A warm welcome.
This practice is for anyone who wants to explore something beyond the rational mind.
But finds love and light meditations just don't land for them.
During this practice,
You'll connect with your body,
The seasons,
And the natural world.
Not as a metaphor,
But as a way of remembering you're part of something larger than your thoughts.
So let's begin as always by closing down our eyes or allowing your gaze to be gentle.
Before we do anything let's just feel into the energy of your body as it is right now.
Does it feel buzzy and activated?
Tired and heavy.
Relaxed and at ease.
What else do you notice?
Perhaps there's a part of your body that feels dense or stagnant.
Maybe there's an aspect of you that feels vibrant and alive.
And just honouring whatever you find with a gentle smile.
Well done.
Now bringing your palms to face down on your thighs.
Really feeling into the points of contact between your hands and your thighs.
Noticing pressure,
Temperature,
Sensation.
Noticing each of your 10 finger pads.
Feeling into the space that has formed between the palms of your hands and your thighs.
Noticing this dual experience of light pressure and spaciousness.
And now focusing on your exhale.
And imagining that with each out breath the energy is travelling from your busy thinking mind down your neck,
Across your shoulders,
Down your arms and then pooling into your hands.
Breathing in this downward energetic motion for a few breaths.
Energy traveling from your mind,
Down your neck,
Arms,
All the way into your hands.
Sensing into how this energetic flow you have created feels grounding.
Calming.
Feeling into your hands.
Noticing sensation.
Has it increased?
How do your hands feel after receiving this energy?
How do you feel?
And now turning your palms to face upwards on your thighs.
Noticing the change in sensation within your hands simply from altering their position.
What can you notice in the pads of your fingers?
What is there to experience in the palms of your hands.
And as you inhale.
Imagine that the breath is moving from your hands,
Up your arms,
Neck,
Back of skull,
Out the top of your head and into the sky above.
Breath beginning in your hands traveling up your arms and leaving out the crown of your head.
Continuing to breathe in this way on your own now.
And notice how this upward flow of energy feels for you.
Perhaps you naturally want to straighten your spine.
Maybe you feel lighter or more spacious.
Being curious about how this upwards energy feels different to the downward energy you cultivated previously.
Returning your hands to your preferred position now.
And together let's explore the seasons as a way to become more aware of the energetic thread that weaves through life.
Beginning with summer.
Take a deep breath into this word,
Summer.
Allowing images,
Memories,
Feelings to emerge.
If summer had a colour,
What would it be?
If summer lived in your body,
Where would it reside?
What does summer do to your thoughts,
Your perspective?
Your Outlook.
Moving now to autumn or fall.
What happens in your body when you hear this word?
If this season wrapped its way around your body how would it feel?
If this season found home in your heart what would it wake within you?
Winter.
Feel into the energy of winter.
Allow an image of winter to fill your mind.
What invitation does winter hold that you often resist?
Spring.
What colour is spring for you?
If you could invite spring into your body like a breeze carried in your inhale,
Where would it travel?
Allowing the symbolism of spring to greet your heart.
Let's deepen this practice of connection.
Let's get even more creative as I mention natural environments and you allow their energy to wash over you.
Remembering as always,
There's no right or wrong.
Dawn just before the sun peeks over the horizon line.
What feelings does this elicit within you?
Looking up at the night sky on a winter's evening as the cool air greets your skin.
Climbing to the top of a mountain and looking down on a perfectly still day.
And noticing how you feel after connecting to the seasons and the natural environment.
Taking the time to remember that we are part of the great mystery of life can indeed help us to feel less hooked into the individual drama of our lives.
And the pull towards craving,
Striving and endless productivity.
Resting here,
Expansive.
Trusting that in this moment you have access to a pool of intelligence.
That you cannot see,
You can only feel.
Asking yourself,
Here in this moment,
What am I willing to let go?
Perhaps an expectation,
A belief,
A resentment or regret.
With each out breath letting go.
Here in this moment,
What am I ready to welcome in?
Of feeling and knowing.
A truth of who you are or what's important.
With each in-breath inviting in.
Awareness coming back into your physical body as it sits in meditation.
Hips and pelvis.
Feet on the floor.
Opening your eyes when you're ready.
Well done.
What you just practiced is trust.
Trust in something moving within and around you that your rational mind can't fully account for.
That capacity carries over.
Into more creative thinking.
Into braver and more honest choices.
Into feeling steadier in the ordinary flow of life.
Save this practice and come back to it whenever you need it.
