of nature.
I'd like to begin with a poem by Jared K.
Anderson.
It's easy to look at the contours of a forest and feel a bone-deep love for nature.
It's less easy to remember that the contours of your own body represent the exact same nature.
The pathways of your mind,
Your dreams dark and strange as sprouts curling beneath a flat rock,
Your regret bitter as the citrus rot of old cut grass.
It's the same as the nature you make time to love,
That you practice loving.
The forest,
The meadow,
The sweeping arm of a galaxy,
You are as natural as any postcard landscape and deserve the same love.
I'd like you to just notice your response to those words in your mind and body and allow yourself to experience that response non-judgmentally and then see if it feels possible to imagine something or somewhere that you love in nature.
Maybe it's a tree,
Or a mountain,
Or a beach.
Just picture that and imagine that you are one with it,
You are part of that and just as the wind blows or the stream floats or the waves crash on the beach,
So does your breath breathe.
So let's take a moment to connect to yourself and your body and your breath.
Settle into a comfortable position,
Just noticing the ground beneath you,
Maybe picture extending your roots deep into the ground,
Smelling the smell of earth as they burst into it,
Opening up the crown of your head to receive warm yellow sunlight,
Just basking in it and now we will turn our attention to the breath.
So begin to take some deep breaths,
Maybe in through the nose and out through the mouth if that feels okay for you right now,
Breathing deep down to the bottom of the belly,
Expanding and releasing,
Maybe even noticing if you can expand the ribs,
Not only front and back but also side to side,
Really filling the body with air,
Sending your breath from the tips of your toes to the top of your head,
Just breathing in this moment,
Focusing on the breath.
You can even imagine that your breath is like an ocean wave,
As you breathe in the wave is swelling up and up,
Getting higher and higher,
And as you breathe out the wave crashes against the shore,
Settling into a rhythm with your breath,
The rhythm of nature,
Just embracing that in this moment.
You can stay here as long as you'd like,
But if you're ready to end this practice today,
You can maybe wiggle the fingers and toes,
Take a nice stretch,
Whatever feels good,
And gently opening the eyes,
Coming back to the room.
I hope to practice again with you soon,
Namaste.
