Rooting Down: A Winter Meditation And Art Prompt

Rooting down is a guided meditation and optional art prompt that honors rest as essential work. Using the metaphor of trees in winter, this practice invites you to redirect energy from visible productivity into deep, foundational nourishment. This track features a grounding sequence; guided meditation; art prompt; and guidance for journaling about your image. Return to this recording anytime you need permission to pause, deepen, and trust the winter season you're in.

Transcript

Welcome to Rooting Down,

A winter meditation and optional art prompt.

As we begin,

Find a comfortable seat.

You may be in a chair with your feet flat on the floor,

Or on the ground with your legs crossed.

Do whatever allows your body to feel comfortable and supported.

Allow your hands to rest where they're comfortable,

On the knees or in your lap,

With the palms open or closed.

You may close your eyes if that feels safe,

Or soften your gaze downward.

Begin by noticing your breath.

Just notice the natural rhythm of the inhale and exhale.

Do not try to change the breath,

Just notice it.

Now,

Bring your attention to the places where your body makes contact with what's beneath you.

Notice the feeling of the floor beneath your feet,

Or the chair or cushions as they support you.

Then bring your awareness to the feet,

Noticing the bottoms of your feet and your toes.

Notice your ankles,

Your calves and your shins,

Your knees.

Notice the tops of your legs,

Your hips,

Your sits bones.

Notice your lower back and belly space.

Moving your awareness up the spine,

Noticing the backside ribs,

Your heart center,

And the front side ribs.

Move your awareness up the spine and across the shoulders,

Then down through the arms,

Noticing the elbows,

Forearms,

Wrists,

Tops of the hands,

Palms of the hands and fingertips.

Move your awareness up through the arms,

Up through the neck to the backside head,

The ears,

The jaw and cheekbones,

The tip of your nose,

The bridge of your nose,

And the eyes.

Notice the eyes,

The eyebrows,

And the forehead.

And then notice the crown of your head.

Bring your awareness to the feet once again,

Keeping your awareness upwards,

Moving up the legs,

Up through the torso,

Noticing any obvious tension or gripping.

So notice,

Can you soften in the legs?

Can you soften in the belly space?

Can you soften in the shoulders and hands?

Can you soften in the ears?

Can you soften in the eyes,

Eyebrows,

And forehead?

Once again,

Move the awareness from the feet up the legs,

Up through the torso and arms,

Up through the neck and head.

Noticing now the whole the crown of the head,

The whole right side body,

And the whole left side body.

Now notice the whole body.

Notice the whole body.

Notice the whole body.

Now bring your awareness to the breath.

Taking an inhale into the heart and lungs,

Pausing,

And then exhaling,

Pausing.

Again,

Breathing into the heart and lungs,

Pausing,

And then exhaling,

Pausing.

Continue,

And if it's available to breathe a little deeper,

Move the breath into the heart and lungs and then into the belly space before pausing.

And then exhaling from the belly and the heart and lungs.

Again,

Repeat this.

We will do this for a few rounds of breath.

Now allow your breath to come back to natural and bring your awareness to the winter season.

In this meditation,

It is winter.

Even if the calendar says otherwise,

Even if the weather where you are doesn't match,

Somewhere in your body,

Mind,

Or spirit,

Winter lives.

Winter is the season of rest,

Of turning inward,

Of quiet.

And yet,

You might be feeling pressure to be spring or summer,

To produce,

To bloom,

To show visible growth.

So notice that gap.

Notice the gap between your body wanting its wintery rest and what life or culture demands.

Just notice,

No judgment,

Observing this is what's here.

The gap between your body wanting its wintry rest and what life or culture demands.

Take a breath into that awareness.

Pause with the inhale and with the exhale.

Do this one or two times.

Again,

Just noticing the gap between your body wanting wintery rest and what life or culture demands.

Putting that aside and bringing the breath back to natural.

Now,

Imagine that you are a tree in winter.

Your branches are bare.

From the outside,

It might look like nothing is happening,

Like you are dormant,

Inactive,

Or not producing.

But that's not the truth.

Feel your feet,

Or the base of your spine,

And imagine these as the trunk of this tree,

Solid,

Stable,

Rooted in the earth.

