Welcome to this special meditation for mums and daughters.
To start this meditation I invite you first to find a comfortable place to sit.
You can sit on a chair or on the floor,
But try to keep your back upright.
It can also help to pop a cushion under your bottom if you're sitting on the floor.
So gently rest your hands on your knees or by your sides.
And if you feel comfortable,
You can gently close your eyes.
Or you can gaze with gentle eyes down at a spot on the floor in front of you.
Now notice your breathing.
Where do you feel your breath most strongly?
At your nostrils?
In your chest?
In your stomach?
In your stomach?
In your stomach?
At your nostrils?
In your chest?
Or down in your belly?
Once you've noticed it,
Try and feel the sensations of your breath.
Feel it moving.
Your in breath and your out breath.
Notice the rhythm it makes as it moves.
I invite you now to visualise a majestic mountain.
It may be one that you've visited or one that you picture in your own imagination.
Your mountain could be standing alone or maybe standing beside a mountain range with other mountains all around it.
So what does your mountain look like?
Perhaps it's green and filled with leaves.
Or maybe it's rocky and bare.
It may be colourful and covered with beautiful flowers.
Does your mountain have snow on its peak or a stream running across it?
Spend a moment imagining your mountain and all its qualities.
Now imagine your body as the mountain as it sits here.
Strong,
Grounded,
Still.
Feel your body as if it were the base of the mountain.
Feel your arms and shoulders as the slopes.
Your spine as the axis.
And your head as the peak.
Allow yourself to be here as mountain,
Centred and grounded.
Now picture your mountain as the summer season starts.
The sun is shining down,
Bathing the mountain in a warm majestic light.
Your mountain alive and fresh.
Picture soft,
Small clouds up in a vast blue sky.
As you sit as your mountain,
Notice the weather moving all around you.
Picture now the summer season slowly shifting into autumn.
Colour shades evolving from deep greens to yellows and oranges.
Brilliant colours now cover the mountain.
A slightly cool breeze blows across the slopes of your mountain.
The seasons change but you stay still,
Calm and grounded.
Now slowly notice how autumn evolves into winter.
Wind blows stronger and rain falls.
Sometimes there are storms.
The sky is scattered with rain clouds.
Ice may be forming on the peaks and the slopes.
Your mountain though stays steady,
Still and quiet throughout winter's wild storms.
Finally the storms calm and spring begins to break the winter cycle.
The snow is melting to show the green leaves again.
Animals come out as they look after their young.
All the while your mountain stands tall,
Watching the seasons do their thing.
Just as our years change with the seasons,
Our days also have cycles.
Imagine as you sit as your mountain,
Watching the sun rising in the sky,
The water sparkling in the daylight.
Later in your day you can start to see a colourful sunset lighting up the horizon.
And imagine the night sky,
Lit up with sparkle of a thousand stars.
Just like in nature,
Things are always changing around us.
Sometimes they're little changes,
Sometimes they're bigger.
We can learn much from the mountain,
How strong it is,
And how it stays strong even though everything around it is changing.
We too can be strong like the mountain.
We can let the weather of our emotions happen.
Joy,
Anger,
Sadness,
Excitement,
But still stay strong and grounded.
Even during the most difficult moments in our lives,
We can close our eyes,
Take a deep breath,
And imagine ourselves as a mountain.
Now just spend a few moments sitting here,
Enjoying this peace as a mountain.
Now bringing your attention back to your breath,
Let's breathe in three deep breaths.
In and out.
And one more.
Feel the special rhythm of each breath.
And now just take a moment to really congratulate yourself for taking this time out for yourself today.
Oh now ring the bell to finish this meditation.
