Yule Meditation - Winter Garden
Embark on a transformative journey through the seasons with this 30-minute Winter Garden Meditation. Guided by a mental health occupational therapist and embodied yoga teacher, find a cozy space to lie down as you explore the cycles of Yule and the winter solstice. Immerse yourself in a winter garden, illuminated by the soft morning light. Join us on this mindful exploration of self, nature, and the eternal dance of the seasons. May this meditation bring you peace, reflection, and a profound connection to the cycles of life.
Transcript
Hello beautiful people.
This is a meditation to mark your winter solstice.
It marks how the cycles ebb and flow through the seasons.
This meditation is best practiced laying down with your eyes closed but only if that feels comfortable and safe in your body.
You are encouraged to find a place where you can be cozy and you might want to pop a cushion underneath your knees or attend to your bodily needs by pulling an extra blanket up over you so you're snug and warm.
This meditation includes visualization techniques but some people's minds don't work in that way and if yours doesn't that's absolutely fine.
You are welcome to tune into your own interpretation so you might have a felt sense in your body,
You could perhaps see or feel shape or colour or any other invitation is entirely welcome.
The meditation also includes breath work or pranayama which is a way of controlling the breath which you are welcome to explore with curiosity but if these ways of breathing are not appropriate for you or they don't feel good in your body you don't have to do anything.
If the meditation conjures up strong feelings or images you're very welcome to stay with them but if they feel overwhelming or unwelcome to you then just return to the natural rhythm of your breath and feel into the support of the earth and let the words just wash over you.
So you can't mess it up and there is no right or wrong so throw away perfectionism.
So we'll start our practice now.
Take a breath in.
See before you the number one.
Tall,
Bright,
True.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
See before you the number two.
Tall,
Bright,
True.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
See before you the number three.
Tall,
Bright,
True.
Breathe out.
It is the break of dawn and in your mind's eye you see a tall ancient circular wall.
Walk alongside the wall.
Trace the perimeter of the stones with your hand until you find the gate that forms the entrance.
Inside your pocket you find a key.
Take the key in your hand.
Open the gate.
You enter into a winter garden.
The low morning light illuminates the frost that glistens on the earth.
Look around you.
See,
Smell,
Taste,
Hear,
Feel the depths of winter.
You find in the centre of the garden a giant tree that welcomes you to their trunk.
Approach your tree.
See your tree in all of its wintry magnificence.
You notice the trunk is unusually wide and part of the trunk is hollowed out.
The hollowed out trunk entwines with the roots of the tree forming a tree-like cave that is the perfect size for you to lie down in.
Lay down in your wintry tree cave.
Inside the tree-like nest there are warm snug blankets for you to add or remove from your body as you wish.
In your tree cave the earth is covered in a blanket of moss which offers warmth and support to your body.
You nuzzle into the earth and your blankets at the base of the tree and feel supported by the clay of the land.
In a moment we will breathe like this.
Inhaling through slightly pursed lips like you're drinking through a straw or sipping the water in of your teeth and tongue.
You'll feel the cool air come in and you might make a very,
Very gentle,
Quiet sipping noise but it really doesn't have to be loud.
And then we will exhale the warm air very slowly through the nose and feel the support that the earth is offering us and allowing the body to become heavier and heavier.
So let's start now.
Inhale through the mouth.
Feel the cool winter air come into your body.
Exhale through the nose.
Feel the warmth of the moss come up to meet you.
Inhale the cool winter air through the mouth.
Feel your lungs.
Exhale slowly through the nose.
Feel the layers of salt in the earth holding your body.
Inhale the cool winter air through your mouth.
Sip it in.
Exhale the warm air through the nose.
Feel held and supported by all the layers of rocks and crystal.
Inhale the cool wintry air through your mouth.
Exhale the warm air through your nose.
Feel supported by the animal homes and dens.
Inhale the cool wintry air through your mouth.
Exhale the warm air through your nose.
Feel nourished by the under earth streams and wells.
Inhale the cool wintry air through your beautiful mouth.
