Rest Amongst the Redwoods

The sun is beginning to set here at Redwood National Park, as the sky glows, a cosmic combination of orange, pink and purple. A thick white fog descends over the quietening forest, towering above the mist of the tallest redwood trees in the world, like looming ancient giants saying goodnight to the rest of the national park. Most evenings, visitors from around the world dot the trails to catch a glimpse of the magical sunset show. But tonight, in the midst of one of the world's most magnificent forests, it's as quiet as can be, aside from the rustling of the redwood trees and the distant crashing of the Pacific Ocean waves. So, as we settle in for tonight's journey, let's begin our evening with a short wind-down exercise. Tonight's wind-down is a visualization. When you're ready, let's begin. Take a moment to get comfortable, letting go of the day. Enjoying that feeling of having stopped, of having nothing left to do. We're going to focus the attention of the mind on the different parts of the body, watching as the muscles in the body switch off for the night, leaving the body feeling rested and leaving the mind more at ease. Starting down at the toes and feeling a sense of the muscles switching off. The feet, the arches, all those muscles switching off. Same in the lower half of the legs. Notice any tension being let go as the muscles switch off, shut down. In the upper half of the legs, any tension, melting away, being let go of. Into the area of the hips, the pelvis, again, any muscles shutting down for the night. Completely at rest. Everything from the waist downward is heavy, at ease. The muscles in the lower back and the stomach are now switching off. The middle of the back, around the diaphragm, the upper back, and the chest. Any muscles not needed, shutting down. Switching off for the night. The shoulders, switching off. The upper half of the arms and the lower half of the arms switching off. The hands, fingers, switching off. Any muscles around the throat and the neck, switching off. The head, the face, the jaw, the eyes, any last areas of tension, melting away as the muscles shut down, switch off, at rest for the night. Allowing thoughts to come and go. Allowing the mind and body the space they need to rest. The Klamath River flows over 250 miles along groves of spruces and redwoods to the rocky shores of Northern California where the water pours into the Pacific Ocean. Since time immemorial, the Yurok people have stewarded this waterway, caring for this place like the river cares for the people it nourishes. To them, fish are kin and deserve our respect and protection. Salmon and steelhead trout have been a part of their nutritional diets for thousands of years. This way of life traverses generations to the present day where young tribe members learn about the...