Welcome to your guided imagery practice.
Before we rest our bodies in stillness today,
I wanted to bring just a little bit of movement,
Focusing on shoulders and hips.
So before you find your comfortable position,
Let's go into a wider tabletop position.
So hands and knees,
Instead of the knees being directly under the hips,
We're going to take them out a bit wider and just start just pushing your hips back almost like a wider child's pose.
If your body wants stillness right now,
Honor that.
If it's welcoming movement,
Then maybe a nice gentle sway,
Just shifting the weight ever so slightly from hip to hip.
Just feeling that deeper stretch as you sway or rock or maybe circle your hips around.
Just noting,
Not judging,
Not complaining,
Not worrying,
Just noting where you feel maybe a little tighter,
Maybe where you feel a little more relaxed or where you feel good.
And if you feel up for it,
Placing that left hand kind of in the center,
Keeping the legs out wide,
Rotating through the chest and opening that right arm up towards the sky.
Not forcing the twist,
Just a nice gentle twist to whatever end range your body has,
Your body calls for.
And again,
If you're craving a little more movement,
You can create an arc.
So beginning by shifting the hips back and stretching that right arm forward,
Either straight or at an angle,
Wherever feels best for you.
And then pulling the hips back over the knees as your arm arcs up and over your body as far back as you would like.
Maybe moving with the breath if that feels good to you or just allowing the movement to naturally flow.
Again,
Noticing where you might feel tighter,
Where you might feel tenser,
If you feel any sharp pains.
Just noting anything you feel.
Again,
Not judging it,
Not trying to fix it,
Not trying to control it or define it,
Just noting it.
And if you decided to do the arm overhead,
Going ahead and switching now.
Right hand between your wide tabletop legs,
Left arm reaches up and over towards the sky,
Rotating at the chest.
If you want that movement,
Slowly shifting your hips back,
Stretching your left arm in front of you.
And then as you pull the hips in,
Keeping the core tight,
Arcing that arm up over and behind you as far as is comfortable,
As far as you'd like.
And again,
If you don't want the movement,
Staying in that wider hip stretch and just deepening the stretch,
Relaxing further into it.
If you'd like a little further movement in the shoulders or maybe even across the chest,
Staying in that wide tabletop,
Bringing your arms out to each side like a T as if you're trying to flatten your chest to the mat or the ground,
The grass,
Whatever is beneath you.
Your butt will go to the sky as your chest comes to the ground.
And you can play with kind of shifting your weight from side to side,
Keeping the hands down and just feeling that stretch in the front of the shoulder,
Whichever shoulder is pushing towards the mat is where you might feel the stretch.
And again,
This doesn't feel good.
If you don't want to do it,
Just hanging out for whenever you'd like.
Not forcing,
Not controlling,
Just really listening to what your body wants,
Not what your mind wants.
Not feeling like you have to do anything just listening for what your body is truly calling for.
And whenever you're ready,
Coming to a more neutral tabletop,
Some knees directly below hips,
Wrists beneath the shoulders.
Just a couple cat cows here.
So on your inhale,
Your gaze looks up,
Your back arches,
Your pelvis tucks behind you,
Just inhaling deeply.
And on your exhale,
Rounding the spine,
Pushing through the hands to round the upper back as the pelvis tucks forward underneath you.
Just going with your own flow,
Whether you want to go with your breath or you just want to let it all organically flow,
Whatever feels best.
Rocking in that arch or maybe swaying the hips and the cow.
And then same thing,
Rocking a little bit in that round,
Maybe swaying the hips around,
Noticing any differences,
Noticing if one feels good,
If one maybe doesn't feel so good.
Again,
Just noticing,
Not controlling,
Not dictating,
Just noticing.
And whenever you're ready,
Just pushing back into the hips,
Knees as wide or as narrow as is comfortable.
And we're just going to do a nice resting child's pose before we find some stillness.
If you want a still child's pose,
Allowing that stillness.
You still have a little movement left,
Maybe swaying a little bit,
Stretching each shoulder as you shift your weight from side to side,
Walking the hands out further in front of you.
Maybe tucking the chin to your chest,
Knees close together if you want more of a low back stretch or a low back slight decompression.
And again,
Not forcing anything,
Just gentle,
Intuitive.
And whenever you're ready,
Finding a comfortable position to find your stillness.
Whether you want to sit,
Whether you want to lay,
Laying on your back in Shavasana,
On your back and a hip opener,
Chest opener,
Whatever feels right to you.
Just finding that stillness,
Settling in.
