Then bring your hands onto your knees or on your lap.
Palms facing up.
A willingness to receive.
Just take a moment to bring yourself into this moment and into your body.
A moment to acknowledge that out of everything you could be doing right now,
You're choosing to honor this day with meditation.
Come back to yourself and celebrate the solstice,
The longest day of the year.
And that's really special.
And so exhale all the air out of your lungs,
Letting it all go.
And now we're going to inhale into three equal parts.
So inhale,
Filling up a third,
Two thirds,
Filling up all the way.
And then taking one long,
Slow exhale out,
Releasing everything.
Again,
Inhaling a third,
Inhale two thirds,
Inhale all the way,
And then taking a long,
Full breath out.
Do this one more time.
Inhaling,
Filling of a third,
Two thirds,
All the way.
And then one long sigh and breath out.
Now allow your breath to settle back into its natural rhythm.
Feeling the openness in your chest.
The spaciousness in your body.
And feel yourself become a little lighter as you breathe.
Drawing your awareness now down through the body.
Through the legs.
The feet.
And all the way down to the ground beneath you.
And feel the weight of your body right now.
The actual physical heaviness.
Of you pressing down into the earth.
Your body is always in contact with the Earth.
Even here.
Even now.
Even in this room,
The ground is holding you.
It's been holding you your entire life.
Without ever once letting you fall.
And just feel that contact.
The solidity of the Earth.
A grounded,
Strong support underneath you.
And now in your mind's eye,
Imagine you're stepping outside into the most perfect summer day.
In a place you find beautiful and magical.
Don't overthink it.
Maybe it's a meadow filled with wildflowers.
Or an old,
Ancient forest,
Or a hill overlooking the ocean,
Or anywhere else.
Just imagine somewhere where you feel grounded,
Inspired,
And connected to the land.
Just go there in your mind.
Feel your bare feet make contact with the ground in this place.
Really feeling it.
The texture beneath your soles.
The warmth of the earth that has absorbed the summer's sunlight.
And take a deep breath in,
Smelling the air around you.
A particular scent of the beautiful place you are.
Let that scent fill you up with all the beautiful aromas that nature has to offer.
And feel the sun.
Feel it shine on your skin.
How warm.
The glow.
The comfort of the sunlight on your skin.
Feel the rays of this golden solstice light begin to move across your skin.
Melting away any heaviness or tension that you have here.
Anywhere you have been carrying something.
Maybe it's in your shoulders or your jaw,
Your chest.
The sun finds it and softens it.
You turn your face up towards the sun for a moment.
Letting it pour down over your face,
Your throat.
Your heart.
Allowing the golden light to fill your chest and radiate out.
And there you are.
Anchored between two great powers.
To beautiful powers.
The sun above you pouring down its light,
And the earth below you steady and rooted and holding you firm.
Light from above and the ground from below.
And then you.
Right in the middle.
The place where they meet.
Suspended between the grounding energy of the earth and the light,
Joyful energy of the sun.
And now feel your roots.
From the soles of your feet,
Imagine roots beginning to grow down into the earth.
Slowly,
Naturally.
Finding their way deeper.
Down through the warm topsoil.
Rich with life and minerals.
And down through the deeper layers of earth.
Your roots going deeper now.
Deep enough that nothing,
No wind or storm could pull you up.
And as your roots grow down.
Feel the Earth's energy begin to rise up through them.
Warm,
Nourishing,
Golden,
Almost sun-like energy.
Think the earth has been storing the sun's light all year long.
And now it's offering it back up to you.
Feel it rise up through your roots.
Through the soles of your feet.
Up through your legs.
Cooling into your belly.
Filling your chest and rising into your heart.
And above you.
The sun continues to pour down its light.
Golden and bright.
Below you.
Earth continues to send its nourishment upward.
And right here,
Right now in this body.
You're perfectly in balance in a place where the sun meets the earth.
And feel that warmth of the light filling you from above.
The steadiness of the earth holding you from below.
Two great elemental forces meeting within you.
Take a few big deep breaths here.
Feeling both rooted and radiant.
Grounded and luminous all at once.
Now taking a moment to plant a seed of intention in this ground that will be nourished by the sunlight.
So whatever it is that you're ready to grow.
Maybe a dream.
Intention.
A version of yourself.
Planted here in the place that you stand.
Planted down into the earth like a seed and let the sun shine down on the soil that covers it.
And if there's anything you're ready to release.
You can hand that to the earth now.
Just taking your hands onto the earth.
And releasing whatever you need back into it.
The Earth will take it and recycle it for you.
As you breathe,
Reminding yourself that you're held by the earth and filled with light.
And now taking a moment to thank the earth beneath you.
In a moment to honor the sun above you.
Both of these beautiful energies meeting together to nourish you and the seed that you planted.
And now taking a big,
Deep breath in through the nose.
An open mouth exhale,
Letting it go.
Beginning to return to the here and the now.
Wiggling fingers and toes.
And opening the eyes.
Bringing your meditation to a close.
Thank you so much for joining me today and happy solstice.
