Welcome to a meditation for the winter solstice,
A space and a time to honor this natural invitation to pause.
My name is Kelly Villarreal and I'm honored to share this time with you.
I invite you to take a moment to find a comfortable seat and begin to let your body settle.
You might take a moment here to draw the tops of your shoulders up toward your ears and then let them settle heavy away.
You could take a long slow breath in through your nose and a settling breath or a clearing sigh out.
You might allow your eyes to drop closed and begin to center your awareness in your body.
You might begin to watch your breath drawing in and softly moving back out.
The time of winter solstice,
Sometimes also called the hibernal solstice,
Brings us the darkest and the shortest day of the year.
And there is a natural invitation at this time to slow down,
To turn our awareness in,
To rest,
To digest,
To process.
But this natural invitation is often at odds with our wider cultural traditions around this time when the energy around us is often frenetic and busy.
The arrival of the first day of winter ushers in a pause in the movement of the sun in the sky over a period of three days.
And there's a natural reminder there of the value and the place in nature to be still and to honor the presence of both darkness and light.
And a space to remember that the light of our being carries us through the times of darkness.
This pause is a powerful opportunity to notice both what we want to cultivate in the season ahead and what might best be left to rest in the season that is ending.
You might take a moment now to notice,
To hear,
To listen for that space inside,
For an intention that might arise that you'd like to carry through the rest of this practice and this season.
And as that intention becomes clear,
You might just repeat it to yourself quietly three times.
Begin to notice the natural rhythm that your breath has settled into here.
Notice the inhale part of the breath distinct from the exhale part of the breath.
And the qualities present with each part of the breath.
The more awake,
Enlivening quality of inhale,
Followed by the quieter,
Settling quality of your exhale.
And as you watch the body breathe,
Notice at the top of the breath,
The peak of the inhale.
That between your inhale and your exhale,
There is a pause.
Notice the space at the bottom of the breath.
That beat,
The moment of empty before the next inhale fills the body.
Notice how the rise and fall of your breath is supported by transitions,
By moments of stillness.
You can notice how the simple rhythms present in your breath are mirrored back to you in the rhythms of the world.
How the waves flow ceaselessly in and back out.
How these rhythms are present in the tide,
In the lunar cycle,
In the way that days flow to seasons,
The way that seasons flow into years.
Notice how every part of these cycles has its place.
And feel how the wisdom of these cycles and these natural rhythms lives inside of you.
Feel from a deep knowing that you are not separate from the rhythms or the cycles of nature,
But exists breath by breath inside of those cycles.
And in this way,
Intimately connected to the world around you.
For these next few moments,
Continue to watch the rhythm of your breath.
Notice the stillness inside and to rest in the quiet.
And feel how the rhythm of your breath is supported by transitions,
By moments of stillness.
And feel how the rhythm of your breath is supported by transitions,
By moments of stillness.
And feel how the rhythm of your breath is supported by transitions,
By moments of stillness.
And allow the breath to become a little deeper in the body.
I wish you a sweet time of solstice and year beyond.
Thank you so much for practicing with me today.