As you begin to find that position,
Once your body stills,
Your mind will probably become a bit more active.
Maybe you're thinking about areas that are tighter now that weren't this tight before or vice versa,
Areas that feel better now that were tighter before.
Maybe you're thinking about whatever work situation you have or family situation you have.
As you're finding the stillness,
Again,
Just take note where your mind goes.
We aren't here to control that.
We aren't here to judge that.
We're just noticing it,
Noting it.
As you find that stillness,
Bring your attention to your belly.
Notice your breath.
Notice if your belly is filling with each breath.
It is.
Keep focusing on that.
Keep focusing on expanding that stomach with each inhale,
Compressing it with each exhale.
If you notice your belly isn't quite expanding or contracting with your breath,
Focus your attention on trying to achieve that.
With your inhales,
Breathing in deep,
Pushing your belly out,
Expanding it.
On the exhale,
Slowly sucking belly to spine.
On the inhale,
Expanding that stomach,
Pushing it out towards the sky,
Towards the horizon in front of you if you're sitting.
On the exhale,
Bringing belly button to spine,
Sucking it in,
Holding it tight,
Finding a rhythm in that.
Again,
Not judging if you aren't doing it.
If it's hard for you to fill your belly,
You could try bending your knees if you're laying on your back.
That might help you get a little bit more air into your stomach.
Just focusing on this breath here,
This diaphragmatic breathing,
Breathing from the belly,
The awareness of breath.
As you find comfort in this breath,
As you find familiarity,
Begin to bring your attention to your root,
The base of your spine.
As you bring your awareness there,
Just picturing a red flower,
The petals gradually expanding,
The red of the flower growing more vibrant with each breath.
Another petal growing out with each breath.
This red flower at the base of your spine.
A representation of your root chakra,
The roots of you growing down into the earth,
The roots of your soul,
The roots of your lineage.
Noticing if just the mention of that brings up anything in you.
Each breath,
Another petal blooms on this bright red flower at the base of your spine.
As that last petal reaches and sprouts outward,
The red growing brighter,
The flower staying put at the base of your spine.
Bring your attention now to your sacral chakra,
Your sacrum,
The low back area,
Right about your belly button.
Petals on this flower are orange.
With each breath,
A new petal blooms.
Each inhale,
The flower goes brighter.
With each exhale,
A new petal forms.
This orange flower represents outward growth,
Creativity,
Flow,
Perspectives,
Opinions.
Noticing if that brings anything up in you.
As you continue to breathe more vibrancy and more life into this flower.
It's the last petal on your orange sacral chakra flower blooms.
Imagining it staying put right there.
Your belly button,
Your sacrum,
Your low back.
Moving up now to your solar plexus.
Space between your ribs,
Middle of your back,
Right around where your diaphragm is.
Each inhale,
Vibrant yellow comes to life.
Each exhale,
Another petal on that solar plexus flower blooms.
Inhaling more light,
More yellow.
Exhaling more petals,
More growth.
This yellow flower representing the ego.
Representing self-esteem,
Confidence,
The letting go of,
Or maybe the learning more about your ego,
Yourself.
Noticing what,
If anything,
That brings up in you.
As you breathe in more vibrancy and you breathe out more growth.
Allowing that flower to stay put at that place between your ribs,
At your diaphragm.
Moving up now to your chest.
Picturing green,
Breathing in that vibrant green color.
Breathing out petals,
The growth of that flower.
Breathing in the acceptance,
The love,
The peace.
Breathing out the growth that those mindsets achieve.
Noticing if that brings up anything in you.
This heart chakra,
This green flower,
That you're growing more vibrant,
More luscious with each breath.
As you grow that heart chakra flower,
As that last petal reaches out,
Imagining it staying put in the center of your chest,
At your heart.
Moving up now to your throat.
The blue throat chakra.
Breathing in that color,
Breathing in the blue.
Breathing out the petals of this throat chakra.
Letting them reach in all directions as you charge this flower.
The throat chakra representing expression,
Communication.
Breathing in that vibrant blue.
Breathing out that communicative flower petal.
Noticing what this brings up in you.
As you continue to breathe in the energy,
The life force,
Into this flower,
This chakra of communication.
As you breathe out that last petal,
Imagining this flower staying put the center of your throat,
This vibrant blue flower.
Moving up now to the third eye,
The place between your brows.
Breathing in the deep indigo color.
Breathing out a soft,
Strong,
Effortlessly gorgeous petals.
Breathing in that deep purple blue.
Breathing out the petal growing in all directions.
This third eye chakra representation of intuition,
Visualization,
Imagery.
