Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - The Forest Bathing Meditation

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Starting point is 00:01:47 Tonight I have a special meditation for you written by Nicole. We'll begin our meditation in an enchanting library nestled in the woods. Here, we'll learn about forest bathing, a practice proven to help support sleep. Then we'll take a rainy hike through a redwood back to the library and sit down next to a warm fireplace. We'll begin our meditation shortly, but first I want to mention our supporters feed, Get Sleepy Premium. It's the very best way to listen to the show. Why? Because you'll have access to the entire catalog of Get Sleepy stories and meditations. That's around 750 and counting, including lots of extra long episodes. There are no ads whatsoever, so

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Starting point is 00:03:58 Now then, take a moment to find a comfortable position. If you are in your bed, pull the blankets up just how you like them. Start by simply noticing what it feels like to be lying in your bed? Do you immediately start to settle in and feel a sense of comfort? Or do you need to wiggle around and adjust things to your liking. Take the time to really zone in and pay attention to what you need to feel comfortable and supported here. Now, let's pay attention to our breath for a moment. Did you know that the average person takes around 20,000 breaths each day. Most of this happens beyond our conscious awareness. It's just something

Starting point is 00:05:31 our body takes care of for us. Yet we can also influence our breath. The key is to remember that we can do this and practice breathing with intention. Let's try that now. Take a deep full breath all the way in, and exhale letting it go. Again, take a deep breath all the way into your belly like you were inflating a balloon. Now exhale slowly and allow the breath to release. Continue here but see if you can slow your exhale down a little bit more. Placing emphasis on our exhales by lengthening them helps to stimulate our body's relaxation relaxation response, which in turn helps us to rest. After a few rounds of breathing in this way, you may begin to notice that your body is already settling.

Starting point is 00:07:28 Try to stay connected to yourself and your breath as we delve into deeper stages of rest together. Let's begin our meditation now. Picture yourself sitting in a rustic library in the middle of a redwood forest. A fireplace is crackling with fresh logs, creating a warm and cozy environment. There are armchairs and couches surrounding the fireplace, and desks and tables further away. to the fire is empty, so you plop down into it. You gaze around the charming library. It has a redwood A-frame roof and grand floor-to-ceiling windows. floor to ceiling windows. Through the windows, you can see a light rainfall drizzling over the redwoods. This is a very idyllic place, almost too good to be true. You pause to take it all in and appreciate that a place like this even exists and that you know about it. There are other people in the library, but it's very quiet. Everyone is reading and enjoying the peaceful ambiance. to read too, so you pick up a nearby book entitled Forest Bathing.

Starting point is 00:10:31 That seems perfect, you think to yourself as you open the plastic-coated cover. It's been a while since you held an actual library book in your hand. The book is all about the benefits of being in the forest and includes mindfulness practices that teach you to commune more deeply with nature. teach you to commune more deeply with nature. Forest bathing, you learn, is the art of connecting with nature through the five senses. Feel the dirt and bark under your hands the book guides you. Take deep breaths and smell the trees. The book says to walk slowly so you can keep your senses open and to be quiet so you can

Starting point is 00:11:49 hear the sound of silence. The benefits of forest bathing include relaxation and restoration, improved sleep and mood, increased energy and vitality, and overall positive feelings. The practice can also help us tap into a feeling of awe that reminds us that we are part of something larger. You look up from your book and notice that it has stopped raining and the sun is starting to poke through the clouds. You feel a pull to get out into the woods right now and practice forest bathing. and practice forest bathing. The fireplace crackles as you return the book to the shelf

