Go ahead and find a comfortable seat that doesn't require any muscular engagement.
Let your spine be long.
Maybe you'll need to guide your shoulders slightly back in space until you feel them stack over your hips.
Get comfortable.
And lengthen the crown of your head towards the sky.
Relax your shoulders.
Soften your jaw.
And just allow your eyelids to close if you haven't already.
Tune into the natural rhythm of your breath here.
No need to change your altar or anything about it.
Just simply notice.
Feel your inhales expand.
Your exhales soften your physical body,
The edges of your mind.
Maybe as you tune into your breath more and more,
You can even feel your exhale leave your nostrils and graze that space just above your upper lip.
Keep your focus here.
Now imagine that you're walking through a meadow.
The sun is shining down on your skin and you feel the warmth from that.
The tall grass is brushing past your calves.
You're feeling calm and content,
Just walking quietly alone.
You see a beautiful forest in the distance and you're walking towards an opening in the trees,
Towards the sound of water rushing over rocks.
You're curious.
As you approach and enter the trees,
The sun rays change.
The ones that,
You know,
Once were touching your face,
Warming your skin,
Are now reflecting off just various beautiful colors of leaves.
You see bright greens,
Golden oranges.
You continue to walk forward towards that sound of rushing water.
You hear the river and in the close distance,
You see it.
You see a bridge to cross it.
Curious,
You keep walking forwards.
But as you approach the bridge,
You're instead drawn to climb down the rocks alongside it to the riverside below.
The rocks at the top are big.
They get smaller and smaller,
More pebble-like towards the bottom.
So you begin to climb down,
Starting over boulders,
Towards the pebbles.
Eventually,
You make your way safely to the river's edge.
You walk across the pebbles and you feel squishy mud beneath you.
You decide to take a seat right by the water.
You lengthen your spine.
You close your eyes.
You feel your body soften.
Fresh water misting you in the face.
You relax.
As your physical body softens and gets heavier,
You feel mud gently seeping through the pebbles beneath you,
Welcoming you in.
You invite your focus to the base of your spine.
At the base of your spine,
You visualize the small bud of a lotus flower feeding from the mud beneath it,
Its roots growing deep through the darkness to bring nourishment.
And the small bud begins to grow up your spine.
Gentle flower petals slowly stretching up and out,
Reaching for sunlight and river mist.
The lotus blooms from the base of your spine,
Past the center of your back,
Past your neck,
All the way to the crown of your head.
The last petals opening up to the misty sun-kissed air above you.
You feel a pause here,
A point where you're receiving nourishment from your roots,
But also from your surroundings as the petals bring them in.
You feel yourself fully bloomed and thriving.
Breathe into this sensation.
Feel this support.
Elena.
Notice your breath.
On your next exhale,
Imagine your petals slowly closing back in and down towards your spine,
Resting at the crown of your head.
They close and they pass your neck.
They pass your upper spine,
The center of your back.
Eventually resting back towards the base of your spine.
You feel the roots of the lotus making their way back up through the mud to reunite with the bud in your body.
And once again,
You feel the mud gently seeping through the pebbles that you sit on,
Fully supportive.
Now that your lotus flower rests within you,
With your eyes closed,
You once again feel their your surroundings.
You feel the river mist on your face,
The sunlight as it touches your skin through the trees.
Without the mud,
The lotus cannot grow.
Without the obstacles of life,
Without suffering,
We cannot expand.
We can't open up to the possibilities of our soul.
Take a moment here to honor your journey.
With all of its obstacles,
With all of the mud,
This is how we bloom.
The deeper you allow your roots to grow into darkness,
The more your petals can open up to the light.
And there is so much beauty to be found in this duality.
The beauty is our human experience,
Our journey to the soul.
Invite your focus back to your breath.
Notice your physical body.
Notice where your palms rest.
Notice your jaw,
Your cheeks,
Your eyelids.
Feel the room that your body rests in.
And when you're ready,
Invite your eyes to open,
Walk into your day,
Move forward in your journey.
