FUSE Winter 2015-2016 | Page 12

Tree Meditation Thinking Skills: CHILLAX! by Gillie Ithell Find somewhere safe and comfortable to relax. Concentrate on your breathing. Notice how the air feeds and soothes your whole body. Keep your breathing calm and your body relaxed. Is it sometimes just so easy to get fidgety and cross? Can it be impossible to concentrate...or even fall asleep?! Meditation can really help. Try it! Take some Winter chill-time every day. This Tree Meditation will get you started -why not write your own and send it to [email protected] ? 1 Imagine you are an Autumn tree, growing firmly in the ground. You have worked hard all Summer making branches and fruit (-or spikes, nuts, or whatever you imagination tells you!) You need some time to relax. Watch, in your mind, as the colourful leaves fall from your tired arms and form a cosy blanket around your feet. Imagine these falling leaves are your stresses or problems – and just watch them happily drop off and fly away. 3 Then, when you are ready, sense the signs of Spring! Feel the energy coming back to your roots (legs) and trunk (central body). Now your branches (arms) are waking up. 2 Winter has arrived in your forest! (Or perhaps you are a single tree in a field?) You are now ready to go into a kind of minihibernation. It is in Winter that nature resets itself – and so will You. Enjoy a few minutes being still and noticing what is going on around you in the landscape of your imagination. And what’s that? New Spring leaves are coming! Small shoots of green...maybe flower buds too...and is that birds and squirrels scampering around..? It's time to gently blink your eyes open and stretch your body. You are feeling refreshed and ready to tackle things with calm and happiness. Your own Spring is here! 12 FUSE CHECK OUT: • iSCIENCE: HIBERNATION • ACTIVITY MIX • COOL WEBLINKS