The Wise Aspen

We begin this guided imagery meditation with some grounding breaths to still our minds & bodies. Once we have come to a place of stillness, we begin to shapeshift into the wise Aspen tree. We learn to admire our the imperfections that cover our trunks, the winding of our roots, the shimmer of our leaves.. and how to take the lessons from this Aspen form and hold them near to us in our human form.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to your shape-shifting practice.

Today we will be shifting into the Almighty,

The All-Seeing,

The All-Wise Aspen Tree.

So whenever you're ready find a comfortable position,

One that will really allow you to soften,

To just give in to the experience.

So whether that's lying on your back in Shavasana,

Maybe lying in a hip or chest opener,

Or if you prefer seated that's totally okay too.

It's your practice so whatever feels feels best to you.

And once you've found that that position that will allow you to fully soften,

Let's take a few deep inhales.

We'll do some lion's breaths here.

So taking a big deep inhale,

Filling your belly all the way up,

And then on the exhale opening your mouth,

Sticking out your tongue,

Sighing out the breath,

Just letting everything go.

So nice big deep inhale,

Filling up your belly,

Getting every last drink of oxygen in.

Exhale,

Open out,

Open your mouth,

Stick out your tongue,

Sigh it all out.

Another one just like that,

Big deep inhale,

Filling your belly all the way up,

Getting every last drink of oxygen,

And exhale,

Open your mouth,

Stick out your tongue,

Let it all go,

Let it all release.

One more just like that,

Big deep inhale,

And exhale,

Lion's breath it out.

Begin to bring your attention to your feet,

To your toes,

Noticing the feeling of them touching each other.

And as you bring your awareness there,

On the inhale,

The awareness comes to mind,

The exhale,

The softening occurs.

So inhaling awareness to the toes,

To the feet,

Exhale,

See if you can soften them,

Relax them.

Inhale,

Moving up to your shins,

Your calves,

Your knees,

Bringing that awareness.

Exhale,

Softening,

Relaxing.

Inhale,

Awareness to your thighs,

Your hips,

Your glutes.

Exhale,

Allowing them to just melt,

To soften.

Inhale,

Bringing that awareness to your core,

Your belly,

Your spine,

Your chest.

Exhale,

Softening,

Relaxing.

Inhale,

Your shoulders,

Your biceps,

Your triceps,

Your elbows.

Exhale,

Inhale your forearms,

Your wrists,

Hands,

And fingers.

Exhale,

Deepening that relaxation,

Softening,

Melting.

Inhale,

Your neck,

Your jaw,

Your head,

Melting,

Softening.

Inhale,

Your face,

Bringing that awareness to the space between your eyebrows,

Your nose,

Your lips,

Your ears.

Exhale,

Letting all that tension go,

Letting your face soften,

Letting it slack.

Just enjoying a few breaths here in this fully relaxed state.

On the next inhale,

Bringing your awareness to your feet,

Toes,

Your legs.

Begin to picture,

Instead of toes,

Instead of your knees and calves and ankles,

Begin to picture roots of a tree taking their place.

These roots are twisting and turning and lengthening out around you as they grow into the soil,

As they twist and wind their way into the dirt.

Higher up your legs,

Turning into the base of the trunk of an aspen tree,

The white of the bark becoming present in your mind.

And bringing your awareness further up your torso as the trunk of this tree grows wider,

Noticing the knobs,

Noticing the almost eye-shaped,

The scarring,

The lines that make up the trunk of your tree.

Your arms turning into branches as they shoot out in every direction from your trunk.

Noticing as they twist and wind,

As they thin out towards the ends,

Turning into those thin branches and eventually into leaves,

Spreading out up around in every direction.

Imagining your head as that highest branch,

The crown of your tree,

Watching over you,

Guiding you,

Engaging in that internal dialect with you.

Just really take a moment to observe this tree you've sprouted.

Noticing the bumps,

The knobs,

The lines,

The aspen eyes along the trunk.

Each of these is a representation of whether it's a reoccurring thought or something that's happened or occurred in your life that you've overcome,

That you've battled,

That you've faced.

Each one leaving that mark on your trunk,

The mark that represents something that you've,

Maybe it's still going on right now and the,

Quote,

Imperfection on your trunk is still etching itself into you.

Just noticing these marks along the white,

Crisp bark of your aspen tree.

Noticing how each one just brings a little more character,

A little more beauty to your tree.

Noticing how each one adds to it,

Doesn't take away from it.

As you explore this tree,

This aspen trunk of yours,

Begin to bring your attention a little further out.

Begin to notice the branches as they wind and twist in every direction,

As they thin out towards the ends,

Turning into leaves.

