Come to rest in a comfortable position,
Lying down on your back or your side.
Or if that doesn't feel right,
You can sit up.
If you sit up,
See if you can find a wall or a chair or another support so that you can rest here with as little effort as is possible.
If you've got blankets or blocks or pillows,
Use these to find a really comfortable position.
Feel free to pause this recording to go and get those if you don't have them to hand.
Then,
When everything is just as it should be,
Close your eyes or soften your gaze and begin to draw your attention inwards,
Away from the room that you're in and any noise and activity around you.
Begin by noticing where your body comes into contact with another surface.
Each part of your body that is supported by the floor or a cushion or the wall or whatever it is that you've used.
Notice the fine line where you meet the support.
See if you can allow yourself to soften any amount more into this support.
Releasing down.
Letting go.
Notice your face.
The muscles of your face.
Your jaw and your tongue in your mouth.
Can you make your face,
Your jaw as soft as possible?
Can you drop your tongue from the roof of your mouth?
How would it feel to allow your lips to part?
If you're still holding on to any control of your breath,
Can you let go?
You are breathed.
You don't need to do anything further.
Allow yourself just to be breathed.
Some people like to yawn or sigh as they settle down to relax or sleep.
This can be a signal to your body that you are safe and that you can rest.
Perhaps open your mouth wide and see if you can invite a yawn or two.
You are welcome to rest here,
Letting my words drift over you and taking as much or as little on board as you need.
I'll invite you to imagine a scene.
A peaceful scene which is safe and where you are safe.
But if it doesn't feel right,
If anything I say makes you feel worried,
Then please bring your attention back to your breath.
Instead of visualising the picture I'm painting,
Just notice the movement of your body as you lie here being breathed.
The up and down of your belly,
The sound of your own breath,
Even any noises in the room around you.
But if you would like,
Picture a deciduous woodland in winter,
One where most of the trees have lost their leaves.
There might be splashes of green,
Maybe ivy or holly.
Look around and imagine the scene.
What is the weather like?
It is winter here,
So there could be snow,
But then sometimes winter days are beautifully sunny and more often than not grey and rainy.
What is the weather like in your woodland?
You walk along a path.
It's a gentle path winding its way through the wood.
There's lots of space between the trees.
Small shrubs and leafmould on the floor.
You listen to the sounds of the animals and birds around you.
Take a moment to notice what you might hear.
Even though most of the trees have lost their leaves and it's winter all around,
There is still plenty of life here.
As you walk,
You find a tree that calls to you.
In forest bathing and ecotherapy there's a concept of the sit spot.
This is a practice where you choose a place in the natural world to simply be.
To sit,
Look,
Listen,
Feel,
Smell the world around you.
It's often a place close to home so that you can return to it again and again.
Find a sit spot here at this tree that calls to you in the woodland you have created in your mind.
And sit.
Pause.
Take a moment to visualize what it is that your senses might tell you here.
And as you sit in this spot,
Bring your attention to what is beneath you.
The leafmould on top of the earth.
Perhaps it is crispy and crunchy,
Fresh or frost covered,
Or perhaps it's warm and soft and beginning to decompose.
These leaves that the trees around you shed in the autumn just gone,
Allowing each one to break free and drift down.
To begin its cycle of life again,
Providing nourishment to the woodland that birthed it.
And beneath these fallen leaves,
The dark brown humus,
The rich nutritious organic matter mixed by earthworms and made up of many years of leaf fall.
Fertile ground for fungus to grow,
Reaching their tiny feathery strands deep down into the earth.
And deep yet,
The roots of the plants and trees of the wood,
Mingling with the feathery,
Fungal strands and creating a vast network beneath the forest floor.
Communicating,
Sharing,
Feeding,
A strong web of connection and support so active beneath the surface,
In contrast to the restful slumber of the woodland above ground.
As you sit here in this spot,
Tune into that life force,
The energy of the woodland,
The prana or shakti or chi that flows beneath you.
And remind yourself that you are part of this.
The same energy flowing in this vast supportive network flows through you.
You are not in nature,
You are nature.
And the same principles of rest,
Regeneration,
Connection and support that enable these ancient woodlands to thrive,
Can support you too.
I will share some words now and if these words don't speak to you,
Simply allow them to drift by.
But if they make sense,
Or if you have another intention that you work with,
Perhaps take a moment to repeat these words or this intention a few times in your head before we leave this place.
I invite my body,
Mind and spirit to rest deeply.
And now,
It is time to slowly unwind and return.
Take a last look at the sit spot you have rested in,
In the woodland you have visualised.
And thank this space and yourself for the moments of deep rest.
Know that you can return here whenever you need to.
But for now,
Begin to walk back along the winding path through the woodland.
Allow the images that you have created to fade,
As if a gentle mist is covering them over.
Or perhaps you are looking through binoculars that have gone out of focus.
If it feels right,
Open your mouth slightly and invite a yawn,
Or a sigh,
And maybe another.
Notice whether your body is asking you to do anything as you do this.
It might be a stretch,
Or you might find that your muscles tense slightly and then release.
Or you might find that you are completely still.
Whatever it is,
It is just as it should be.
But now,
It is time to return to the room.
When you are ready,
If you are not already,
Roll over onto your side,
Or just stay seated.
Pause here.
There is no rush.
Once you feel ready to move again,
Very gently push yourself up to sit.
You might open your eyes as you do,
And that's fine,
But close them again once you are sitting up,
Or allow them to be soft so that you are not focusing on any one thing in particular.
Bring your hands together,
Or to your chest or belly,
Or anywhere that feels right for you.
And we will close this practice by taking three conscious breaths together.
Breathing in through the nose,
Parting the lips and sighing out through the mouth.
In through the nose,
And sighing out.
And one more,
In through the nose,
Parting the lips and a really soft,
Long sigh out through the mouth.
And when you are ready,
You can open your eyes and return to your day.