Take a deep breath in.

And with your next exhale,

Imagine roots extending downward from the base of your body.

Continue with the breath,

Imagining thick,

Strong roots pushing into the earth beneath you.

These roots are not visible to anyone else.

This nourishment is happening underground,

In the dark,

In the quiet.

Continue with the breath.

With each exhale,

Let those roots grow deeper,

Wider,

More intricate.

Underground,

These roots drink the water.

They absorb essential minerals.

They offer nourishment that will sustain you as the next season arrives.

As you continue with the breath,

Imagine these roots spreading beneath you,

A whole network of support.

You can't see,

But you can sense.

This is where your energy is going right now.

Not into leaves,

Not into blooms,

But into your roots,

Into your foundation.

Now,

We are going to shift our awareness for a moment to talk about the physical body.

Your body has two primary modes,

Activation and rest,

Go and pause,

Sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

In activation,

You are a little bit more alert,

Productive,

Visible.

In rest,

You are repairing,

Integrating,

And healing.

Both are necessary,

But our culture often glorifies one and shames the other.

Right now,

In this moment,

You are in rest mode,

And rest is not passive,

Rest is a form of active work.

While you are in rest or stillness,

Your body is clearing metabolic waste from your brain.

It is consolidating memories.

It is processing emotions.

It is strengthening your immune system.

You are building new neural pathways.

This is not wasted time,

This is essential time.

So,

Feel your roots continuing to deepen as you rest.

This is what trees do in winter.

This is what your body is doing right now.

Now,

Bring to mind something in your life that feels like a struggle.

Maybe it's a goal you're pushing toward,

Or a habit you're forcing to change,

Or a pace you're trying to maintain.

Just hold this lightly in your awareness.

What is a struggle right now?

Notice what surfaces,

And ask yourself,

Am I trying to bloom when I should be rooting?

Am I demanding spring from myself when my body is asking for winter?

You don't have to answer out loud,

Just notice what arises.

Now,

Imagine placing that struggle down at the base of your tree,

Setting it in the soil.

You're not abandoning it,

You're not giving up,

You're just releasing the grip.

This is surrender.

This is an act of trust.

This is trust that you are part of a larger rhythm.

Trust that winter has a purpose.

Trust that the pause is where the power builds.

Take a deep breath in,

And as you exhale,

Feel your roots deepen one more time.

You are held.

You are nourished.

You are exactly where you need to be.

Now,

Slowly begin to bring your awareness back into the body.

Again,

Notice the feeling of the floor or chair,

Or the floor,

Or the floor,

As it supports you,

And then notice the sounds around you.

Perhaps notice the temperature of the air.

As you're ready,

Bring some gentle movement to your fingers and toes.

You can release your chin to your chest,

Gently rolling the head from side to side,

And with the next inhale,

You can roll your shoulders towards your ears,

And then gently down the back.

Do this several times,

And then pause.

Notice the breath.

Take one more deep breath,

Inhaling the knowing that rest is powerful,

That roots matter,

That winter is wisdom,

And then exhale,

Carrying that knowledge with you.

Allow the breath to come back to natural,

And as you're ready,

You may flutter the eyes open.

And here,

I invite you into the following art prompt.

Create an image of yourself as a tree.

You can do this on any sized paper.

You can draw this,

Paint it,

Or collage it with torn paper,

However it wants to emerge.

Create yourself as a tree.

And in some way,

Spend some time with the roots.

Let them take up space.

This is not about making a finished or pretty artwork.

This is about honoring the work that's happening beneath the surface for you right now.

The work that no one sees.

When you're done,

Place your hand on the root system and one on your heart and ask,

What does my root system want me to know right now?

Maybe it wants you to nourish your relationships or your creative practice.

Maybe it wants you to rest your physical body.

Maybe it wants you to notice where you've been trying to bloom when you should be deepening.

Spend some time in your journal when you've completed the artwork,

And then give yourself permission to honor the truth in your image.

Honor how it suggests that you put more energy into your roots.

Honor that it wants you to trust the pause.

By the way,

Thank you for pausing with me and for trusting the winter season you are in.

The goodness in me honors the goodness in you.