Listen to a soothing audio meditation, with deep breathing and a guided visualization through a leafy forest. This is part of my Imagination Meditation series, in which I guide you through a 10-minute meditation designed to help you relax and find peace.
Imagination Meditation Series – Free Monthly Online Meditations
In this series, I’ll introduce you to basic meditation, through use of breathing exercises and guided imagery. In each session, we’ll travel on a journey through our imagination to a special setting of our choosing: I’ll help guide you along and will set the scene, and you’ll fill in the details. New meditations will be posted monthly, starting April 2021. Click on the Sound Cloud link below to listen!
Imagination Meditation: In The Forest…
(I recommend closing your eyes while meditating; this allows for better concentration. For best experience, please listen to the meditation through the Sound Cloud link below. If needed, you may also find the text of the meditation below the Sound Cloud link.)
Music Credit: “Stress Melt” by Chris Collins, www.indiemusicbox.com, cover photo image credit: IStockPhoto.com/quickshooting
Meditation Text
Intro
Welcome to Imagination Meditation. I’m your host, Diana. Get ready to join me as we leave the here and now and glide off to a tranquil spot only known to us, and no one else.
First, let’s settle our physical body into a relaxed state. You can sit up tall, back against your chair, chin up, feet on the floor. Or you can relax back into your seat, resting softly against a pillow. Just ease into whatever position is most comfortable for you. Now close your eyes.
Let’s start with some deep breathing…
Let’s focus on our breath, and just do some deep breathing. Breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Let’s take a few more deep breaths, concentrating on how good it feels to take a nice long inhale of fresh air. Feel the cool air as it enters your body. And as you exhale the air out, imagine that it’s carrying with it any stress that you may be holding in your body. Breathe in the clean cool air; breathe out, letting go of any negative thoughts.
Just for this time together, give yourself permission to just focus purely on the fresh breath in, and releasing any tension on the exhale. Say to yourself: I invite new, pure, fresh air into my body, into my lungs, where it will revitalize my body, my self. I breathe out and expel all tension that might be pent up within me. I might notice little or big worries bobbing in and out of my thoughts, but I pick them up and lay them gently outside the door to my mind. Just for now, the breath is what is important. For right now, any worries can wait. Breathe them out; let them go with a big whoosh of air out of your lungs. Take two more deep breaths.
Let’s journey! To the forest!
Now, if your eyes are not already closed, you might want to close them. Let us journey to a place where only we can go. No one and nothing can follow us as we are whisked away; we can feel totally free to enjoy our little expedition. Let’s go! (light transition music)
Look up…
We emerge from a cloudy haze to see we’re in the middle of a forest. The trees tower high above our heads. We can barely even see the treetops. Above us is a canopy of green: some shades are medium in intensity, reminiscent of a delicate four leaf clover. There are some hints of a darker shade, hiding who knows what little birds within their boughs. We even see the sunshine lighting up leaves from behind, so they almost look like green stained glass.
Enjoy the stillness…
At first it’s quiet. We only hear the silence of the forest, any sound absorbed by the soft fuzzy moss on the ground. We step lightly over the grass, and it feels cushiony under our feet. There’s an old dirt path nearby, likely forged decades ago, and untouched since. We make our way forward onto this path, curious to see where it might go.
Hear the sounds of the wood…
As we walk, we hear some little chirps, at first just a few here and there, then more chirrups, different notes, as the little bird begins to sing a little ditty to anyone who will listen. And we gladly will.
We hear something swishing and whooshing in the distance. It gets slowly louder, as we walk along our secret path. We follow the path around first one tree, then another, and up a slight slope. The path twists a little, then a little more, and then goes back to the right. We follow the curving little path to the left then the right a couple more times.
What’s up ahead?
Then we finally see in front of us a little stream. The water is flowing merrily over smooth stones. Our path goes right up to the stream. And look, what do you know! We can see the path continuing on the other side! But how to get across? We look closely at the water, and look, it’s actually quite shallow at this spot. There are even what look like stepping stones, about a foot apart, going from our side to the opposite side. The water looks so clear and clean. Let’s take off our shoes. Holding them by our side, we step onto the first stone. The water feels deliciously cool, not too cold. It rushes and glides gently but swiftly over our feet. We step onto the next stone, feeling the solid rock beneath us. Every rock is solid, unmoving. We step from one stone to the next, and then firmly step onto the dirt bank.
We rub our feet luxuriously dry with a towel that found its way into our knapsack. Putting our shoes back on, we continue along the path. Where does it lead? The trees are starting to thin, like there’s a clearing up ahead. We see patches of sun shining down on the grass. The path starts to rise upward, and we slowly climb the easy slope.
Wow, just look at that…simply amazing!
Then the trees clear, and we realize that up in front of us, is a glorious view over a golden and emerald valley. The setting sun’s rays shine down onto the fields, the light glinting off every surface and setting it awash in gold. We sit down and just savor this moment of radiant sunshine. We breathe in the fresh cool air, feeling it give new life to our body. We lay down on the soft grass, enjoying the warm sun on our face, and just let our mind soar as if it’s on the wings of eagles, flying high above the earth.
Coming back home
And then we stir and find that we’re now leaving that sunny forest haven and have found our way back to our comfy chair, in our own home. Before we come out of our reverie, let’s keep our eyes closed. Take two deep breaths in, and out, keeping that sense of crisp, clear outdoor air, letting it fill your lungs and then exhale. Stretch your arms up to the sky, clasp your fingers together and really get that good stretch. Keeping your hands clasped, reach in front of you and then all the way down to your feet, stretching your back, getting it nice and limber. Once you come back up to a sitting position, feel free to now open your eyes.
Did you enjoy this meditation?
I hope you feel well rested and relaxed after our trip to the forest. You can always come back to this place of solitude, any time you need a few minutes away from the world. It’s all right there waiting for you, in your imagination. Thank you for visiting me! Until next time!
If you liked this one, check out some more!
Feel free to check out my other meditations:
