Welcome to Imagination Meditation,
I'm Diana.
Today let's envision a snowy hillside that's starting to show the signs of the upcoming spring.
To begin,
Let's first make ourselves nice and comfy,
Sitting upright on a lovely cushiony spot,
Maybe seated on a pillow or blanket of some kind.
Sitting up tall so we're alert and ready to take in the sweetness of meditation,
Setting your shoulders down away from your ears.
Maybe turn your head just a bit from side to side,
Tilt your head to one side and then the other,
Just to limber up and relax your neck muscles.
Roll your shoulders forward and then back.
Now feel free to close your eyes or simply let your eyelids close halfway and adjust your gaze softly towards the floor.
Let's start with one breath in and one breath out.
One breath in and one breath out.
Now go ahead and breathe in as much air as you possibly can and release it out in one big exhale.
One more time,
Big breath in and send it all out.
Now go ahead and stretch your arms out to the sides and bring them above your head,
Getting that nice stretch,
Elongating your upper body,
Reaching up toward the sky as far as your fingers will go.
Slowly circle your arms back out to the sides and down to your lap.
Let's do this two more times,
Following with our breath.
Stretch up and breathe a deep breath in and then let the air go as you let your arms fall slowly to your sides.
One more time,
Breathe in,
Stretching upwards and then breathe it out as you release your arms back down.
Now I'd like to invite you to breathe in as you count to four and at the same time feel your back lengthen and turn your face upward to the sky and on the next exhale count again to four and release your head back down to face the earth.
Here we go,
Inhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Face up to the clouds and exhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Bringing your head back down.
Go ahead and breathe in this manner a few more times.
Feel the front of your neck elongating as you face the sky on the in breath and then feel your back line opening as you exhale and bring your chin down.
Feel your muscles unwinding,
Any unease in the neck dissipating.
And now let's come back to center.
Take a few more breaths in this stillness.
And now let's journey to today's imagination destination.
You find yourself facing an expansive field gently sloping upward into a soft hillside.
A white blanket of snow covers the grass.
The field looks infinite,
Unbroken by any man-made structures,
Just plain sun pine trees as far as the eye can see.
The fir trees dot the base of the hillside.
Then as your eye rises upward towards the hill's crest,
The pine trees become thicker and then disappear behind the top of the ridge.
Between you and the hill lies only the field.
Nothing disturbs the stillness.
The air feels just a bit crisp,
The gentle breeze quietly ruffling the pine branches.
The sun shines down upon the vista,
Unblocked by any clouds,
The rays easily reaching all.
You look down at your feet.
Snow looks purest white against your shoes.
Go ahead and move your toes across the snow.
See the indentations that are formed upon the slightest touch.
Looking closer,
You notice that the snow appears a bit slushy,
As if it's starting to succumb to the sun.
It's not even a thick layer.
The brown earth and the dark green of wet grass peek through.
You look up and peer closer at the hillside in front of you.
It's actually not a solid white layer of snow.
Rather,
You can see dots of green and brown sprinkled over the hillside.
You find a dark patch near your feet.
The earth is dark brown in color,
The dirt wet from snow.
Tufts of short grass are visible.
The grass holds varied shades of both green and brown,
Some darker,
Some light.
You see another dark patch of ground nearby,
And another,
And another.
One dark patch appears to have some other colors in it.
You look closer,
And you can see small white flowers,
Snowdrops,
Within the spot of dirt and grass.
The little blooms look like bells hanging off their stems.
The white petals facing the earth from which they came.
They look so delicate and small,
But their hardiness allows them to flourish before any others.
Take some time here to enjoy the scenery.
Back in your surroundings,
Observe the snow-covered field hiding the grass below.
The pine trees steady,
Unmoving,
With their branches slowly swaying in the breeze.
The patches of earth peeking through the melting,
Slushy snow.
The snowdrops making their way forth into the world,
Heralding the coming of springtime.
Take a few minutes here to simply enjoy.
Unbelievable.
You you you you you you you And now let's prepare to come back to the room in which we physically reside.
Keeping your eyes closed or your gaze softened,
Take a long breath together with me.
Inhale and release.
One more.
Breathe in and exhale out.
Let's stretch our arms out to the sides and then up over our head.
And then gently release your arms back down.
Again stretching the arms up as we inhale and letting them go back to our sides as we exhale.
Now stretch your toes out in front of you,
Stretching your legs out long.
Now feel the crown of your head raise toward the sky,
Elongating your back.
Release your forehead upwards,
Taking in the goodness of the universe above you.
Take a nice long inhale.
Then gently release your head back to neutral position with a long exhale.
And whenever you're ready,
Feel free to open your eyes or adjust your gaze.
Thank you for joining me for today's meditation.
I hope you feel a sense of renewal,
Just like the snow melts when spring arrives,
And that you can take strength from the hardy little snowdrop,
Just like these delicate yet resilient flowers,
You are also able to awaken from times of cold and can flourish into the beautiful and strong self that you are.
I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day.
Until next time!
