To head into the meditation,
Start to find the most comfortable space that you can.
The space where you feel comfortable.
That space where you can settle into what's beneath you.
And whenever you find that space,
Get yourself permission to start to sink.
Letting your hips root down into the cushion or the chair or whatever is beneath you.
Let the body start to settle.
Letting the shoulders drop.
Maybe let the jaw relax.
And if it feels right and safe to do so,
Go ahead and flutter your eyes down.
Shutting them.
Or you can maintain a soft gaze downward or you can always just stay here with me.
And with those eyes closed or with that soft gaze,
Start to connect to the breath.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
Taking that perhaps first conscious breath of the day.
Letting it fill the belly with that air as you breathe in.
And breathe out.
And as you connect the breath,
See if you can notice any tension that builds up from the inhale.
Sometimes we notice the shoulders might be preventing a full inhale.
Sometimes you might feel in the attempt to expand the diaphragm,
The back feels tense.
Sometimes you might feel contained.
Like you're unable to expand.
So without judging or needing any of that to go away,
See what it might feel like to allow for the body to be fluid.
Allow for the chest to expand,
For the belly to move in all directions.
And then for a moment,
Start to become aware of the openness of space around you.
Noting that space directly above your head.
Noting the space below you,
Even below what you're currently sitting on,
But what's holding you.
Noticing the space to either side of you.
The space in front of you and behind.
And you start to draw that awareness of the openness of space.
I want to invite you to connect the breath into that space,
To give the body permission to expand in all directions.
Breathing in and feeling that full expansion into the openness of space around you.
And on the exhale,
I want to invite you to connect the breath and allow for the body to just settle back into center.
If it's helpful to create movement with your arms,
You can allow for yourself to gently open yourself to that space around you.
And then find that place all the way back into the center with the exhale.
And as you play with this concept of expansion and contraction,
It might almost feel like a wave rolling out and rolling in.
Let yourself settle into that motion.
And let yourself be here.
Noting the thoughts that might be present today.
Some days we have those busy brain days.
Those days when the chatter,
That default mode network,
Is telling you all the things that are to come,
Or all the things that happened.
But let's take a few moments to be here today.
Seeing if we can let go of those thoughts that might be pulling you.
Focused on the breath,
Focused on the body,
Focused on my voice gently guiding you through this today.
And as you claim that sense of presence and settle into this moment,
I'll invite you to begin to imagine a mountain.
This can be your favorite mountain,
One that you have seen many times in your life.
Or this can be one that you've seen only in books but felt that it looked beautiful.
Or it could be one that you create within your mind's eye.
But imagine that mountain standing tall,
The sky behind it.
Start to notice the peaks that lead up,
Almost touching into the sky.
You can start to notice what's on the mountain.
Is this rocky and jagged or is this filled with greenery and trees?
Maybe there's a clear path worn by adventurers leading to the top.
But notice that mountain,
Notice the size of it.
Stepping back,
Looking from afar,
Noticing how it towers over everything in its sight.
Blending in with the scenery,
With the sky,
With the ground,
With everything around it.
And as you take in all of its beauty,
I'll invite you to allow for your imagination to now change from the perception of the mountain to actually embodying the mountain.
Imagining your physical being as the mountain.
Feeling your seat rooted down as the base of the mountain roots into the rocks beneath it.
Noticing the top of your head reaching up to the sky,
Creating those gentle peaks.
Letting your arms become the slopes of the mountain reaching downward.
And feel what it feels like to be that mountain.
Sturdy and strong.
Feeling into the wisdom that comes with millions of years of experience.
That while the world changes around you,
You stay firm,
Rooted,
Strong.
Imagining within those millions of years in which you existed,
The seasons changed.
Perhaps there were winters.
Imagine that harshness of the cold,
The snow pouring down on you,
The wind whipping around you.
Those trees connected to you swaying in the wind,
Being blown around by the wind.
Everything coming at you.
And in the harshness of that winter with everything trying to move you,
Feel into the stability.
The safety you might feel knowing that you are strong enough to stay here.
You are stable enough to withstand all of the snow and the wind and the cold and the harshness of this winter.
Noticing the sky above you,
The earth below where you are rooted.
And then we can begin to imagine that winter changing.
That as the world rotates and spins,
The seasons change.
And from that harsh cold,
You begin to notice that there is this flowering around you,
Within you.
That from your surface,
These flowers begin to bloom.
This new earth,
This new life begins to sprout.
The cool wind gently breezes against that harsh rock.
The trees gently blow in the breeze that are attached to you.
Notice this sense of ease.
This playfulness of a spring that has come.
And notice how even in that,
You stay rooted.
You stay strong.
You can observe everything happening around you.
As you did with the storm.
And then begin to feel the warmth of the sun reaching down,
Hitting that peak at the top of your head.
Feeling the sun reach down,
Feeling its warmth down those slopes of your arms,
Warming the base below you.
And begin to feel into this intensity of this summer heat.
This new change where that lightness of spring has now turned into a harshness of summer.
And where those streams once so gently race down,
Imagine that sun drying them.
And this arid feeling that exists.
And yet even in the harshness of this summer,
You remain still.
Rooted.
Experiencing it without needing to move from it.
Now begin to see those clouds drifting by.
Moving over your head,
Over the mountain's peak.
And with those clouds comes a coolness,
A crispness in the air.
And notice how with that temperature dropping,
Life starts to come back.
But you might notice that the greenery on those trees might start to change.
You might notice this brilliant color of gold or red or orange lighting up this mountain that is you.
Feeling into this light autumnal beauty that surrounds you.
And now begin to notice those leaves that at one point clung so tightly to the branch.
And as they do,
The branches of the trees within you start to fall.
And you might notice this desire to hold on,
To keep the beauty of what was.
But allow for those leaves to fall.
And notice that as they do,
You remain strong.
And now you remain rooted and still.
You might even notice this fear,
Knowing what's next.
That that harshness of winter will inevitably return.
That as those leaves fall,
The snow will come,
The winds will be there soon.
But you still remain still,
Rooted,
And strong.
Now feel back into your body now,
Recognizing that space around you again.
Recognizing you in this space and time here and now.
And start to recognize what season you might be in.
Is this a time of winter where that storm is raging against you?
Is this a time of spring for you where you feel what it feels like to have that new life,
That breath of air within you?
Or is this that harshness of summer?
Or the letting go of fall?
But as you notice where you are,
That season that exists within you and around you,
Notice that you are that mountain still and strong.
That there is the ability to observe everything around you,
Whether good or bad,
Recognizing that it will pass.
And as it does,
You will still be here.
Stronger for it,
With lessons learned,
Knowledge to take you forward.
And this knowing that no matter what,
You can remain still,
And rooted,
And strong.
Now begin to notice the sounds within the room,
With that inhale through the nose,
Noticing the smells,
With a gentle swallow,
Noticing taste.
And then begin to explore,
Touch,
Maybe bring your hands together in front of you,
Or exploring the fabric of your clothing.
And then finally,
If those eyes were closed,
Let them flutter open,
Taking in that space around you,
And just entering back,
Feeling connected and calm.
Thank you.