Breathing in that vibrant color.
Breathing out the flower grows,
The petal grows.
Again,
Noticing what this might bring up in you.
As that last third eye petal grows,
Imagining that flower staying placed right between your eyebrows.
As you bring your awareness to the top of your head.
Breathing in a vibrant white.
Breathing out these beautiful petals in all directions.
The crown represents self-realization,
Highest self,
Soul.
Noticing how that makes you feel.
What that brings for you.
As you continue to breathe in this vibrant,
Glowing white.
Breathing in the soft,
Velvety petals.
In your next inhale,
Imagining yourself looking down as you lie there,
As you sit there.
With each flower,
The red root flower,
The orange sacral flower,
The yellow solar plexus flower,
The green heart flower,
The blue throat flower,
The indigo third eye flower.
Glowing vibrantly as you look down at yourself with these flowers.
Imagine the energy as a steady stream that goes from red all the way up to white.
Once it reaches white,
Going out around your body,
Creating your auric field,
Your chakra field,
Your energetic field,
Whatever you'd like to call it.
Just picturing that energy flowing and letting go of the judgments,
The hesitation.
Letting go of the need to be,
The need to think,
The need to do.
Just being,
Just observing,
Just feeling this energy that you created with your breath,
With your mind,
With your body and soul.
Just allowing yourself to sit with that energy for a moment,
Appreciating it,
Nurturing it,
Breathing more life into it.
Each inhale,
The energy pulling up through the flowers,
Exhale,
The energy circling around your body.
Just this constant flow of you,
Slowly bringing your attention back to within.
Before we begin the imagery portion,
Just taking note of any limiting beliefs that came up,
Either through the stretching,
Through the chakra alignment.
Anything you might be feeling judgmental towards with yourself,
Maybe worried for,
For yourself.
Feeling you weren't enough,
Whether that's feeling you too much,
Whether that's needing to be in control or wishing you had more control,
Whatever it is.
Just giving that belief some attention,
Not letting it run away,
Not letting it overtake you.
Just bringing some awareness,
Some attention to it.
With that belief in your mind,
Take a big,
Deep breath in,
Fill your belly up as far,
As wide,
As big as you can.
On the exhale,
You're going to open your mouth,
Stick out your tongue,
Just sigh out the breath.
Again,
Nice,
Big inhale,
Drink up every last bit of air.
On the exhale,
Lion's breath,
Open your mouth,
Stick out your tongue,
Sigh it all away.
Another breath,
Just like that.
Nice,
Big inhale.
One last drink at the top.
Lion's breath it out.
As you're releasing those thoughts,
As you're letting them go,
Begin to bring your attention to your feet.
Notice the toes on each of your feet,
Maybe wiggling them,
Maybe rocking your feet from side to side.
Bring some awareness noticing if they feel tired,
They feel tight on the bottom,
Tight in your ankles.
Just breathing into that.
Now begin to imagine in your next inhale,
Feeling into that sensation between each of your toes,
The sensation of them touching.
Letting that sensation go.
And on your next inhale,
Imagining your feet turning into hooves.
Noticing the horseshoe shape on the bottom,
The dark brown or black of the hooves itself.
Your ankles mimicking that of a horse.
Bringing your awareness further up your legs now,
Your calves and knees.
Noticing as those begin to grow some fur,
Some lankiness.
Noticing the ripple of the muscle of your thighs as it changes from human to stallion.
Noticing your hands,
Your fingers,
The inhale,
Noticing the sensations,
The feeling of them,
The exhale,
Imagining them also turning into hooves.
Your wrists and forearms,
Mimicking that of your legs,
The lungs,
Lanky,
Furry legs of the stallion.
Your belly,
As you breathe in,
Noticing how it feels,
How it fills with air.
As you breathe out,
Noticing its change,
The smooth skin on the underside.
The wide,
Girthy abdomen covered in hair,
Covered in fur.
Noticing as this fur covers your entire body,
From shoulders,
Torso,
Your legs and glutes and arms.
This fur going up your neck,
Up your head,
As you bring your awareness to your face.
Imagining your nose,
Your mouth,
Lengthening out into that of a horse's snout.
Your eyes growing bigger,
Your nose growing damper.
Your ears pointier,
Your hair,
As it changes to a long,
Luxurious mane from your head down your back,
Down your shoulders.
The end of your spine extending out into a silky,
Luscious tail.
The hair on your tail matching that of your mane.
Whatever color,
Whatever size,
Whatever breed you wish to be.
Just taking note of this beautiful stallion form you are now in.
