[Meditation, 10-MINUTE GUIDED IMAGERY THE GARDEN, AARP.org/MeditationsForCaregivers] 10-Minute Garden Guided Imagery.
Welcome to this 10-minute guided imagery to the garden.
I'm Julia Mayer, coauthor of AARP “Meditations for Caregivers.”
The purpose of this meditation is to transport you to a peaceful, relaxing place
providing relief and rejuvenation for mind and body.
Sit comfortably or lie down in a quiet place and relax your arms and legs.
Close your eyes.
Inhale deeply and then slowly release the breath, feeling your body relax.
Take another slow breath in through your nose,
feeling your body expand as it fills to capacity,
and then, as slowly as you can, release your breath through your mouth,
feeling your body relax as you breathe out.
Breathe in again, feeling the air moving in,
and then slowly out as you relax further.
Take another slow deep breath in and then slowly release it
as you begin to place yourself in your mind
walking at a comfortable, easy pace
along a path in a lush green park
with rolling grass-covered hills,
gentle slopes, paths in the distance,
and scattered benches.
Notice the leafy trees all around.
You are in no hurry.
Feel the path under your feet.
Continue to breathe in slowly
and then out as you relax into your walk.
The path is lined with trees on both sides
with plenty of space between the trees to let the sunshine through.
Notice the ridged and patterned bark
and listen to the rustling leaves way up above you.
Continue to slowly breathe in
and out as you feel the gentle breeze feather your skin and hair.
Feel the warmth of the sun on your skin.
Your movements are slow and relaxed as you walk along the path.
Look beyond the trees now and see in the distance fields of green grass,
rolling hills, and flat sunny meadows.
Watch the grass blowing, slightly
shifting color in the sun as the breeze passes through it.
You see areas of sunshine contrasting with the areas in the shadow of trees.
You hear birds chirping and singing.
The light pleasant scent of flowers begins to come to you as you continue to walk.
As you walk, the scent becomes slightly stronger
and you breathe in hints of roses and lilies.
You now look ahead of you down the path
and you see a stone wall about 5 feet high
with an elaborate wrought-iron gate.
As you approach, you observe that the path heads directly to the gate,
which is decorated with intricate metal flowers
and patterns that swirl throughout the iron.
You arrive at the gate and run your hands over the curving flowers
feeling the smooth cool metal on your fingertips.
You place your hand on the curved latch on the gate.
It feels heavy and cool. You lift it gently and easily
and the gate swings slowly open.
You step through into a large garden.
The scent of flowers is strong now.
You breathe in deeply, noticing the intensity.
Relax your body as you breathe out.
You breathe in the scent of flowers,
hold it in your body,
and slowly release it.
You look around you to see flowers everywhere,
arranged in curving rows with grassy paths in between them.
You see pink, red, orange and yellow roses,
some of them buds tightly closed while others have just begun to bloom
and still others are fully opened, a multitude of colorful petals
splayed out in a burst of intense beauty.
You stop to breathe in deeply.
Breathe out and notice the peaceful relaxation of your body.
You look around to find vines of small purple flowers
with petals in the shape of stars
and a large area of lilies, some tall and white,
some striped white and purple,
and a large cluster of bright orange tiger lilies.
You notice a patch of tall, deep purple flowers
near a bush covered with bursts of pink and purple flowers.
You are surrounded by leafy green stems and leaves and vines,
some clinging to the inner wall of the garden.
You spot a wooden bench on the far side near the wall
and walk toward it, slowly passing through the grassy row between the flowerbeds
taking in the scents, the colors, the variety of shapes and heights of the flowers
all the while feeling the warmth of the sun and hearing the birds chirp here and there.
Your body is completely relaxed.
As you walk across the garden,
you see in front of you the textured slate-colored stones in the wall
fitting together, providing peace and privacy.
You reach the bench and gently sit down, feeling the firm wood beneath you,
the sun-warmed green metal arm that you wrap your fingers around.
Once again, you breathe in the scents of flowers.
You hear one bird call out and a second one respond.
Your eyes focus on a nearby perfect pink rose.
It is fully bloomed. The petals are tight, and the pink color is intense.
Your relaxation deepens as you continue to look at the rose.
With each scented breath in and out,
you feel more relaxed.
You are perfectly at peace.
The sun warms your body with just a gentle breeze here and there.
The delicious scent surrounds you
and you focus on the perfect color and shape of the pink rose.
You continue to breathe slowly in and out.
You are fully relaxed, feeling your chest gently rise and fall as you breathe, feeling peaceful.
Continue to breathe in the perfect calm place, feeling the warm sun
and slight breeze, hearing the birds in the distance,
breathing in air scented with flowers.
Notice the peaceful quiet inside you.
Sit with the feeling for a few moments.
Whenever you are ready, take a deep breath in and slowly release it.
Gently wiggle your hands and feet.
Then slowly open your eyes.
Notice that you feel at peace.
You know you can return to the garden whenever you want to.
In your mind, you can go to the garden any time.
Even now, with your eyes open, you can still imagine yourself in the garden
slowly standing up and heading back to the gate.
You look back knowing that you will return again soon.
You have now completed the 10-minute guided imagery to the garden meditation
to help you feel relaxed and at peace.
Take this feeling into your day and know that you can come back to this place any time you want to.
For more inspiration, see our other meditations
and our book, “Meditations for Caregivers,” at AARP.org/MeditationsForCaregivers.