In autumn, as we go about our tasks, we must not forget to connect with ourselves and the energy of nature. Counteract the fears that can seize us every day.
We look forward to welcoming you to the next holistic and yoga holidays in Val di Fiemme (Trentino), full of yoga sessions in the mountains, yoga trekking, meditations in the woods and holistic massages. We propose an autumn meditation that invites you to take time every day to connect with your inner self in order to cope with the difficulties of today.
Read the meditation and practise it step by step or even better, if you have the opportunity, read the meditation and record it and then let your voice guide you.
Autumn meditation to move on and let go
This autumn meditation is perfect for experiencing the fresh, warm and welcoming feeling of autumn. The focus is on letting go and creating space for new growth. It will help you to slow down and consider what direction you want to take for your inner wellbeing.
Autumn is a season of contrasts. As it gets cooler outside, we bring the warmth inside with the warming scents of cinnamon, apples, pumpkin and cosy log fires. You can feel both the warmth of the sun and the whisper of frost in the air.
Before and after this guided autumn meditation, it may be helpful to visualise some of the opposites in your life, places of tension and relaxation that exist in harmony. It may also be helpful to think about how you can let go of some things to give yourself more space to grow.
Autumn is not about letting go of everything, and so this autumn meditation will not be about that. Rather, it is about allowing the world to continually evolve, accepting how our lives evolve and change.
Try this autumn meditation to help you move towards acceptance rather than resisting it. Life brings change, just as time brings new seasons. The more we accept the forward movement, the more we can grow.
Preparation for the guided visualisation
Wherever you are, sitting, standing or lying down, come to rest. Close your eyes to avoid visual distractions or direct them to a point on the wall or ceiling if you prefer.
If you can straighten your spine, do so. Let your hands rest on your knees or at your side. If you have your legs crossed, loosen them.
Breathe calmly. Breathe in and out, inhaling and exhaling, noticing how the diaphragm moves just below the sternum as the lungs suck in and release air.
When you are ready, begin the autumn meditation.
Beginning the Autumn Leaf Meditation
Imagine you are standing in a room and have a door in front of you that leads outside. You take a key from your pocket to open it, turn the latch and step outside.
Before you is a colourful autumn landscape with hundreds of trees with bright red and golden leaves. Some are green and not yet changed, while others have turned crisp and brown around the edges.
A little further on, water gurgles in a shallow stream. At the deepest point, about half a metre deep, you can see the stones and sediments over which the water runs. At the edges, where the water ripples towards the shore, floating leaves gather, forming a golden coating on both sides.
You sit on a perfectly sized rock at the edge, comfortable and content as the water flows by. Breathe in the fresh autumn air and fill your lungs with the scent of water, leaves and grasses turning yellow around you.
Feel the warmth of the afternoon sun on your face. The heat of summer is gone and in its place is this wonderfully pleasant day, warm enough to feel good and cool enough to invigorate.
Deepen
As the wind blows around you, notice how it causes the leaves to leave their branches and float towards the ground. Some take a more direct trajectory, while others move in the wind, twisting and swirling as they descend.
Still others do not fall at all, but remain attached to the branches from which they grew, refusing to fly. They let their colours change along with their companions, but refuse to surrender to the descent that awaits them.
"Just a little longer," they protest against the breeze. "We are not ready to fall yet. So they hold on a little longer, even as the world changes around them.
The yellows are turning orange, the oranges are turning red, and the leaves on the ground are turning brown. But the leaves on the trees hold on, hoping to resist the unstoppable passage of time.
Visualise the changing world of autumn around you as you continue to breathe in the fresh autumn air, inside and out, and immerse yourself in this moment.
Internalisation
As you breathe in and out, remember something you have been holding on to. Something that no longer serves you, that you would like to let go of but have not yet done so.
Think of this thing as a leaf on a tree, clinging to a branch, refusing to give in to the changing seasons. It once had a place in your life, just as every leaf has its place in a tree.
It could also be a flower that you enjoyed in the spring, that you watched blossom and grow, and that has now exchanged its green for yellow.
This leaf is not a bad leaf. This thing is not a bad thing. But now it is time to let go of the branch. It is time to let it go.
Take a deep breath, as deep as you have been taking, and imagine the leaf being let go. It lets go of the twig and gently moves to the other red and golden leaves below.
Just as the leaf has not completely disappeared, neither has what you are letting go of. It has only joined all the other things you grew up with and learned from and now want to let go of.
End
Enjoy the autumnal world around you for a moment longer. Experience once more the warmth of the sun, the coolness of the breeze and the unmistakable scent of leaves and earth.
When you are ready, leave the riverbank and return to the door through which you entered this world. Go back inside and be sure to take the key from your pocket to close the door again.
This door is always open to you. You can always return to the autumnal world along the river with the red and golden trees. The key will always be in your pocket.
Focus on your breath again, breathe in and out gently and slowly and feel your lungs also letting go of the old to let in the new.
When you are ready, end the meditation and return to your everyday life.
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