Welcome!
Here, we are going to be relaxing, taking our minds off of the world for a bit and breathing. Grab a soothing drink, light some incense or a candle, put the headphones on with some drifting music, get comfortable and let yourself become immersed for a little while. There is no 'perfect' or 'correct' in this. Read it like a short story, use it as a meditation, get half way through and decide it isn't for you, etc. This offering is meant to help you get away for a little while and writing it helped me so win-win in my book.
Get comfortable. As comfortable as you can where you are or save it for when you can get really nestled in. I'm not about proper posture in this exercise so slouch down if you want, curl into your blanket, stand on your head if that's a position that you feel...cozy in. Safe. At home. Supported. I have a hot cup of coffee and I'm wearing the biggest, coziest sweatshirt that I own, my hair is messy and I am comfy.
This is at your pace, take as much or as little time with each step. Just allow yourself the time. There is no shame in this little luxury, in this time for you.
Relax your shoulders. Let your spine be easy. Release the hips. Allow your head to rest comfortably and soften your eyes and mouth. There is no forcing here, just releasing.
Take a deep breath in and out.
In and out.
One more time nice and easy. In and out.
You're at the opening of a wooded path. Note the path, graveled and scattered with leaves and twigs but even. There are no dips or roots or bumps that will trip you up as you walk. You are free to admire the scenery around you.
Notice the season. Have you chosen Spring, cool and ripe, ready to burst forth with life? Summer, warm and buzzing with deep mossy scents on the air? Fall,crisp and deeply earthy, it's descent into hibernation giving one last painted splendor? Winter, sharp and clear, silent and oh so aware in the snow?
Take a breath, deep and easy.
You begin to walk. A nice easy pace, you aren't in a rush, there are no time restraints here. As you walk you notice the trees, they're tall and aged, ripe with passing ages of knowledge and wisdom. They are humming to you as you pass, greeting you with silent acknowledgment. They add to the living silence of the forest. Remember your season, do the trees reflect it in their leaves?
You continue to walk.
As you stroll down the forest path you take in the sounds, the type of silence that only resides in such a place. Where there are so many noises and yet none at all. Birds, speaking with one another between trees, like children with tin cans and string. Crows sending up the warning signal as you approach, 'Stranger!' they call to their brethren. Some rustling in the brush to your right. As you turn to investigate you see a Fawn, she has stopped moving. A perfect living statue as even her breath in barely visible in her rib cage. She watches, wondering if you are friend or foe, her eyes deep and swimming with knowledge of this place, her home. You smile to her and tilt your head to show that there is no danger, you are a guest in her home and you are simply admiring. She flicks one graceful ear and puts her lovely head back down to the ground, rooting for a snack. You have been approved.
Take a breath and relax your shoulders.
Continuing on you take in the scents of this hallowed space. In your season how does the air lay? Heavy with blossomed trees and flowers, scented with their perfume. Oaken and soft, the soil being used as a base scent. Sharp, unimaginably clean and clear with the cold? Can you smell the distant wood smoke of a fire? There's nothing quite like it. Is there rain on the air? A calm slice of time before the Mother bathes her children. Can you almost taste the flowers through your breath?
Hold this space and breath.
What is that you see? There, at the end of the path. A massive grandfather of a tree. He reigns in the center, surrounded by his court, generations of trees and plants all living in the root system of this impossible being. You approach knowing that there is a privilege given to you in this moment, a sanctity. There, before the entity, is a staircase? Look closer. Could it be that some ancient mason felt the need to build this great one a walkway? Or. Wait. Are those roots? Massive tendrils that over time have become as important and commanding of awe and wonder as the trunk of the tree itself.
Let the eyes and face soften. Release tension. Breathe easy.
He calls to you, in silence with your heart knowing you are to come forward. You walk, feeling the roots beneath your feet as you use them as a makeshift staircase. Into your soles you take the energy of that deeply rooted foundation, you are a part of the Earth as the tree guides you. You reach out and lay your hands on the trunk, aged, storied in each and every crevice. Your fingers move down the bark noting the rough wood, taking in the brailed tales of the birds this giant has housed, the ants and squirrels that have come and gone. Stories of human and bear alike as they passed through this sanctuary. Ages of life in a single branch.
You find a spot to sit. Nestled at the base and you breathe. You allow this ever expanding life force to take your tension and transmute it back to the Earth. You are guarded, warm and safe. You close your eyes and feel the strength that supports your back. Turn your face up to the sky and bask in the gentle heat of the sun that breaks through the branches. Take in the feel of the soil under your palms, peeking through the roots, cool and pebbled. In this place you are allowed to release all barriers. Pull the cord and let the curtain fall.
Stay a while.
Breathe.
Soften.
In your own time open your eyes and take stock of your mind and body. Hold that peace for yourself. Stretch, wiggle the fingers and toes. Thank yourself for taking that time.
Blessings,
Alyssa