Exhale the warm air through your nose.
Feel the warmth and protection of the earth's core that's burning bright like a fire warming your bones.
Let's take two more rounds of breath like this.
Feel all the unseen layers of earth,
Salt,
Rock and crystal,
Animal homes and dens,
Under earth,
Streams and wells and the core of the earth down there in the darkness supporting your animal body.
And then let the breath return to its natural rhythm.
From your cozy tree den,
You notice that the sun is higher in the sky and it is now late morn.
You see in your mind's eye that the garden is in spring.
From your tree nest,
You see and feel supple leaves and tiny buds are starting to sprout.
The promise of spring,
New life,
New vitality.
Allow the green of spring to surround you.
Breathe it in.
In the safety of your shelter,
You have a felt sense of a bud starting to emerge at your heart space.
In a moment,
We will find a new way of breathing.
We'll breathe in through the nose,
Receiving the nourishment from the layers of earth underneath the body.
Breathing in the tips of the toes,
Feet,
Lower legs,
Upper legs,
Pelvis,
Stomach,
All the way to the heart.
And then there's the invitation just to hold the breath at the heart for a wee moment before breathing out through the nose.
And as we breathe out through the nose,
Having a sense or a visualization of this bud at the heart starting to emerge out into the world with each breath out.
So as you're ready to,
We will begin.
Inhaling the nourishment from the earth all the way up,
Tips of toes,
Feet,
Lower legs,
Upper legs,
Pelvis,
Stomach,
Heart.
Hold the breath.
And then breathing out long and slow,
Feel the bud starting to open.
And again,
Breathing in from the tips of the toes,
Feet,
Lower legs,
Upper legs,
Pelvis,
Stomach,
Heart.
Hold the breath.
Long,
Slow exhale,
Feel the bud starting to open.
Let's take three more rounds of breath like this.
Have a sense of the nourishment from the darkness being inhaled from the earth all the way up your body to your heart.
And on your next exhale,
In your mind's eye,
See the growth of spring from bud to blooming flower,
The unknown unseen darkness supporting this blooming life at your heart.
You see your flower,
Your wisdom,
Feel your gifts and talents blooming out into the earth.
And then we let go of the breath from your tree nest in your mind's eye.
Notice that the sun is higher still in the sky.
The sun is warm.
It is radiant.
You can feel the warmth from the sun beaming down onto the crown of your head.
Summer has come.
Let your head be bathed in this light.
Let your skull shine.
Let the space behind your eyes glow.
Let the space between your eyebrows shine.
In a moment,
Once again,
We will change our breathing pattern.
This time,
Breathing in the warmth from the sun onto the crown of the head so that your head glows.
And exhaling the warmth down the neck,
Top of the chest,
Torso,
Arms,
Legs,
To your extremities,
Tips of fingers,
Tips of toes.
And starting the breath now.
So breathing in,
Feel the light penetrate the forehead.
Let the skull glow.
And once you're full,
Exhaling the breath down the body.
Feel your whole body glowing,
Like a wave of light is passing through it.
Continuing,
Inhaling to your head,
Head and skull shining.
Exhaling down your body.
Feel the glow pass through all the cells of your body.
Continue.
Feel the warmth.
Be the radiance.
Take one more full,
Slow round of breath like this.
And as you breathe out,
Letting go of the breath,
Letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.
And for just a moment,
Imagining that you have a bird's eye view looking down on your body in your tree,
Wintry cave.
See your body glowing,
Luminous like a jewel.
Sense your skin,
Your organs,
Bones,
The fluids in your body,
Every cell glowing,
Buzzing with the light from high summer.
And the light is beaming out of your body into the magnificence of your tree and beyond your tree into the garden.
And your warmth is as strong as the sun itself.
And it illuminates everything it touches.
Then let go of this bird's eye view.
Coming back to your body in your tree nest.
In your mind's eye,
You notice that the sun is lower in the sky and the faint coolness of late afternoon has started to creep into the garden.
Late afternoon melts into early evening and you know without intellect that it is now autumn.
