Hi,
My name is Dia.
I'd like to welcome you to this talk about winter energy and how we can find self-compassion during these cold winter months.
So let's talk a little bit about the winter months.
So we are in just completed week one of January,
And maybe some of you are really gung-ho if you've done any New Year's resolutions or intentions or maybe some of you are already kind of falling off and trailing behind.
And what I wanna point out is the real paradox of the time that we're in,
Because society tells us that it's a new year,
Let's go,
Right,
Let's make all these intentions and let's push our bodies.
But if you come back into the natural world,
What's being called of us is to actually sink into rest to be quiet,
To become dormant like the earth,
To really soak in that energy of darkness and rest and rejuvenate,
Right?
So there's a real paradox.
So if you're finding that,
You know,
You set all these goals and it's difficult for you,
Bringing awareness to why that may be so is a way of bringing more compassion for yourself.
So if you find that you're being negative in any way,
Just remember that actually what you're doing is aligning with the natural currents of nature.
And when you align with these currents,
Life's a bit easier because you're not struggling against them,
You're actually moving with them.
So if you find yourself that you're needing to sleep in a little bit like I am,
Or that you need to just wanna cuddle up on the couch,
Honor that,
Give yourself permission.
And remember,
Yeah,
This is the energy of winter,
It's okay.
I can allow myself to rest because spring's right around the corner and you wanna be ready to jump into action because that's the energy of spring,
Is to bloom,
To flourish.
Just a little something to keep in mind.
And now we're gonna move into our meditation.
And this meditation is gonna be a couple of different modalities.
One,
The beginning is gonna be guided.
So I'm gonna guide you through a meditation.
And then we're gonna move into a more silent meditation.
I'll still be here guiding you along,
But with less dialogue.
And then I might introduce some visualization,
But we'll see where the energy goes.
But just to give you an idea of what you can expect.
And the reason why we're doing meditation in these winter months is because meditation gives us the opportunity to slow down and to drop beneath all the chatter of the mind and to really listen,
Listen to what's present in the heart,
Listen to what's present in the body,
And to return to that place of stillness within that calmness.
If you're new to it or you've been doing this for a long time,
Just a reminder,
There's no right or wrong way of meditating.
Your mind is going to be active.
It's going to jump from thought to thought.
I just ask you to use your breath as an anchor.
And I'll remind you,
But whenever you find your mind is just jumping,
Just,
I'm inhaling,
I'm exhaling.
Just come back,
Come back to your breath and release any judgment or negativity.
Don't be critical of your mind.
It's doing what it does best.
So you just bring your attention back to this here now moment.
I'm breathing in,
I'm breathing out.
So find yourself in your comfortable position.
Okay,
So let's start to put aside all your activity from the day,
All the things you did to get here,
Any rushing or hurrying,
And put aside your to-do list for the rest of the day.
And bring yourself fully here in this space.
And we'll begin by just taking three breaths together.
So breathing in,
Feeling your whole body expand.
And as you exhale,
Start to release and empty out the lungs and feel your belly contract back in.
And then again,
Big,
Full body breath in,
Seeing your whole body expand.
And as you exhale,
Softening through the shoulders,
Down through the hips,
The legs,
The soles,
The feet,
And into the earth.
And one more big,
Exaggerated inhalation.
Whole body expands.
And exhaling,
Dropping down,
Down into your hips,
Down through the legs,
The soles of the feet,
And into the earth.
Starting to bring softness to your face,
The back of your neck,
Your shoulders,
Your hips.
Feeling your whole body dropping to a little body skin here,
We're gonna touch into the dimension of the physical body.
So just taking a breath,
And as you exhale,
Noticing,
Noticing the physical body,
Noticing what you brought with you tonight,
If there's any tension in your body anywhere,
Without judging it or labeling it or criticizing it,
Just noticing.
And then moving on to the level of the emotions,
Noticing what's bubbling up for you just beneath the surface on the level of the emotions.
Again,
Not necessarily engaging with it,
But just naming it.
Could be I'm feeling tired,
I'm sad,
I'm angry,
I'm peaceful.
So naming what it is for you,
And welcoming it,
Allowing all sensations and emotions to be here just as they are.
No need to change them,
Fix them,
Analyze them.
And then even noticing on the level of the mind how rapidly your thoughts are coming and going without judging them,
Just noticing.
And welcoming with kindness the energy of your mind.
So in a sense,
Allowing all parts of you to be here,
Settling in to whatever it is you're seated on or lying on,
Allowing your body to drop in,
To land here.
And then taking in a breath and just expanding your awareness and your consciousness to the outer edges of the room.
And as you exhale,
Dropping back down into this deeper wider center within yourself.
Taking another breath,
And this time,
Turn love and kindness and energy towards yourself now.
Breathing in a breath,
Allowing this wave of love,
Kindness,
Empathy,
Move through your own body as you welcome yourself deeper here,
Deeper within yourself.
Now,
Moving into a more silent meditation,
Allowing yourself to just observe.
Thoughts will come.
So if you can just place them on a cloud and let them go.
Come back to your breath.
Breathing in and exhaling.
And on your next inhalation,
See if you can breathe in your word for the year,
If that makes sense.
So it could go something like this.
I breathe in.
Peace.
I exhale.
Stress.
I breathe in.
Add your own word.
I exhale.
And continue on your own.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
And we'll be here for just another moment or so.
Release the rushing.
Release the doing.
It's okay to slow down.
It's okay to take care of yourself,
Mind,
Body,
Spirit.
And as we begin to bring this to a close,
As you take your final breaths,
I want you to imagine your happy place.
When you feel deeply alive,
Deeply expanded.
So in love.
So it could be a beach.
It could be a garden.
It could be smelling a rose.
Just take in that breath.
Notice what you're smelling.
Notice what you're feeling.
Notice what you're hearing.
Maybe allowing a soft smile to come to your face as you really step into and breathe into this happy place of yours.
Imagining time when you were there and you felt your heart expand with joy and with love.
This is your natural state.
Be here.
And return here.
Anytime you need to.
And then we're slowly gonna start to come out,
But you can stay here.
Keep 75% of your attention on your inner world.
And in this state of being expanded,
Your heart and your senses.
And then when you're ready,
You can start wiggling your fingers,
Maybe rotating the wrist.
That always feels nice.
Wiggling your toes,
Maybe starting to open your eyes just a little bit.
And then bringing yourself back.
And come out of it in a gentle way.
Thank you for joining me.
I hope you have a great rest of your day.
Until next time,
Namaste.
