Welcome to the Mountain Meditation.
This meditation is adapted from Jon Kabat-Zinn's Mountain Meditation.
It involves a seated position either on the floor with a cushion or bolster or sitting on a chair.
We're going to start by grounding ourselves,
Taking attention to the feet and to how it feels to be supported by the ground.
If sitting on a chair,
Notice how it feels to be supported by the chair.
Now I invite you to tune into wherever you feel the breath most naturally in your body.
This could be the rise and fall of your breathing in your tummy,
Or in your chest as you notice the ribcage expanding and contracting,
Or in your nostrils as you feel the sensation of every in-breath and out-breath.
Grounding yourself in this practice.
Now I invite you to picture in your head the most beautiful mountain you can imagine.
This could be something that you've seen before,
Or something you're imagining for the first time.
Bring it to mind now.
Now notice its overall mass.
Notice if it has a single lofty peak or several peaks high up in the sky.
Notice its overall shape.
Notice how steep the sides are.
Perhaps there are trees around this mountain.
Perhaps there's a waterfall nearby.
Maybe there's a lake nearby.
Is there grass?
Is there snow and ice at the top?
Or is it summertime?
Or is the mountain wearing the fire colors of autumn?
What can you hear?
Are there birds overhead?
Can you hear the sound of a stream or waterfall?
Is there a breeze?
Can you feel the breeze on your face?
Or if there are trees,
Perhaps you can notice the breeze on the trees.
Are there clouds overhead?
Now I ask you to sense the base of this mountain.
Which is grounded and rooted deep down into the earth's crust.
This mountain isn't moving anywhere.
This mountain is stable.
Solid.
This mountain isn't affected by the weather around it.
It isn't affected by the seasons that change.
It isn't affected by what people say when they come to see the mountain.
Even when the mountain is clouded,
When you can't even see it properly,
This mountain is unmoved.
Unmoved by the weather.
Unmoved by appearances.
Because it remains itself at all times.
Rain will come.
And winds,
Very powerful winds.
Trees will sway.
Trees will sway and yet the mountain remains solid.
Rooted in the earth.
Unmoved by what is happening around it.
When you are comfortable with this image in your head,
I invite you to imagine bringing the mountain into your own body.
Your head becomes the peak high up in the sky.
Your shoulders and arms become the sides of the mountain.
Your buttocks and legs are the solid base rooted to the ground.
Just like the mountain,
You are grounded in the earth.
You are unmoved by the weather.
By what is happening around you.
Unmoved by the seasons.
Unmoved by appearances around you.
You can remain yourself at all times.
Wind and rain and snow may come to push against your mountain,
To challenge your mountain.
Huge storms may appear.
You can remain yourself regardless of the weather patterns around you.
Seasons will change.
The weather will change.
And yet the mountain remains itself.
Notice how it feels in your body when you imagine yourself as this mountain.
And remember you can tune into this feeling of being like a mountain whenever you want.
Grounding yourself into the earth's crust.
Feeling whole.
Complete.
Entirely yourself.
Unmoved by the weather patterns and by the chaos of life around you.
When you are ready,
I invite you to drop your chin to your chest.
Slowly open your eyes and have a good stretch.
The practice is now complete.
