Hello and welcome to this end-of-year winter meditation.
This practice is to guide you in settling into the rhythm of winter and allow your nervous system to be at ease,
Ending the year with self-love and acceptance.
Let's begin by finding a comfortable position.
Let your body be supported either by the floor,
A chair or the earth beneath you if you would like to lie down.
You can come cross-legged or simply seated in a chair and allow yourself to arrive.
If it feels safe,
Close your eyes or soften your gaze downward and take a deep,
Slow breath in through your nose and a longer deep breath out through your mouth.
Gently sighing.
Let's do that a few more times.
Inhaling gently.
Exhaling fully.
See if you can just allow yourself to rest,
To settle into the rhythm of nature,
The rhythm of ease,
The rhythm of warmth,
The rhythm of stillness.
Place one hand on your heart and one on your belly and feel the warmth of your hands and feel the weight of your hands on your body and your body being supported.
With each exhale,
Allow your shoulders to soften.
Allow your jaw to unclench,
Your belly to gently relax and release.
As you breathe in,
Allow yourself to breathe into your hands and into your body.
Breathing in this life force energy.
Quietly repeat to yourself in your own rhythm.
It's okay for me to slow down.
It's okay for me to rest.
Pause here for a few breaths.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Allow your hands to rest back down onto your thighs or at your side.
And bring your awareness to the season of winter.
Imagine the natural world at rest at night.
Maybe even imagine a scene filling in around you.
The trees without leaves.
Earth holding still.
The air crisp and clean.
Life gathering inward beneath the surface.
Winter does not rush,
Does not explain itself.
It just trusts the quiet work happening underneath all of life.
Allow yourself to meet the same energy within your own body.
You are allowed to rest.
You are allowed to integrate.
You are allowed to be unfinished.
And without forcing memories or answers.
Invite the past year to gently float into your awareness.
Without judgment,
Just notice as if you're watching a scene from a movie.
Week to week,
Month to month.
Notice what this year has asked of you.
What this year has offered you.
What this year has brought you.
You may sense moments of growth,
Moments of survival,
Moments of softness or strength.
If emotions arise,
Simply notice them.
There's no need to analyze or fix anything right now.
Just be with them.
Be with yourself here now.
And quietly say to yourself in this moment,
I honor all that I lived through.
I honor all that I experienced.
Pause breathing here now.
Now imagine your body gently exhaling this year.
With each breath out,
Allow anything heavy or what's no longer needed to soften its grip.
This could be expectations,
Limited beliefs,
Old pressure,
Self judgment,
Perfectionism,
Or a version of yourself that worked very hard to get through it all.
You don't need to name it perfectly.
Just give the intention to release.
And with each breath,
Simply repeat,
I no longer need to carry this.
Let your body release in its own way through your breath,
Sensation,
Or simply stillness.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Bring your attention back to your heart space with your mind and your breath.
And in your heart space,
Imagine offering yourself exactly what you needed this year,
But may not have received it.
Perhaps it's reassurance,
Compassion,
Permission to rest,
Or simply being seen.
And silently say to yourself,
I am proud of myself.
I love and accept myself fully.
I did the best that I could with all the resources and energy that I had.
I am proud of myself.
I love and accept myself fully.
I did the best that I could with all the resources and energy that I had.
Let those words land in your mind,
In your body,
And in your soul.
And notice what feels complete.
To notice what feels tender.
To notice what feels ready to rest.
There's no next step required of you right now.
Winter is not asking you to bloom.
It's simply asking you to be with yourself,
With all of yourself.
Take one final slow deep breath in and a long steady breath out.
Bring awareness to your feet or back body if you're lying down.
And feel the ground beneath you.
Feel the support all around you,
Holding you.
Before opening your eyes,
Say this out loud to yourself to integrate this practice.
I trust the timing of my life.
I trust my body.
I trust the quiet work happening within me.
And take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.
Carry the softness and strength with you.
Let it be enough.
And when you're ready,
Gently return to your space,
Slowly opening your eyes and finding a point in the space around you reorienting back to your surroundings.
And take some time to be in stillness and journal what this practice offered you.
Come back to this practice anytime you may need as you transition into this new year.
It is with gratitude,
Deep love.
May you be well
