Flower Market

Good evening and welcome. We're delighted you could join us tonight at the flower market. Even from the outside, it's easy to tell that this market is unlike most. During the day, the floor-to-ceiling glass walls give it the impression of a bustling greenhouse but at night, the market takes on a different character. With the surrounding streets nearly empty, the sound of a passing canal hums through the air like music. A warm, inviting light glows from inside the market and spills onto the sidewalk, welcoming any and all passersby to stop and explore the offerings within. As you settle in for the evening, let's deepen your state of relaxation with a short wind-down exercise. Tonight's wind-down is a visualization. So when you're ready, let's begin. So no matter what's been going on today, whether it's been a busy day, or a calm one, this is an opportunity to put everything down, to let go of any inner chatter and find a place of rest in both the body and the mind. So first, get yourself comfortable in bed, just taking a moment to pause and be still. And when you're ready, taking a big, deep breath. Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. And as you breathe out, allowing the body to sink down into your bed. Feeling the weight of the body. Allowing thoughts to come and go. Now imagining a steady flow of warm sunlight flowing down through the body. Dissolving any tension, any discomfort as it begins to fill the body, starting with the toes. Moving up through the feet and the legs. Being filled with sunlight. The qualities of warmth, space, and ease as it continues to travel up through the body. Up past the waist. Through the back and the stomach. It's as though it washes away any discomfort. And continues up through the chest and the upper back into the shoulders and down the arms. All the way down to the hands and fingers. A sense of relief in the body and stillness in the mind as it continues to travel up through the neck and the throat into the head and face, all the way to the very top of the body. Until there's nothing other than that sense of stillness remaining. And now just gently bringing the attention back to the body. Flora folds small quilts by the front counter. She has sewn them all patiently using patches of fabric with different flower patterns printed on them. Now they are ready to sell. She takes one quilt, creases it, and folds it three times over. Then, she cuts a long length of green string and ties the quilt up like a little package. From a small bag, she pulls out a sachet of lavender and tucks it under the string. The whole scene is very relaxing. Now she must wait for a customer. She looks down at her creations with contentment. Beside her is a small pot...