Whenever you're feeling disconnected,
Unbalanced or distracted,
I invite you to listen to this grounding meditation to reconnect to the nurturing energy of Mother Earth.
Find a comfortable seat,
Sit tall,
The crown of your head reaching upwards,
Your tailbone reaching downwards,
Feel your spine and neck get nice and long,
Now close your eyes,
Go inwards,
Cultivate a sense of complete stillness and silence within,
Still the body,
Still the mind,
Now sense the air beneath your nostrils and begin to tune into your breath,
Breathe in and out through your nose,
Allowing the air to flow naturally without forcing or changing anything,
Simply observe your incoming and outgoing breath as it is in this moment,
Listen to your respiration like you've never listened before,
Slowly begin to draw out the inhalation and lengthen the exhalation,
Imagine your torso is a container of air and just like pouring a jug of water into a glass,
As you inhale start to fill your container,
Your torso from the bottom up,
Then breathe out,
Empty your torso from the top down,
Continue breathing at your own pace,
Visualising yourself filling and emptying the container,
Begin to feel the prana,
Life force energy rise and fall with the breath,
Inhale,
Follow the breath as it moves upwards towards the crown of your head,
Pause briefly at the top,
Exhale,
Follow the breath downwards towards the earth and pause once more,
Keep going,
Inhale,
Pause,
Exhale,
Pause,
Release and return to a natural soft breath,
Bring your attention to the top of your head and stay here for a few moments,
How does it feel here?
You might feel light-headed or perhaps you notice a tingling sensation,
Enjoy it,
Now shift your focus to the base of your spine,
Notice where your buttocks,
Legs and feet touch the floor or the chair that you are sat on right now,
How does this feel different?
Perhaps you feel heavier,
Calmer,
Keeping your eyes closed,
Visualise yourself sitting on a tree stump in the middle of a lush green rainforest,
Notice the sounds of the birds chirping in the distance,
Smell the fresh woodland air and feel the soft warm breeze on your skin,
Now shift your focus to the parts of your body that are in contact with the tree stump,
Allow the stump to hold and support the weight of your entire body,
Feel your legs and tailbone grow heavy,
The stump has now become an extension of your body and your legs have become the roots of the tree trunk and as you continue to breathe your breath turns into energy,
Into prana,
Focus this energy,
This prana flowing downwards towards your feet,
Towards the earth,
Visualise the roots slowly growing down towards the earth centre,
Imagine as you inhale that the nutrients and energy of the earth are coming up through that root,
Up through your sacrum and spine and moving upwards through your body,
Filling you with earthy grounding energy,
As you exhale release the energy that no longer serves you back to the earth below you,
Inhale feel the prana draw up nurturing your body with this earth's energy,
Exhale return the energy back to the earth,
Become aware of this subtle exchange of energies,
Release the breath,
Feel yourself rooted in stillness,
As this meditation draws to a close feel free to stay here a little longer and when you are ready bring your awareness back to the space around you,
Notice any sounds,
Any smells,
Feel the weight of your clothes and your skin,
Take a deep breath in,
Take a deep breath out,
Know that you can return to this practice whenever you need to,
To reconnect to the earth's energy,
To recharge and rejuvenate.
