So just allowing yourself to find a comfortable seated position,
Spine straight,
Shoulders soft and your hands resting wherever feels natural and normal.
If you haven't already,
Either lightly closing down your eyes,
Finding a soft steady gaze at a point ahead,
Beginning to draw your awareness inwards,
Allowing your mind to rest on the gentle rising and falling of your breath,
Not trying to change or control your breath in any way,
Just allowing your body to breathe itself as it follows its soothing natural rhythm,
Allowing your breath to anchor you here in your body,
In the experience of the present moment,
And from this place of stillness and groundedness,
Start to call to mind the image of a mountain,
And this might be a mountain that you've been to before,
One you've seen in a picture,
Or just a figment of your imagination,
Becoming aware of all of the little details of your mountain,
Its size and shape,
Its sloping sides,
The peak,
Observing whether there are trees,
Meadows,
Valleys or rivers on the surface,
And just noticing how your mountain is firmly rooted against the earth,
Getting a sense for how still and grounded your mountain is,
So just breathing with your image of the mountain,
And then beginning to draw the mountain into your body,
Taking on its stability as your own,
So the crown of your head becomes the peak,
Your shoulders and arms the sloping sides,
Your legs and hips,
Your feet become the base of the mountain,
Solid and rooted beneath you,
The foundation extending up your spine and abdomen,
A core of stability,
Sitting here with a sense of lightness and dignity about your posture,
Resting here in your mountain body,
Rooted against the earth,
Allowing yourself to breathe as mountain,
The rhythm of your breath is all that moves you,
The living mountain alive and aware,
Yet unwavering in inner stillness,
A centred,
Grounded,
Unmovable presence,
As you rest here in your mountain body,
Witnessing the sun rising over your surfaces,
Bringing warmth and light,
Moment by moment in the mountain stillness,
The surface teems with life and activity,
The changing light from daytime to dusk,
From dusk to night,
Throughout it all the mountain continues to sit,
Experiencing all change moment to moment,
Remaining present and grounded,
Steady and calm,
The seasons flow into one another,
Spring comes,
Bringing fresh life and aliveness,
Colour and vitality,
As the flowers bloom and the birds sing in the trees,
Springtime makes way for summer,
The days grow longer and hotter,
Your mountain endures the intense heat of the sun,
And with the changing seasons the air swells from hot to cold,
The temperature drops with the arrival of autumn and then winter,
The weather turns from tame to turbulent,
The days grow darker and shorter,
And as storms come,
Your mountain endures strong winds,
Rain,
Hail and snow,
And throughout it all your mountain just sits,
Remaining calm and dignified,
Centred and peaceful,
Firmly rooted against the earth,
And in our lives and in our meditation practice,
We too experience periods of lightness and darkness,
Activity and stillness,
Moments that fill our lives with colour,
We too experience storms of various intensity,
Both internally and externally,
A constant changing of thoughts,
Emotions,
Sensations,
Mind and body,
And throughout it all,
We too can allow ourselves to be like the mountain,
To remain calm and dignified,
Steady and grounded,
Present to all change with a sense of peacefulness and equanimity,
So just allowing yourself to continue to rest here in your mountain body,
In a state of serenity and presence,
Aware of all that unfolds moment to moment,
And when you're ready,
Beginning to draw your breath in a little bit deeper once again,
Finding small movements through your fingers,
Your toes,
And taking any movements or stretches that you need,
As you start to ease your way out of the practice slowly and mindfully,
And when you feel ready,
Drawing the practice to a close.
