Welcome to your autumn meditation and reflections.
If you haven't already,
I invite you to make yourself nice and comfortable whether you want to stay seated or whether you are lying down.
Take a moment now to make yourself just that little bit more comfortable.
You can hold the position that you're in for a couple of minutes.
If there's any stagnation,
Tension in the head and shoulders or the feet or the hands,
Allow a little bit of movement before you settle into stillness.
Perhaps you'd like to close down your eyes,
Connecting to your inner drishti.
Maybe you're just gazing forward and outer drishti.
Allow yourself to really come into the present moment,
To really be present.
So we're not projecting forward,
Thinking about what we should do next or what we did right before this.
We're fully present.
Start to really tune into and drop into your body now.
Become aware of the sensation of being held,
The temperature of the room you're in,
Air in your skin,
Any fabrics or materials that you're in contact with.
And then bring your awareness gently to your breath.
And just by bringing your awareness to it,
You've probably slowed it down a little bit.
I tried to just leave it as it is for now.
And just observe the length,
The depth,
The quality.
Noticing the parts of the breath.
Feeling your inhale,
Experiencing your exhale.
And noticing too the pause at the top of the inhale where the body is neither breathing in or out.
And that slight pause at the end of the exhale where the body is neither breathing in or out.
Noticing the length of that pause.
Again,
Not trying to change it,
Not trying to control it,
But just observing.
And as you breathe,
The jaw is released,
Is softened.
Chest is wide.
The breath can flow freely.
Ebbing and flowing like a gentle tide.
Rising and falling.
And you feel yourself getting more and more relaxed with every breath.
With every exhale,
More and more relaxed.
Throughout this practice,
We'll use our breath as our anchor to bring us back.
Whenever our mind wanders too far away from our reflections.
It's now autumn.
The time of the harvest.
When our ancestors lived more closely connected to the earth.
And there their communities grew their food.
This is the time of the year they'd celebrate the summer's abundance.
What abundance did you experience this summer?
What blessings have you received?
Take a moment to think about this.
And express real gratitude for these harvests.
The things that you put your energy and effort into over the last few months,
Or maybe even since the start of the year.
Reflect upon the fruits of that beautiful effort.
What are the things in your life and within you personally that you've been developing and nurturing this year?
Any projects,
Anything you've created.
Large or small,
Whatever you've brought to fruition.
Accomplishments.
A house move,
A build,
Something in your education,
Your career.
Maybe you took up a language or a sport.
Or maybe you developed something that you've already been working on long-term.
How have you grown personally since the beginning of the year?
Sit with that for a moment.
Really recognize the things you've accomplished and the hard work you've put in.
Tell yourself how proud you are of all the hard work you've put in this year.
Talk to yourself like you would to a friend or a child.
Really let yourself know how proud you are.
Allow your heart space to be filled with gratitude,
Self-love and compassion.
But let's reflect on balance.
The autumn equinox is one of only two days throughout the year when the earth is in perfect balance.
Two days.
That makes a perfect time to examine balance in our own lives.
In what areas of your life do you feel really well balanced?
Where do you feel out of balance?
Why do you think that is?
Did you work too hard?
Is there anything you can do for yourself in the next 24 hours that could help bring something back into alignment?
Even if it's just setting an energetic boundary.
And then prepare to let go.
In autumn we are drawn in particular to the balance between life and death.
Just think of Halloween.
We know that death or endings are necessary in order for new life to grow in the spring.
That's true for the trees and the flowers.
It's true for the self as well.
In order to experience new growth for our souls,
We need to let go of our old leaves.
Our old patterns,
Habits,
Things that no longer serve us.
What can you let go of?
What are the leaves that you need to shed to achieve that soul growth?
Is there impatience,
Doubts,
Fears,
Anxiety,
Excess stress,
Frustration?
Is there something you can do or a decision you can make in the next 24 hours that can help you to let go?
Bring your awareness back to your body.
Relax your breath and use it to anchor you to the moment.
Check in with the body,
Allowing any stagnant energy to release with the exhales.
The sun is waning,
The days are now getting shorter than the nights.
Once again,
Reflect on the blessings that you've harvested this autumn.
Summer was a season of abundance,
Joy.
It's important to take a moment to notice that and express deep gratitude for the sunshine,
For the holidays,
For whatever the summer brought you.
And third,
Be proud.
The wheel of the year is slowly turning from the beauty and abundance of summer towards the cold darkness of winter.
And in that transition period,
Things must die,
Things must be let go of in order for that growth to occur in the spring.
Take these final few moments of this meditation and reflection to once again,
Think about what you need to let go of in order to make room for new life,
New soul growth.
Can you hold the gratitude at the same time as you're holding the idea of letting go?
Grateful in one hand,
Releasing with the other.
Surya and Chandra.
The mind has wandered.
Bring it back to your breath.
Back to an intention now to release,
To let those leaves fall.
They no longer serve.
The only way we can get fresh growth in the spring is by releasing and letting go.
You know this in your heart.
Just be brave enough to let go.
To do it now.
The eyes are closed.
Gently blink them open.
Take some stretches here.
Extending your arms up towards the sky like the tree that we spoke of.
Gently moving your head from side to side and if you're lying down,
Coming up to a seat.
I wish you a beautiful autumn season.
And I'm so grateful to you for sharing this space with me today.
Thank yourself for taking the time to do something for you.
Let's bring our hands into Anjali Mudra and gently bow towards your fingertips.
Namaste.
