Hello and welcome.
My name is Alex and this meditation is going to be a reflection on the year 2021.
We're going to use our breath and our awareness to help us ground into our body.
And then we're going to use the power of visualization to move into a practice of releasing what no longer serves us and extracting the wisdom that we gained from our experiences this year.
I invite you to find a comfortable seat and prop yourself up if you need to.
You may use a yoga block or a bolster or a pillow or even find a chair or sit up against a wall or the edge of your bed just so that you are supported and your spine is comfortable.
When you are ready,
In whatever shape your body has taken for this meditation,
I'd like you to now close your eyes.
You may rest your hands on your knees or in your lap,
Whatever is most comfortable for you.
And let's collectively take a deep breath in through the nose and then a deep breath out through the mouth,
Sighing it out.
We'll do that two more times.
Deep breath in through the nose and an exhale through your mouth.
One more time.
Deep breath in through the nose and a deep exhale to sigh it out.
Close your mouth and find a normal and natural breath and just stay observant to your breathing,
Noticing the inhales and the exhales without trying to fix them,
Without judging them,
Simply observing the breath as it moves in and out.
Notice the coolness of the breath as it moves into your nostrils on the inhale and the warmth of the breath as it leaves your nostrils on the exhale.
Take just a moment here to observe this breath,
Maybe for the first time consciously today.
And as you observe your breath without manipulating it,
Just noticing it,
I'm going to guide us through a quick body scan to help us ground a little bit more into our body in this present moment.
So I'd like you to bring your attention and awareness to your sitting bones,
Whether you're sitting on the floor or in a chair,
Just noticing your sitting bones ground down into the seat beneath you.
And if you're laying down for this meditation,
Just noticing the backside of your body as it's supported by the bed or by the ground.
As you sit,
Allow your sitting bones to get a little bit heavier in your seat.
Imagine beautiful tree roots branching from your sitting bones into the ground beneath you,
Connecting you a little bit deeper to the earth that holds you.
Notice if any muscles are contracting or if anything is holding you in tension.
And see if you can relax your sitting bones,
Your hips,
Your pelvis,
Your legs,
And your feet and toes,
And allow them to be a little more heavy.
Know that you are supported and held by Mother Earth always.
So allow yourself to give into the space that holds you.
Take a deep breath here.
Now I'd like you to bring your attention to your belly.
And if you'd like,
Take your palm and place it over your belly space and allow your belly to be soft.
Allow it to take up space,
Meeting your palm,
Protruding out in front of you.
And let the breath that you take in fill the belly,
The front and the sides and the backside of you,
Until your belly is filled with breath and then notice it contract as you exhale fully.
And likewise,
Allow your attention to now wander up towards your heart.
And if you'd like,
Again,
You can take your other palm and place it over your heart.
And just notice as the top of that inhale catches your heart space.
And allow your shoulders to let this heart space be open.
Imagine your shoulders like heavy sandbags that you can just drop down your back to the floor.
And allow that opening through your chest to keep your heart a touch more vulnerable.
Pause here and notice the breath,
Soft belly,
Open heart,
Connected root.
And last but not least,
Bring your attention to your face and allow your eyes to be heavy in their sockets as you let your brow unfurl and your jaw relax.
And imagine that the crown of your head is reaching up towards the sky above you,
Lengthening your spine just a little bit more.
And now let's take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.
Now that we have our body in alignment,
Connected to our breath and to our inner landscape,
Let's move into the reflection of this year with our mind's eye.
I invite you to visualize the first image that comes to mind as I guide us into this landscape,
Trusting that the images that come to you are meant for you.
Imagine that you are at the entrance,
At the threshold of a beautiful forest.
Just take a moment to land in this space.
Look around and take in the forest that is before you.
It could be a place that's familiar to you or something new.
Nevertheless,
You are safe and protected here.
Take a look at your feet as you notice the ground beneath you.
Notice the grass or the leaves.
Notice the temperature and how it feels on your skin.
Notice even any sounds that you may hear other than the sound of my voice.
And as you land here,
I'd like you to now step into the forest one step at a time.
And as you walk in,
Notice that it is twilight,
Not quite dark,
But the sun is slowly starting to set.
And as you walk into this forest,
I'd like you to just keep observing what is happening around you.
Animals might scurry,
There's life in this forest,
Take notice of it.
What can you see and hear?
Know that you are welcome into this beautiful magical space as you walk deeper into the forest.
Notice the trees and the branches,
The colors that come alive,
Even now as the day slowly starts to wane.
And as you walk deeper into the forest,
Getting a little more comfortable and brave,
Imagine that there is a beautiful fire that you see in front of you at the center of the forest.
It's a great big bonfire,
And it feels warm and welcoming.
And so you approach this fire and you take a seat beside it.
Notice the flames as they grow large,
The embers that burn in the fire.
The smells that now radiate through the forest that make you feel safe,
Connected to something simple.
A beautiful fire in a beautiful forest.
And as you take a seat next to this fire,
Much like you are sitting right now,
I'd like you to touch your fingertips to the ground beneath you,
Feeling dirt or grass or both,
Landing in this space,
Connecting to the land that welcomes you here.
