Island Twilight in Kauai

(seagulls cawing) At the foot of the Grand Cliffs of the Na Pali Coast, the shoreline narrows into a sweep of smooth sand, scattered with bits of peach colored coral. Small streams trickle from high above, carrying cool fresh water down from hidden valleys. Overhead a red-tailed tropic bird circles in the warm air its tail feathers trailing behind like decorations in the sky. It's following the curve of the island toward Poipu Beach where the evening lanterns will soon twinkle with light. Before we wander around, let's take a moment for a wind down exercise. For tonight's wind down you're going to use your imagination, so get your imagination ready and 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 (birds chirping) and out through the mouth, (birds chirping) and as you breathe out allowing the body (ocean waves swooshing) to sink down into your bed (ocean waves swooshing) 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 to through the feet and the legs being filled with sunlight. (ocean waves swooshing) The qualities of warmth, space, and ease as it continues to travel up through the body, (ocean waves swooshing) up past the waist to the back and the stomach. (birds chirping) 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 (ocean waves swooshing) until there's nothing other than that sense of stillness remaining. (birds chirping) And now just gently bringing the attention back to the body. (ocean waves swooshing) At a grassy clearing by the shore, Hawaiian dancers sometimes gather their shapes framed against the setting sun. They move in a slow fluid rhythm, each step and gesture telling a story as old as the waves behind them. Through hula history is preserved and ancestors are honored. The dance remaining a cornerstone of Hawaiian identity. The sway of their hips mirrors the tide while plumeria and hibiscus blossoms woven into their hair, catch the sunsets hues of gold and crimson. Down at the shoreline, impressively large Hawaiian green sea turtles rest...