Noticing how your leaves grow steadily.

They seem to rely on the wisdom from the crown of your tree,

The insights,

The visions,

The wisdom.

Begin to take note of what lessons does this forest around your tree have to give you?

What can you observe?

What can you learn?

What can you apply to your life,

To your tree?

What lessons are being shared before your eyes that were maybe unnoticed before?

What wisdom is patiently waiting for you to recognize it?

Taking all this in as your leaves continue to grow.

Noticing the beauty of each leaf,

The pale green color,

The short stout shape.

Noticing how they seem to whisper in the light breeze.

Sharing the secrets of this forest.

Noticing how when that breeze grows louder,

So do they.

Their whispers turning to murmurs.

Their shake turning to a rustle,

To a shimmer.

As you look out from the perspective of this tree,

Just begin to observe,

To take in this forest around you,

The lesson she has to offer.

From the wildflowers and the grass and the meadow beyond,

To the mule deer in search of some grub,

To the birds hopping and flopping and flying between your branches and those surrounding you,

To the squirrels and chipmunks as they sprint along the forest floor,

Maybe sprinting up you,

Up your trunk,

Through your branches.

Just really taking note of what's happening around you as you stay tall and in this aspen shape.

Noting those lessons and how you can apply them to your human form.

Maybe a lesson of patience for yourself.

As you grow,

As your roots take hold,

As your branches reach and twist and rise out,

As each leaf grows bigger,

Grows wider.

Patience for yourself.

When the wind rustles,

Some gusts,

You're standing strong,

Just your leaves are rustling or shaking or shimmering.

Some gusts are so strong,

Your branches move,

Maybe your trunk sways.

Other gusts are stronger still,

Causing your trunk to bend or twist.

But no matter what your roots hold,

Your trunk stays.

As you hunker,

As you dig deeper,

As you hold yourself,

As you have your own back in these moments with the unpredictability of the wind.

Maybe it's a lesson of admiration for yourself,

For your imperfections as they mark your trunk from base to crown.

Maybe it's uncomfortable at first,

But the more imperfections you embrace,

You cherish,

The more you begin to see as they mark your trunk,

As they express their beauty upon you.

Maybe it's admiring your miscalculations,

Your missteps along this path of life.

The lessons you had to learn the hard way.

But knowing that no matter what,

You're safe in this forest within yourself.

Facing these these times with without judgment,

Without control.

Maybe it's a lesson of loving yourself,

Respecting yourself for each and every bump,

For each and every line in the tree,

For each cricket branch or odd shaped leaf that appears.

Loving each part of yourself from root to crown,

From toes to head.

Maybe it's the lesson of becoming a better listener,

Listening to the whispers and the murmurs of the wind,

To the trills and the whistles of the wind.

The songs and the chirps of the birds.

Leaning in,

Opening your mind,

Your ears to the guidance of this forest,

Of this path of the universe before you.

You sit with these lessons,

This guidance from the forest,

From your tree,

From the all-seeing crown that is observing,

That's transferring these messages,

These learnings to you.

Holding it close to your heart,

Close to your trunk.

As you hold these lessons,

These learnings close to you,

Imagine a single leaf from your tree slowly begins to fall,

Slowly fluttering to the forest floor.

As this leaf hits the floor,

Your body slowly returning to its human form.

Your roots dissipating,

Turning back into your toes,

Your feet.

Your legs.

Your trunk away in the wind,

Leaving your torso in its wake.

Your arms returning to their human form,

Losing your leaves,

Your branches,

Gaining your fingers,

Your hands,

Your arms and shoulders.

Lastly,

The crown of your tree returning to your head,

Your face,

Becoming you in your human form again.

Imagine picking up that leaf from the ground,

Holding it close to you,

Close to your heart,

Close to your soul.

That leaf representing the lessons you've learned from this forest around you.

The lessons of patience for yourself,

For others.

The lessons of admiring your imperfections,

Using those to empower yourself in every facet of life.

The lessons of loving and respecting yourself and others.

Every imperfection of you.

The lessons of listening to those around you,

To the world around you.

The lessons of the forest around,

What she has to share with each and every one of us.

As you hold these lessons close within this aspen leaf,

Bringing your awareness back to your toes,

Your fingers,

Maybe wiggling your toes,

Maybe while rolling your legs,

Rolling your neck,

Whatever small light movements will help to bring some awareness back to your body.

Begin to notice the sounds around you,

The smells around you.

Whenever you're ready,

Blinking your eyes open,

Returning to this human body,

This human life.

But holding these lessons of the aspen tree close to you,

As you navigate your day,

Your week,

Your life.

Thank you for sharing this practice with me.

Have a beautiful rest of your day.