Starting point is 00:13:18 and walk out the back door of the library onto the trailhead. It's a foggy, overcast day, but you can still see the magnificent redwoods through the mist. The red-brown trunks are saturated with water, making their unique colors and textures pop even more than normal. The dirt on the trail is slightly moist, as are the trees, which creates a distinct, wet, earthy scent that helps you feel more grounded. You pause and take a few more deep, intentional breaths to really savor the smell of the rainy forest. It feels like the trees and plants come alive There's no one else on the trail. Today you have the entire forest to yourself. As you take your first steps down the path, you remember the forest bathing book and start to tune in to the sounds around you. The book said that the sounds of nature help us turn our attention outwards rather than inwards. By focusing more on the sounds of birdsong, frog ribbits, and rustling branches, you are disconnecting from your own thoughts. In this particular part of the woods, there are a lot of ferns

Starting point is 00:15:52 growing on the forest floor, blanketing the majestic redwood trees. The ferns thrive in damp, shaded environments and are nourished by a shared root system beneath the ground. The tall trees stretch up beyond the fog and soak up the vitamins from the sun. This nourishment is shared with the rest of the plants in the ecosystem via their interconnected subterranean roots. The forest operates and thrives with tremendous symbiosis and communion in a system of natural community care and reciprocity. You continue walking up a slight incline, mindfully placing one foot in front of the other. As you stroll, you feel a little squish under your feet as the damp earth gives way.

Starting point is 00:17:29 This part of the forest is very quiet. Everything is still and deeply peaceful. The only sounds you hear are your own gentle footsteps on the ground. The quietude is so profound that it reverberates through your body, making you feel like you are at one with the forest. You begin to feel some of the relaxation benefits of forest bathing. As you slow down and come into rhythm with nature, your daily stresses and worries seem to melt away. As they do, more positive feelings and a sense of joy and connection trickle in. After walking for a few more minutes, you reach a plateau where there is a big grove of trees that seem to stretch endlessly into the sky. These are some of the oldest trees in the forest and are absolutely magnificent to behold. You walk up to one and place your hand on the bark as if to say hello. The wet bark is soft and welcoming to the touch, inspiring you to run your hand over the trunk and explore the tactility of the tree. The

Starting point is 00:19:52 redwood smell is even more pronounced right next to the tree. You take another deep breath in to really receive the grounding scent. As you do, you notice how your body settles even more. It's almost as if you've been transported into a deeper state of rest. You savor that feeling as you notice it and allow it to envelop you completely. You feel very peaceful and grounded. The forest is a very grounding place, and when we remember to pause and appreciate that, we can deepen the benefits we receive from it. This practice of savoring what is good and imprinting it into our bodies and minds into our bodies and minds allows us to experience good things more deeply and to carry them with us beyond the moment we experience them. In this way, we can carry the forest in us and with us and receive its healing, grounding energy over and over again. As you start to walk beyond the grove, you can feel raindrops beginning to fall from the sky.

Starting point is 00:22:13 It's a light rain, but the sky appears to be promising more. The forest darkens slightly as the raindrops pitter-patter onto the trees. and notice its crisp, fresh scent. The mist thickens as you continue to hike down the trail, starting to wind back downhill towards the library. Being nestled in the forest, the library is easily accessible, making it an enchanting, hidden gem. hidden gem. As you step off the main trail, you carefully jot down a small incline that leads directly to the library's back door. You walk across the library's large outdoor deck and pull open the glass door, stepping back inside. Dancing with flames, and your moss green armchair is still empty. You sit back down and take a moment to settle in. As you draw in some intentional deep breaths, you look around to the library and notice some of its details. You admire the redwood on the ceiling of the library's A-frame roof, and the green grove of trees just beyond the

Starting point is 00:24:49 large windows. You notice the view of the forest from inside the enchanting library that you were just walking through. As you relax into your armchair, you pay attention to how grounded and peaceful you feel. The forest bathing you just did made you feel more settled, more present, and at ease. You follow these feelings inside your body as you begin to drift off, you sleepily remember sounds, smells, sights, and the sense of touch the forest evoked. And you savor the magic of the forest as you fall asleep.. You You You You You You You You You You The You You You You You You You You You You You You You. you

Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - The Forest Bathing Meditation

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