Hello,
Friends.
Thank you for being here.
In our recent practices,
We have focused on letting go.
Learning to relax is essential.
It allows us to rest deeply.
It allows us to heal.
Today we turn to another vital need.
Restoring and maintaining our natural flow of energy.
This is our focus.
For this practice we'll remain seated.
You may sit on a mat or on the floor.
Place a cushion beneath your sit bones.
If that brings more comfort.
Or sit on the edge of a chair.
With your back upright and unsupported.
Let's begin.
Gently close your eyes.
Turn your attention inward.
Take a slow breath in through the nose.
And a long,
Slow breath out.
Find your own rhythm.
Lengthen your spine.
Imagine an invisible cord.
Drawing the crown of your head gently toward the sky.
Feel your shoulders broaden.
And soften.
Allow the muscles of your neck and jaw to relax completely.
It's a sunny morning.
You are sitting in a garden so vast.
That you can't even see the house it belongs to.
The air is warm.
It vibrates with birdsong.
A family of sparrows eats berries in a bush.
A robin and a blackbird search the ground nearby.
You smell fresh cut grass.
The scent of opening flowers.
And pine needles.
You are sitting in the dark blue shade of an ancient oak tree.
Right next to its massive trunk.
Now visualize leaning your back against that trunk.
Through the bark.
You feel a deep sense of strength.
Steadiness.
Infinite wisdom.
If you listen carefully,
You might hear a whisper.
It is the living memory of the soil.
The air.
The water.
And the sun.
They have worked together for a hundred years to allow this oak to grow.
Just as they have supported you in reaching this very moment.
Sitting here.
In this lush garden.
Think of all the beings that have found shelter here.
The birds that nested in its branches.
The insects.
The squirrels.
The deer and badgers that have fed on its acorns.
All the lives that have blossomed here.
Now consider all the lives your presence has touched.
All the love and energy you have shared.
Just like the oak tree you are leaning against.
You are made of soil.
Sun.
And water.
Let's connect even deeper.
Bring your attention to where you sit.
Picture the powerful roots of the oak tree.
Extending from its trunk.
Down into the earth.
Now,
Imagine that from your own body,
Roots of energy begin to grow down as well.
See them descending.
Meeting the tree's roots.
And tenderly interlacing with them.
Like strands of a DNA helix.
Twining together.
As they journey toward the planet's core.
Follow this intertwined path down.
Through the layers of soil and rock.
To the center of the Earth.
There is a pulsing.
Warm.
Primordial energy.
From this source,
Allow your interlaced roots to draw nourishment.
Drink in this potent,
Stabilizing energy.
Sense it flowing upward as a luminous current.
Through the earth,
Through the roots.
Into the mighty oak.
And directly into the foundation of your own being.
Feel the energy from the earth center replenishing you.
Restoring your vitality from the ground up.
And when you feel stable and energized,
Gently begin to return your focus to the garden.
Release the visualization of the roots.
Simply feel your solid connection to the ground.
Notice again the shade of the oak.
The sounds.
The sense.
You are fully present here.
In this space.
Both energized and utterly at peace.
Rest here for a few more moments.
In this vibrant silence of the garden.
Carrying this sense of rooted energy.
Good.
To close,
Begin to deepen your breath once more.
Gently wiggle your fingers and toes.
Bring slow movement back into your body.
And as you do,
Know that you carry this stability and rejuvenation with you.
Whenever you feel the need,
You can return to this oak tree.
To your roots.
To this source.
I invite you to open your eyes when you are ready.
Returning to the space you are in now.
Refreshed and present.
Namaste.
