You So just take a moment now.
To settle in.
To a lazy.
Easy.
Relaxation.
Where you have nowhere to go.
I've nothing to do.
Accept.
Relax.
Taking a moment to make sure that you are warm.
Comfortable.
And undisturbed.
Giving yourself this gift.
Of space.
This gift.
This gift of relaxation.
Time.
And when you are ready,
If it feels good for you today,
I'd like to invite you now to close your eyes.
And for a moment or two,
To do nothing.
Nothing at all.
And you may notice that you have little thoughts that travel across the mirror of your mind.
And you can let those thoughts go,
Just let them go.
As you settle deeper.
And deeper.
Into relaxation.
And release.
And I'd like to invite you now,
Gently and lazily.
.
.
To place your focus on the breath.
And specifically on your out-breath.
Following the path of the out-breath all the way.
All the way.
All the way to the end of the breath.
Where you will find that there is a space.
A pause.
Time to stop.
And then you will notice that the in-breath starts to ask you to take notice.
And so you yield to the in-breath.
And follow the path of the in-breath all the way.
All the way.
All the way to the top of the breath,
To the space at the top.
Of the in-breath.
Before the out-breath releases once more.
And you follow the path of the out-breath,
The lazy,
Gentle out-breath.
All the way to the end of the breath.
To this space.
Gentle space.
Before once again yielding to the in-breath.
Following the path of the in-breath all the way.
To the space at the top of the breath.
Before releasing once more onto the out-breath.
And noticing with a lazy,
Easy curiosity.
That the out-breath can become longer than the in-breath.
And that maybe this feels right.
And this feels good.
And as the out-breath lengthens away lazily.
You may find that you feel more and more relaxed.
More and more relaxed.
And now.
From this lazy,
Easy,
Relaxed place.
I'd like you to really slowly.
.
.
Place your focus at the top of your head.
And begin to imagine the muscles of your scalp.
Releasing.
Relaxing.
Letting go.
And it's like a wave of relaxation that starts to flow.
All the way down.
Down your skull.
Down your forehead.
Softening and releasing.
Melting.
Like butter.
Releasing in the eyes.
Around the eye sockets.
Down across your cheeks.
Across the back of your head and down your neck.
Letting go.
Softening and melting.
Feeling the wave of relaxation spread now.
Down your neck,
Letting go,
Softening and melting.
Feeling the wave of relaxation spread now down into your body.
Down into your shoulders.
Across your chest and down your arms,
All the way to the ends of your fingers,
Releasing,
Softening and melting.
Down your spine,
Vertebra by vertebra.
Down.
Through your ribcage and into your belly.
Down into your pelvis,
Into your pelvic floor,
Letting go,
Softening and releasing.
Softening.
And releasing.
Into your hips and down,
Down.
Down your legs.
Through your thigh muscles,
Releasing,
Melting,
And letting go in your knees,
Your shins,
And your calves.
Down and up.
Down.
Through your ankles,
Into your heels.
Through the arches of your feet.
Through the balls of your feet.
And all the way into the very tips of your toes.
The whole of your body now.
Lazy,
Easy,
And relaxed.
With this beautiful melting sensation.
This beautiful melting sensation.
And as your body settles now into deeper and even deeper levels of relaxation.
You find.
That's your mind.
Is able to drift freely.
And easily.
A beautiful,
Calm and peaceful feeling.
Following the path of the breath.
All the way.
All the way.
As you continue to explore freely,
Happily.
Easily and confidently.
Drifting.
And as you drift.
.
.
You become aware very gradually.
Of a hush.
A deep,
Soft hush.
Wrapping around you like something felt rather than heard.
And slowly Gently.
You become aware of where you are.
You are standing at the edge of a landscape so completely peaceful.
It has its own kind of sound.
A blanket of snow,
Reaching away from you in every direction.
Completely untouched.
Not a mark on it anywhere.
Smooth and pale.
And quietly glowing under a sky gone utterly clear.
And vast.
And beautiful.
Scattered with more stars than you could ever hope to count.
It is breathtaking.
And all yours.
The air is cold against your skin,
Sharp and clean.
And each breath you take arrives crisp.
And leaves you a little more awake.
A little more here.
A little more fully yourself.
No one has walked this way before you.
Not tonight.
Not ever.
And no one else ever will quite like this.
And you take a first step.
And you hear the soft crunch.
As your foot presses down,
And now,
A mark.
Where a moment ago there was none.
You take another.
And another.
And with each one the path appears.
Becoming real simply because you are the one walking it.
And high above you for just a moment.
A silver star seems to slip loose and streak,
Silently across the sky,
There and gone.
Leaving no trace at all.
Apart from the single wish that might follow it.
And somehow.
The stillness feels even more complete for it.
Not less.
And behind you if you were to look back.
You would see that your own tracks are already beginning to soften at the edges.
The breeze,
Unhurried,
Gently smoothing the way you came,
Filling it back in.
So that the path only ever exists in you.
In this moment.
Made by this step.
And this one and this one.
And you don't need to look back.
There is nothing behind you that needs your attention.
Nothing at all that disturbs this perfect peace.
And you walk on unhurried.