Now as you sit here by the fire,
Noticing its flying colors,
Its warmth,
Its passion,
Notice also that the day has now really started to sink and it's now nighttime.
And as the light no longer permeates through the forest,
You can see that the flame of the fire starts to dance on the leaves.
And the fire really radiates in the forest so that all kinds of shadows come to life.
And there is a beautiful magic that unfolds before you.
You may hear an owl in the distance or hear some squirrels running in play.
Everything about this night in the forest with this beautiful fire feels so magical to you.
You are safe and protected and welcome in this space.
And as you notice the fire flicker onto the bark of the trees and the leaves,
You look up and you notice that there is a clearing through the tall branches.
And you can see a beautiful night sky with stars and maybe even a sliver of a moon.
And it feels so heartwarming to be connected to not just the land,
But also to the heavens above you.
And how this place feels like home.
It is now time to reflect on the year.
And we're going to use the power of fire to help us with this reflection.
So as you sit here by the fire in this beautiful magical forest,
I want you to think of the year in reverse.
Rewind your way through the year 2021.
You can go month by month or you can allow the power of your memory just to move you through significant events.
And I'd like you to ask yourself this question.
What has made me strong in the year 2021?
What has made me strong?
And just pause and listen for the answer.
Whatever memories come up,
Acknowledge them.
And I'm going to give you just a moment of silence to rewind this year.
So that you may see what has made you strong.
It could be a relationship,
It could be a situation,
Could be a milestone in life.
A success,
A failure even.
A loss,
An accomplishment,
Anything at all.
And as you bring to mind one or many things that have made you strong this year.
I'd like you to take that collection of visuals and send it down into the ground that you sit on.
Imagine that visual moving deeper into Mother Earth beneath you,
As if the ground opens up and receives that visual of strength.
And as you send that visual down into the ground,
Imagine that that strength that moved you within this year is now helping you walk this earth for many more years to come.
Now I'd like you to rewind that year again and ask yourself,
What has made me soft?
What has made me soft in the year 2021?
And I'm going to give you some time and silence now just to rewind the year and think of all the things or people or situations that have made you soft,
Humble,
Kind.
Oftentimes,
The situations or people that can soothe our rough edges.
Allow us to tap into our own humility.
So take that visual one or many that have made you soft and imagine that collection of visuals moving up towards Father Sky,
Up towards that beautiful night sky with those stars and that sliver of a moon.
And imagine the sky receiving your softness.
Imagine that sky receiving your humility and your grace.
So that it may shower down upon you many more moments and opportunities of humility,
Of softness for years to come.
Now,
As you sit here by the fire,
I'd like you to bring to mind one last thing.
What are you now ready to let go of?
As the year 2021 comes to a close,
What are you now ready to surrender?
Is it a place,
A person,
A situation,
An idea,
A project,
A fear maybe?
Whatever it is,
Imagine what you'd like to let go of now.
Bring it into your mind's eye.
It could be one thing or many.
There's no limit here.
And when you have a visual in mind or a collection of visuals that you are now ready to surrender,
I'd like you to visualize that in the fire.
Because this is the space where we're going to truly let it go.
Whether it's a person,
An idea,
A fear,
A limitation,
Imagine it burning in the fire and allowing the power of fire to transmute that energy.
We're no longer holding on to anything that is going to stunt our growth for 2022.
We're now using the power of this fire to let anything and everything go that no longer serves our highest good.
So imagine that burning in the fire before you and let it go.
It's time now to move forward.
Imagine that the fire is getting a little bit smaller.
It's had its fill.
And now it's starting to slowly die down.
And the flames are not as big and energetic anymore.
They're a little bit smaller,
A little more humble.
And sit there and notice as the fire goes all the way out until all is left.
Until all is left is just some beautifully glowing embers and the ash of what we've surrendered.
And as the fire goes out,
I'd like you to stand up and look around the forest now with new and fresh eyes.
It's no longer nighttime.
It is now the dawn of a new day.
And the forest is back in a different kind of life.
And so are you.
Take a look around again.
As you make your way back out to the clearing from where you came.
Notice as you walk this same path that brought you in that's now taking you back out.
Reflecting on this year is not always an easy task.
The things or people or circumstances that often felt impossible.
We can now look with fresh eyes and know that no matter what,
We are strong.
We are capable.
We adapt and mold ourselves to all the ups and downs of life.
And that life often happens for us.
Even if it doesn't always feel like that in the moment.
We are a collection of our strengths,
Of our humility and softness and grace.
And if we can learn to let go at the end of every year,
We can begin again.
Walk out of the forest now.
Cross that threshold into the clearing of a new chapter,
A new beginning,
A new year.
When you're ready,
Very gently begin to blink your eyes open and come back into your space.
You may wiggle your toes and fingers or move your body in any way that feels really nourishing and takes you back into the present moment of where you are.
And before we end our time together,
I'd like you to bring your palms to touch in front of your heart and take a moment to bow your head towards your heart,
Acknowledging your journey through this year of 2021.
We reflect so that we can remember our own wisdom and know that even in the darkest and hardest times,
There is always a silver lining.
Thank yourself for showing up.
May the new year bring you just as much abundance,
Wisdom and self reflection on your journey.
Thank you.
Namaste.
