Welcome to this practice for your inner winter.
Begin to settle the body,
Lying down,
Getting comfortable,
Relaxing into the body.
Letting the earth hold you and sinking down.
Bringing your awareness to your breath.
A gentle inhale through the nose.
A gentle exhale through the nose.
Settling,
Softening,
Thinking.
Letting go.
Relaxing into the body.
Relaxing every single muscle.
Sinking down into the ground.
Begin to visualize a mountain.
A huge,
Tall mountain.
You are at the very bottom.
You begin to climb.
Climb this huge,
Huge mountain.
Taking one step at a time,
One foot after another,
You make your way up.
One step at a time,
You rise higher and higher.
You keep climbing.
Rising higher and higher,
The trees that once seemed so tall at the bottom,
Shrinking into the distance,
You keep climbing,
One foot after another.
The summit is still a long way off.
There is not another soul around,
Just you and the mountain.
One foot after another,
You continue to make your way up,
Climbing higher and higher,
One foot after another.
The vegetation becoming sparser and sparser,
And still you climb.
Higher and higher,
One foot after another.
The vegetation becoming sparser still,
Until it is just rock underfoot,
And still you climb.
The wind begins to pick up.
You notice the summit is still,
Still a long way off,
Although it feels that you have been climbing for hours.
One foot after another,
You continue.
The wind and rain lashing down on you,
Still you climb.
Your body begins to tire,
But still you climb,
Feeling that you must push on,
That you must reach the summit.
You continue pushing on,
One foot after another,
Cold and wet,
You continue to climb.
Your head full of doubt that you will even make it to the summit,
But still you push on.
Thoughts of regret that you embarked on such a mission,
But still you push on,
One foot after another,
Your whole body tired and weary,
Cold and wet,
The wind and rain relentless.
You can barely see the summit,
But you know it is still some way off.
Thoughts spinning round your head,
Of this mistake that you've made,
But still you continue to push on.
You continue along the path,
Step by step,
Until you notice,
A cave,
You know that the summit is not far off now,
But this cave is so inviting,
You contemplate pushing on,
You contemplate just getting to the top,
But this cave is so inviting,
You contemplate pushing on,
You contemplate just getting to the top,
But this cave,
This cave looks so inviting,
Shelter from the storm,
From the wind and the rain,
You enter this cave,
You notice that there is some blankets,
Some soft hay,
You lie down and rest,
You rest for some time and begin to drift in and out of sleep,
To drift in and out of consciousness,
When you wake,
You wish for nourishment and food appears as if by magic,
You wish for warmth and a fire appears,
You wish for some more rest and you feel your body beginning to recover,
You know that the summit is not far away,
But still you rest in the sanctuary,
You eat and rest and warm yourself by the fire,
After some time you emerge from the cave,
The wind and the rain have ceased,
The sun is shining brightly and you set off for the summer,
Having rested it seems almost easy now,
The summit is close and you can feel it,
A few more steps and you are there,
Almost at a run you feel a sense of achievement,
You feel energy pulsing through every cell of your body,
Thankful that you rested,
Thankful that you took the time to nourish yourself,
To rest,
Which let the storm clear and you to feel the vital air,
When you get to the summit you look out,
You can see the entire world beneath you,
Rivers,
Forests,
Towns and cities below you as you stand on top of the summit,
You notice then an old woman at the summit with you,
You swore that there was no one on this mountain with you,
That you embarked on this journey alone,
Then she speaks to you,
Dear one did you rest in my cave,
I saw that you set off and knew that you would need rest,
So I made a cave and fed you,
So that you could truly appreciate all the wonders that the summit has,
So you could see all the things that you have,
So that you could see all the things that you have,
So you could see all the land with fresh eyes,
You could see the beauty of this earth,
The beauty of the land,
I am the wise woman,
The crone,
Guiding you to rest,
Many choose not to listen and push on eager to get to the summit,
But you did not,
You chose to rest,
You chose to you chose to nourish yourself and now that you are rested you can appreciate all the beauty from this great height,
All that mother earth has to offer,
You look out at the world and sense the beauty of the earth,
You feel mother nature's energy pulsing through you,
The energy of mother earth,
All around you then becomes a brilliant bright white light,
A healing light enveloping you,
A cleansing light,
All that you now see is this beautiful bright white light,
As this healing white light illuminates every cell in your body,
It cleanses,
It clears any tension,
Any discomfort and allows the body to deeply deeply relax,
To rest fully the waves of light passing over and through you,
Let your body be restored,
From the crown of the head to the tips of your toes,
The whole body rests,
The whole body rests,
From the crown of the head to the tips of the toes,
The whole body rests,
Bathe in this white light,
The whole body rests,
Listen to the music as you continue to let the white light promote rest and relaxation throughout the body,
So so so when you feel ready,
Letting the last of this beautiful white light resonate throughout your body,
Bring your awareness back to the breath,
Inhaling and exhaling,
Bringing your awareness back to the body,
Inhaling and exhaling,
Bringing some subtle movements to the body,
Wriggling the fingers,
The toes,
Making any stretches,
Any movements that feel good to ground you back in your physical body,
Moving slowly,
Taking your time,
Keeping your eyes closed for a moment longer,
Listening to the inhale and the exhale of your breath,
And when you are ready,
Slowly flittering open the eyes and coming back.
