I'm going to lead you through a meditation today that's best done lying down on your back.
So take a few minutes to find a comfortable place where you can lie down without any restriction.
All of us at one time or another experience some sort of stress or challenge that leaves us feeling like we may need to be reminded of the support that surrounds us or may feel like we need to be reminded of our inner strength.
So if you are experiencing something similar to this,
This meditation is for you.
So finding a comfortable lying down position,
Maybe using a blanket,
Anything that helps you remain warm.
And take a slow deep inhale through your nose and exhale opening your mouth,
Let it go.
We'll do that one more time.
Slow deep inhale through your nose and let it go.
Now just breathing without any effort.
And begin to sense the support you have where your body makes contact with the floor.
Notice the stability of this support,
How it does not change.
Call into mind an image of the most beautiful mountain you know or can imagine.
Let it gradually come into greater focus.
And even if it doesn't come as a visual image,
Focus on the sense of this mountain.
Feel its overall shape,
Its peaks in the sky,
Its large base rooted in the ground and its sloping sides.
Notice how massive this mountain is,
How solid,
How still and strong.
What season is it?
Is there snow or a meadow of flowers,
Streams or waterfalls?
Notice its qualities and how you feel observing it.
Now see if you can bring the mountain into your own body so that your body becomes this strong,
Solid and peaceful mountain.
Your head becomes the peak reaching to the sky with confidence.
Your shoulders and arms,
The sides of the mountain,
Protecting you.
Your legs,
The solid base supporting you.
Feel your body long and tall,
Strong like the mountain.
As you lay here,
Become aware that as the sun travels across the sky,
The light and colors are changing every moment.
Night follows day and day follows night,
Bringing warmth and coolness,
Stars and clouds.
Through all of this change,
The mountain just sits,
Experiencing changes in each moment.
It is constantly changing,
Yet always just being itself.
It remains still and strong as the seasons follow into one another,
As weather shifts.
But none of this matters to the mountain,
Which always remains its essential,
Peaceful self.
It remains still and strong no matter what happens on its surface.
Feel this still and strong presence in the face of everything that changes in your life.
We all have our own periods of light and darkness,
Ease and intensity,
Happiness and sadness.
The things that happen to us,
Our thoughts and feelings,
Are very much like the weather of the mountain.
They are ever-changing,
But always beneath them lies our essential,
Strong self.
With each breath,
Feel your essential,
Strong self.
Feel the strength filling up the body with each inhale and each exhale,
The full support of your mat beneath you.
You gently breathing here,
Feeling the body expanding with strength on each inhale and exhale.
Taking a couple of final deep inhales as you fill the body with your inner strength and exhale to feel the support beneath you.
And as you're ready,
Beginning to bring gentle movements to your fingers and to your toes while still maintaining awareness on the support beneath you.
Eventually,
Gently opening your eyes.
Taking a full body stretch,
Inhaling arms overhead,
Fingers reach away from the toes.
And on your exhale,
Knees hugging in towards the chest and roll over onto one side of the body.
Using your bottom arm as a little pillow for your head,
Taking a few moments here just to pause and really connect with that inner feeling of strength that you have cultivated in this meditation.
And when you're ready,
Gently pressing yourself back up to a seated position and closing our practice.
Thank you for sharing this time with me and I hope you can take this feeling of strength and centeredness and support with you into the rest of your day.
