Majestic Zion

It is dusk here at Zion National Park. The last bits of daylight are slowly fading from view as the sun dips below the horizon. The ancient sandstone landscape glows a vibrant red, the rock's natural color intensified by the rays of the setting sun. The facade of these rock formations has been etched and carved out over millions of years and their gradual transformation continues to this day. The steady river within the narrows canyon snakes endlessly through the rock deepening the existing crevices and unveiling new textures. The park seems to exist outside of time, in a continuous state of transformation, making it the perfect location to stop, observe, and relax. So, as we settle in for the evening, let's deepen our state of relaxation with a short wind-down exercise. Tonight's wind down is a visualization. When you're ready, let's begin. So just 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. So, 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 of 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. Middle of the back, around the diaphragm, the upper back, and the chest. So 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, just 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 (no audio) and allowing thoughts to come and go. Allowing the mind and body the space they need to rest. (no audio) In Zion's early days, it was a tricky destination for the growing number of automobile owners looking for a scenic drive. The east side and south entrances were split apart by the very mountains that make this landscape so alluring. That all began to change in 1930 when Mount Carmel Highway was completed. At 25 miles total, it ventures 10 miles across the park with a spectacular 5,000-foot tunnel cut straight through rock. The tunnel's entrance is a half circle of...