Inner Peace MeditationsGuided meditations with Steven Webb Join Weekly Calm

Meditation 11 · 10 October 2021 · 7:43

Resilience and Confidence Tree Meditation

One oak, a few hundred years old, alone in the middle of a field. Then you stop looking at it and become it.

Subject: Confidence & Self-Worth

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Inner Peace Meditations · Meditation 11

Length7:43
SubjectConfidence & Self-Worth
Best timeBefore something you need to stand steady through
PositionSitting, back straight
StyleGuided imagery, and you do not watch the tree, you become it. Music underneath

One oak, a few hundred years old, alone in the middle of a field. Then you stop looking at it and become it.

About 8 minutes with Steven Webb's calm voice.

You feel the roots going down and the top of you moving in the wind. There is a creak up there and it does not worry you, because you are planted. Breathe in resilience, breathe out calm. It finishes on a line I rather like. Right, I can be a tree.

Treat me to a coffee, keep the podcast free, and get my Weekly Calm every Sunday. It is all on stevenwebb.uk

Thank you for sitting with me.

Steven

Who this is for

Something is coming and you do not feel solid enough for it.

Eight minutes. Short enough to do in the car park, long enough to change how you walk in.

What happens in this meditation

A relax down the body first, from the top of your head to your toes, with an invisible cord holding you upright.

Then a green field on a slight slope, a good day with a few clouds, and one oak in the middle of it. Several hundred years old, marked and notched, standing tall.

Then the turn that makes this one work. You stop looking at the tree and you become it.

Roots going down. The breeze. Movement at the top of you, and a creak up there that does not worry you at all, because you are planted. Leaves fluttering at the ends while the trunk stays still.

Then two lines. Breathe in resilience, breathe out calm. Breathe in strength, breathe out confidence.

Then five back to one, and one of my favourite endings. Right, I can be a tree.

How to get the most from it

Eight minutes, sitting up rather than lying down, because you are going somewhere afterwards.

Stay with the creaking. That is the part people skip past and it is where the whole idea lives. Movement at the top is not a problem when the bottom is not going anywhere.

Come back to it whenever the weather turns. This is a short one on purpose so it is easy to reach for.

Questions people ask

What if I cannot picture the tree?

Then go by feel. Weight going down through you and something loose moving at the top. Those two sensations together are the entire meditation.

Is this about being unmovable?

The opposite. A tree that will not move breaks. It survives because the top gives and the roots do not, and that is the balance you are practising.

When should I use it?

Before the difficult conversation, the appointment, the meeting. Also on any day where everything already feels like weather and you need somewhere to stand in it.

Read along

The transcript

It follows the audio. Press any line to jump there.

confidence · resilience · nature · visualisation

Read the transcript

Just while you're making yourself comfortable and getting settled in, I just want to tell you about another podcast I

have. It's called Stillness in the Storms Podcast.

And it's a podcast that helps you to get a little inner peace when you need it most and you

probably have it least.

And it's just... Seeing life from a different perspective. And I'm also choosing not to have any

sponsors for either of these podcasts. So if you would like to treat me to a coffee, you can head

over to StevenWebb.uk or if you'd like to download the five simple practices for inner peace, also head

over to StevenWebb.uk. You are awesome. Settle in and enjoy the meditation. I won't disturb you

after the meditation.

Welcome to Resilience of a Tree Meditation. And

we'll start by just becoming comfortable.

Relax the body. It doesn't matter how you're sat. Just keep your back up straight and imagine there's a

invisible cord above your head just holding you upright.

And just breathe in for your nose and out for your nose.

And as you become aware of your body becoming calmer,

allowing your muscles to relax,

starting from the top of your head.

Going down through your face

your eyes and your chin,

your shoulders and your arms.

Just allowing your muscles to relax.

Carrying on down through the body and your back

and your torso and your bum and your legs.

And eventually allowing your lower legs and your feet and your toes to relax.

It's a nice sunny amazing day. Not too hot, just perfect.

It's got a few clouds in the sky.

And the rest of the sky is lovely sky blue.

And there's this field slightly on a slope.

And right in the middle of this lovely green field, there's this big oak tree.

And this oak tree is several hundred years old.

It's standing tall.

It's got a lovely old trunk with many markings and many little twists and turns in the notches on the

bark.

And it branches out into the most amazing branches with these green leaves.

And then as you're looking at the tree, you imagine yourself becoming the tree.

You're standing tall in the middle of this field.

You can feel the gentle breeze of the wind.

You can feel your roots going deep into the ground.

And you can feel the slight movement of a whole of the top of the tree. But

you're not worried about the movement. You can feel the slight creaking.

And that's okay because you're firmly planted.

You don't have anything to worry about.

You're this amazing tree that's been here for many, many years.

And on each breath, you're becoming more part of the field, becoming more part of the surroundings.

And on part of your leaves, you can feel the slight shadow of the cloud as it moves over.

And you can feel the difference between the end of your branches and the leaves. Little moving and fluttering in

the wind. And your trunk of the standing tall and still.

With each breath you become more resilient.

With each moment you become more planted in this moment.

There's a wonderful calmness every time you breathe out.

You breathe in resilience and you breathe out calmness.

You breathe in strength and you breathe out confidence.

In a moment we're going to open our eyes and as we come back we're going to bring this resilience

of the tree and the calmness of just being present and rooted in each and every moment.

No matter what wind and rain hits us, no matter what weather or turbulence comes our way,

we're just here and we're ready and we're rooted into the ground, into this wonderful earth that's part of us.

So five, four,

gently open your eyes.

Three. Just shake out your arms.

Two. One. Look around the room and welcome back. Just

remember, ah, I can be a tree. Hope

you enjoyed this meditation. Thank you.

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