Welcome to this meditation for connecting to Mother Earth.
For tens of thousands of years,
Humans viewed Earth as a mother figure,
A mother entity that provided for us and sustained us.
Through the scientific and industrial revolutions and the advent of technologies,
We've lost our connection to the Earth as Mother.
The result has been a severance from our roots,
Our animal bodies,
And our spiritual and cyclical connection to ourselves and all living beings on this planet.
Our future depends on our reconnection with the feeling,
Experience,
And spirit of Earth as Mother.
In this meditation,
We will drop into the body and use somatic awareness,
Gentle movement,
And visualization to remember,
Feel,
And experience our connection to Mother Earth,
Our planet,
Our home.
This meditation is best experienced seated on a chair with the feet firmly planted on the floor,
Or if you prefer,
Seated upright on a cushion to support the hips and back.
Just have a little space around you to open your arms wide and outward.
Settling into your space,
Into your seat,
Gazing around the room for a moment,
And when you feel ready,
When you've taken in the sensory data of your space with your sight,
Closing down the eyes or taking a soft gaze downward.
Just notice your breathing body here.
Nothing has to change about the breath.
Just notice the temperature,
The subtle rise and fall of the chest as the body breathes you.
Letting the sounds appear and disappear into the background and slowly,
Gently,
Moving our gaze inward.
Notice the sensation and points of contact your body make with the chair,
The cushion,
Your feet on the floor,
Feeling the volume,
The texture,
The fullness,
The solidity.
Taking in our first deep breath,
Fully inhale into the belly,
Into the chest,
And on an expanded exhale,
Can you release the weight a bit more into the surface beneath you,
Feeling into those points of contact again where your body touches the chair or the floor.
Imagine what is beneath you,
Feeling and sensing that everything eventually connects to mother earth.
Taking in another long,
Slow,
Full,
Deep breath in,
And as you're breathing in,
Imagine the earth rising to meet you,
And as you fully and slowly exhale,
Imagine the breath leaving your body through your base,
Your feet,
Down into the earth below.
Sending the breath out and down,
Feeling the weight of your physical body fall even deeper and more fully into the earth,
Letting the earth hold you here.
I'll invite you to do that again this time as you exhale through the base of your body.
Feel,
Sense,
And imagine a set of roots extending from the points of contact between your body and the surface beneath you.
Let these roots take any shape,
Color,
Allow them to travel in any direction into the depths of dark soil beneath you.
Taking in a deep breath,
Filling the body,
Exhale,
Extend your roots down into the soil.
Taking in another deep breath here,
Full inhale,
Hold for a moment,
Bringing your full inner sight,
Inner awareness to your center,
And fully exhaling,
Sending those roots down deep into the earth,
Entangling with the roots of the trees,
The mycelium below.
Let your roots intertwine with the land that holds you,
Sending love and gratitude to the indigenous stewards of the land that were here before you.
Settle in here,
Breathing in this connection you've created,
Soften the belly,
Soften any tension that remains on the surface of the body,
Letting your base,
Your roots,
The earth hold you.
Here,
Feeling your base,
The points of contact,
Your roots extending.
This time,
Imagine the many pathways of your veins so similar to mycelium,
To roots of the trees,
The flowers,
The shrubs of the earth.
Imagine the veins within you as you rest fully here,
Your veins are working,
Carrying oxygenated blood through your body,
Connecting these veins to your roots.
Breathe,
Whole body,
Exhale,
Connecting your veins to the roots of yours in the soil,
Entangled with the life around you.
Exhale into the earth.
Imagine,
Feel and sense now the bronchi of your lungs,
They too look like roots and branches.
And as you take in another full inhale here,
Can you visualize and sense your bronchi expand?
And on a long,
Slow exhale,
Sense their contraction.
And this time,
As we breathe in,
Imagine the breath coming in through the soil,
In through your roots,
Up into your bronchi of the lungs.
Breathing in,
Up through the soil,
Through your roots.
The bronchi expand in the lungs,
Drinking in the air.
Exhale fully,
Soften into those roots.
Let the weight fall even more deeply.
Just allow that exploration for a couple more breaths here,
Breathing up through the roots.
Expanding the lungs,
Contracting the lungs back down into the earth.
Feeling and sensing your heart space now.
In the stillness,
Can you feel your heart beating?
You may want to place a hand on your heart,
If you wish.
Just let the body breathe you here,
Relaxed and easy.
Feeling the subtle pulsing sensation of your heartbeat in the stillness.
The innermost part of the tree,
Its core,
From the roots through the trunk and extending out into the branches is called the heartwood.
The heartwood provides its strength and support for the tree to stand and grow.
This heartwood makes the whole tree stronger and more resistant to harm and decay.
Much like the love and truth in our hearts that we often lose sight of in our fast-paced world.
Allowing your inner sight,
Inner awareness to rest in your heart space now.
How does this space feel?
Is it connected to all the parts of you or does it feel separated or closed off?
There's nothing to change,
Nothing to judge,
Just notice.
Does this space feel centered to you or far away?
Knowing that you can take any movements or adjustments to feel this space within you more fully.
And as you sense your heart,
Your core,
Your center of feeling,
See now behind your closed eyes,
Your body standing before your favorite tree or make up a tree in your mind's eye.
Any tree you imagine is perfect as you are.
And as you stand here,
Feel yourself rooted again.
Your roots extending into the earth join with this tree that stands before you.
Taking in a deeper breath again,
And imagine the heartwood of this tree connecting with your heart.
Deeply exhale,
Resting into your roots,
Feeling this connection of energy between you.
Explore that again.
Deep breath in,
Deep breath out,
Breathing in from the heartwood of this tree before you.
Exhaling from your heart down through your roots into the heart of this tree.
Allowing the full sensation of this connection,
The truth and wholeness of it.
How natural this is.
Checking in with your heart again here in this moment.
What does your heart feel now as you breathe in the air,
The energy of this tree standing before you?
And spending a few moments here just exploring the sensation of nature pulsing within your breathing body.
The life force energy of mother earth within you.
Perhaps you allow your breathing body to move you.
Maybe there's a wind blowing here.
If this tree before you,
The branches sway in the breeze,
Perhaps your arms want to slowly rise and float open to meet them.
Soft in the belly,
Soft in the shoulders,
Continuing to breathe here.
Maybe your spine and torso want to sway a little.
Allowing your body to flow as the tree blows in the wind.
Keeping your strong roots solid and grounded in the earth.
Taking your breath and awareness to explore this connection here.
A couple more breaths.
Using breath,
Movement,
Awareness,
Inner sight to fully experience this connection.
Allowing any sounds or sigh,
Yawn,
Anything that your body wishes to express as a part of this experience.
It's all welcome.
Slowing down any movements,
Coming back to stillness.
Taking a final gaze of this beautiful tree before you with your mind's eye.
Taking in a deep,
Full breath in.
Feel the sensation of gratitude for this tree,
This connection to the earth.
Exhale slow and full,
Way back down into your roots.
Another deep breath,
Long breath in.
Breathe in gratitude.
Exhale,
Release the weight you carry.
And one last breath here in this space.
Deep breath in.
Feeling whole body love,
Connection,
Gratitude for this earth.
Coming gently back to your space.
Noticing any sounds or smells.
Wiggling the toes,
Bringing some movement to the feet.
Taking all the time you need to fully arrive back into your surroundings.
May you always remember that you are not separate from this earth.
You are part of her.