Towards a small copse of trees,
Their branches lacy against the starlit sky,
Somewhere nearby,
A small familiar song rings out into the vast quiet,
A robin.
Awake in the cold.
The same bright,
Chattering friend from woodlands warmer than this one.
And then the hush settles back around you.
Peaceful.
Complete.
And the cold is bracing,
The kind of cold that makes you feel entirely wonderfully alive in your own body.
In this moment.
Something catches your eye,
A flicker of light.
Orange,
Gone as soon as you see it.
And you are drawn to it.
Curious.
And there it is again.
A little closer now.
A warm glow,
Low among the trees.
And with it,
Faint on the clean,
Crisp air.
The smell of wood smoke.
The glow comes and goes between the trees as you walk.
Closer and closer and something in you leans toward it gently,
The way you might instinctively lean towards warmth.
Without even deciding to.
And then the trees reveal their secret,
And there it is.
In the middle of the copse,
A small fire,
Tended and steady,
Glowing low and gold,
With logs around it for you to sit on.
Simply lit.
Simply cared for.
Simply here.
And waiting for you.
You step into the clearing and the warmth reaches you before you even arrive at it.
That first breath of heat against a face-gone chilli.
That particular relief of it.
And you settle down close to the flames and you feel the warmth slowly begin to move into you.
Into your hands,
And then further into your arms,
Your chest,
Your belly,
All the way down into your bones.
Lovely.
And you watch the flame.
The way it dances,
Never quite the same,
Shape twice,
Orange and gold.
Orange and gold.
And right at its heart.
A quiet,
Pure blue.
Rising and curling and settling.
And rising again.
And rising again.
And you don't need to do anything here.
You don't need to think.
Or resolve or understand.
You only need to rest and be warmed and watch.
And celebrate the deep dark.
Everything out here looks entirely still.
The snow does not move.
The stars do not move,
And yet they do.
You know.
Somewhere beneath knowing.
That nothing here is truly resting.
Beneath the snow,
Beneath the frozen quiet earth.
Beneath the frozen quiet earth.
Everything you have planted.
Everything you have tended.
Everything that fell and became rich soil.
Is doing its slow,
Unseen work.
Gathering itself.
Building.
In the dark.
Exactly the strength it will need.
You cannot see it.
You are not meant to see it yet.
And this season's gift is simply this.
The fire,
The warmth in your bones,
The vast held breath of the sky above you.
And permission.
Full,
Complete permission.
To do nothing at all.
To rest.
Deeply.
Without apology.
To let the peaceful,
Deep and tender dark hold you.
The way the fire is holding the light.
And in time.
And not one moment before you are ready.
Spring will ask something of you.
But not tonight.
Tonight there is only this fire and this stillness and you.
Warmed all the way through,
Wanting for nothing.
You have everything you need.
You always did.
And as you prepare now to continue on your journey.
You know that you can move forward.
Refreshed.
And with a lightness of step.
Travelling along your path.
Calm.
Peaceful.
Peaceful in your mind.
Centred in the knowledge that you are in control.
You are in control of your emotions.
In control of your feelings and thoughts.
In control of the thoughts to which you choose.
To give your precious attention.
Now.
And into the future.
Sew gently now.
Bringing your focus lazily back to the breath.
And specifically to the out-breath.
Following the path of the out-breath all the way.
To the end of the breath.
To the space.
The pause.
Time to reflect.
Before the easy in-breath comes in.
Yielding to the in-breath now.
Following the path of the in-breath.
All the way to the top of the breath.
To the space before the out-breath releases once more.
This lazy,
Gentle breath pattern.
Which happens all by itself.
And then placing your focus lazily at the top of your head.
And finding that melting sensation once more,
Sweeping down through the body,
Softening,
Melting,
Releasing.
Letting go of all that you want to let go of.
Finding in its place calm,
Peaceful,
Settled space.
And then finding your awareness in the very tips of your toes.
Bringing physical sensation back to the body.
So finding a wiggle and a stretch,
A wiggle and a stretch that moves through your feet and up your shins and your calves.
Through your knees and your thighs,
Stretching and wiggling in your legs.
And into the base of your spine now,
On your pelvis,
Up the spine,
Through your belly,
Through your ribcage,
Up to your shoulders,
Wiggling and stretching,
Letting that movement travel down your arms all the way.
All the way down your arms to the very tips of your fingers and the tips of your thumbs.
And the wiggle and the stretch moving up your neck and around the back of the skull.
And down to your face.
So the whole of your body now physically present.
And should you choose now to go to sleep?
Then you sleep deep and peaceful,
Feeling calm.
Feeling subtle.
And should you choose now to wait?
Then gently,
Lazily,
Beginning to deepen the breath.
Letting each in-breath bring you a little more presence.
A little more aware.
Feeling the breath fill you with a quiet,
Settled awareness.
A quiet,
Settled aliveness.
And with each out breath,
Releasing the last of this deep relaxation,
Softly,
Easily.
In your own time.
Becoming aware now of the sounds around you.
The feeling of where you are,
Your body warm and present and completely your own.
And when you are ready.
In your own time.
Gently open your eyes.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
