DAY 4 November 12, 2019
“Go to a Forest. Walk slowly. Breathe. Open all your senses.
This is the healing way of Shinrin-yoku Forest Therapy,
the medicine of simply being in the forest.”
svadhyaya ishta samprayogah
From self-study of sacred text (svadhyaya) one attains communion with the Divine.
svadhyaya = self-study, recitation, study of sacred text and/or ancient wisdoms
ishta = worshipped with sacrifices, beloved, cherished
samprayogah = union, contact
Yoga Sutra 2.44
Day 4 of Meditate 22 days of self discovery.
Today set aside 3-5 minutes, or more, for your moving meditation, enjoy having a body, enjoy being alive. Accept life and your body as it is breathe in gratitude.
“I have arrived; I am home.” “I don’t want to run anymore.” “I have been running all my life and I’ve arrived nowhere. Now I want to stop. My destination is in the here and now, the only time and place where true life is possible.”
–Thich Nhat Hanh – The Art of Living pg. 112
“When we practice walking meditation we touch the ultimate, the Kingdom of God, with our feet, our mind, and our whole body.”
– Thich Nhat Hanh – The Art of Living pg. 113
Following your meditation if you wish set a timer for 5-10 minutes to journal.
Today’s Suggestions for Ritual :
- Sun Gazing – at dawn or dust when the sun is offering the most sattvic energy.
- Forrest Bathing (meditation in the woods or at a stream)
- Essential Oil – Grapefruit and Patchouli – apply over sacral chakra – below belly button
- Breathe { Pranayama below}
- Arm Swings to Release tension and trauma : stand with feet hip width apart start to twist and swing arms allowing right arm to hit left hip left arm to hit right hip.
sending love and peace,
lil’Kim
MEDITATION SCRIPT
GUIDED MEDITATION
JOURNAL PROMPTS
Set aside 5-10 minutes to journal whatever comes to your mind.
- Feel the sun on your face allow the warmth to nurture every cell. Bring your minds eye to a deep connection and gratitude for the elements within you. Start to physically feel the wind, the rain, the mud, the sand, the warmth of the sun. All of this is within you. Now begin the practice of noticing these elements within your mind.
MUSIC
PRANAYAMA { BREATHWORK }
When we breathe in, we may take two or three steps. When we breathe out, we may take three, four, or five steps. Pay attention to what is comfortable for our bodies.
Our breathing has the function of helping our body and mind to calm down. As we walk, we can say, Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I bring peace into my body. Calming the breath calms the body and reduces any pain and tension.
“Walking meditation is first and foremost a practice to bring body and mind together peacefully.”
When we walk like this, with our breath, we bring our body and our mind back together. Our body and our mind are two aspects of the same reality. If we remove our mind from our body, our body is dead. If we take our body out of our mind, our mind is dead. Don’t think that one can be if the other is not.
Walking meditation is first and foremost a practice to bring body and mind together peacefully.