Soothing Scottish Loch

There are few places in the world quite so serene as Loch Dormant. It's position is one of near perfect isolation. High up among the rolling seemingly endless moors. Maybe it's not the most famous loch. It's imaged does not grace short red boxes and no mythical beastie lurks in its depths. It has no gimmicks that might attract tourists. In fact, it's chief attraction is a quiet almost magisterial stillness. The water is calm and therefore its effect on the mind and maybe even the soul is calming too. It's a balm for busy minds. From here in the lodge, we have a superb view out over the loch and it's this view that we'll be enjoying this evening. So we can make the most of it. I think it's nice to begin with a little wind down. Tonight's wind down is a visualization. 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, to the back and the stomach. It's as though it washes away any discomfort. It continues up through the chest and the 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 is nothing other than that sense of stillness remaining. And now just gently bringing the attention back to the body. Our lodge here was built long ago. The oldest sections, the kitchens and the great room, are more than 300 years old, in fact. But today it has all the trappings of comfortable highland living. Deep-buttoned wingbacked armchairs, a large stone fireplace fed in the winter months with fragrant fir wood. A red patterned Turkish carpet worn almost threadbare in places, particularly in front of the fire. Various paintings showing natural subjects, including stags. Well, rather a lot of them, actually. And many distinguished looking ladies and...