You see the leaves on the trees,
Once supple,
Have started to harden and their colour is turning golds,
Browns,
Reds,
Yellows.
You see the trees are relinquishing their leaves which fall through the air to the earth,
Almost as if the trees are crying.
In a moment we will change our breathing pattern once again.
This time breathing in through the nose and breathing out through your mouth with a sigh as you feel your leaves falling to the earth.
Starting now,
Breathing in through the nose,
Feel your body and breathing out with a sigh through the mouth.
Let it go.
Let it fall to the earth like the leaves from the trees.
Continuing and as you continue breathing like this,
Remembering that just like the trees,
You have had things that you have lost and you have had to let go of and at times it has been painful.
You too have relinquished your tears to the earth.
In past cycles,
In all the cycles,
Your whole life,
The lives of your ancestors that came before you.
Inhaling through the nose,
Exhaling through the mouth,
Offering your sorrow,
Your grief,
Your longing back to the earth like falling tear-dripped leaves.
Gift it to the earth.
Let the earth transmute it.
One more round of breath like this,
Then letting the breath return to a natural rhythm.
From the safety of your tree nest,
You notice that the sun is lower still and the autumnal warmth of the garden glows in the early evening light.
From the safety of your tree nest,
You see in your mind's eye all the leaves on the earth around you and they are decaying slowly,
Composting,
Turning to mulch.
A remembrance that you are nature.
Your adversities,
Your trials,
Your tribulations will compost and over time it will nourish you and your roots.
And the roots of future generations too.
In your mind's eye,
You notice the garden.
The sun is setting.
The shadow of the garden dances in pinks and oranges.
A chill has started to return to the earth.
Once again,
You feel the support and comfort of your mossy blanket cocoon.
Know with our intellect that through the cycles of the season,
The soil on which you lie has become fertile.
It is your birthright to lay here on the earth and receive its support.
Your worth is intrinsic.
It does not need to be earned.
Your breath is at a natural rhythm.
No need to change,
Manipulate,
Control.
The light in the garden dissipates and we move into the darkness of winter.
There is an invitation to place a hand onto your heart and a hand onto your belly with the palms facing down if it feels comfortable to touch these parts of your body.
Noticing the breath as it travels between the space of the hands.
I'm reflecting on your cycles.
So thinking about your winter,
Your spring,
Your summer,
Your autumn,
Returning to the darkness of winter again.
I'm noticing if there are any thoughts,
Words or actions that land in the space that lies between the two hands.
I'm making space to receive any words or images,
Prayers,
Feelings,
Any dreams,
Message from the ancestors,
Message from the year behind you.
And it's really okay if nothing comes through here as well.
And as we think back over the last cycle,
Drawing in unconditional high regard,
Drawing in compassion for yourself and knowing that you and your winter and you and your spring and you and your summer and you and your autumn,
All these versions of you were doing the best that you could do with the resources available to you at the time.
And extending that unconditional high regard or compassion outwards to all the people that have crossed your path and knowing that they were doing the best that they could do in any given moment with the resources they had available to them as well.
And the garden is now in the darkness of winter,
But the moon is full and bright.
It is time to rise from your tree-like nest,
Perhaps twinkling your fingers or your toes,
And in your mind's eye standing before your tree,
And if it feels appropriate to you,
Finding a way to thank your tree and say farewell.
The moonlight illuminates the garden in a mother of pearl radiance.
The stars shine bright and provide ample light for you once again to walk through the garden towards the gate.
Open the gates.
Find your key once again in it in your pocket.
Take the key lock the gate,
Return the key to your pocket,
And know that you can return to this cyclical space whenever you need to.
Taking a long slow breath in and a long slow breath out,
Letting go of the practice,
Letting go of any judgments of the practice or yourself,
And you might stay here and rest for a wee bit longer,
Or you might write any ideas that came through,
Any images that came through down somewhere while you're still in this liminal space.
Thank you so much for joining me beautiful people.
Wishing you a happy Yule and wishing you a happy end to the cycle.