Noticing the height with which you stand.
How your gaze is now longer,
Higher.
Noticing how it feels to shake your mane back and forth,
To rock your head,
To sway your hips and feel your horse's tail flowing in the breeze,
Flowing at the sway of your hips.
Just experiencing this new body,
This new form.
Noticing the sensation,
That horseshoe shape stamping into the ground.
All toes are formed into one.
The firmness of the hoof.
The firmness of your step,
Your stance in this equestrian form.
Noticing the feel of the dampness on your nose.
Noticing the heightened hearing abilities.
Noticing the sureness of your step.
Of your stance.
Just taking note,
Taking notice of this new form in which you've become.
How you feel in the world in this form.
How the world feels around you in this form.
How the wind feels down your mane.
How the smells enter and circle in your nose.
How the sights have changed and their perception,
Their depth with your eyes.
As you take in your surroundings,
In this stallion form,
Begin to notice you're standing in an open meadow.
Soft,
Silky,
Wispy grass all around you.
Gentle alpine ridges.
Large lines in the distance.
Bright blue sky above you,
Around you.
Notice the birds as they fly high and dive low.
As they flap from tree to tree.
As they sing and squawk and trill in the air.
Notice the field mites,
The rodents,
The chipmunks as they run from their dens.
In search of their little breakfasts,
Their little snacks.
Noticing their scurry,
Their hyper awareness of their surroundings.
Notice the wildflowers as they're spread before you.
The bright,
Vibrant yellows.
The deep blues.
The bright whites.
The dusty greens.
Just noticing the look,
The shapes,
The textures of each of these flowers.
Maybe noticing the scents as they fill your damp equestrian nostrils.
Noticing the pollinators as they buzz,
As they flutter.
From flower to flower.
The vibrant blacks and whites and yellows of bees and the butterflies.
Noticing as they flower hop.
As they cover themselves in pollen.
As they drink the skiving nectar from the flowers.
Noticing the ants as they work in their colonies,
As they work in their groups.
Bringing materials back from the outside into their nest.
Bringing bits of food for their queen.
Noticing as they all march.
As they all say hello as they pass each other.
As they all complete their missions.
Their work for the day.
Notice as some of them climb the stems of the flowers,
The blades of the grass and search for building,
For nourishment materials.
Bringing your attention up and out to the blue sky that surrounds you.
Noticing the white fluffy of the clouds as they slowly pass you by.
Noticing as each cloud seems to grow and move and change with the wind.
As you stand there in the stallion form,
Taking in the meadow,
The earth,
The horizons around you.
Begin to let your horse form wander.
Noticing how it feels to move your legs.
Start to move.
Noticing the difference of walking on four as opposed to two.
Noticing as the wind gently ruffles your tail,
Your mane.
As you move through this meadow,
Observing the flowers,
The birds,
The mice and chipmunks as you pass.
As you gain your footing on these four legs,
As you explore around this meadow,
Taking in the landscapes around you.
Begin to notice the sound of gentle,
Rushing,
Trickling water in the distance.
As if a small creek,
Small river is roaring,
Alerting you that water is nearby.
Imagine picking up your pace as you aim for the direction of the sound of water.
Getting a feel for these legs as they begin to gallop,
As you slowly pick up speed.
Feeling the sensation,
The burn in your legs as you push off.
Feeling the sensation as you land,
Transition of weight from front to back legs.
The clunking sound of your hooves on the ground.
Your mane as it sways,
As it ripples like a stream behind your neck.
Your tail as it flaps in the wind.
Feeling of the air as it goes over your head and down your back.
Noticing the scents that fill your nostrils as you approach this river,
This raging river,
As it comes into view.
The scents of damp soil,
Fresh stream fill your nostrils.
The rushing and thrumming and trickling of water filling your ears.
The shimmering,
Crushed diamond,
Rocky outcropping sights filling your eyes as you run for this river.
As you approach,
As you begin to slow,
Just taking note of that freedom,
How that feels to your stallion skin.
The freedom to gallop,
To run where you wish,
To run where you're called.
As you begin to slow,
As you come to the river's edge,
Taking in the rocky beach that leads to the river.
As you walk to its bank and lower your head to drink.
Noting the taste of this fresh alpine water as it hits your tongue.
Noticing the coolness,
The crispness of this water as you drink it in,
As you nourish yourself.
Noticing how you feel as you hydrate,
As you nourish,
As you share some gratitude for the earth,
For this stream,
For this river.
As you finish up your drink,
Just taking in the river around you,
The scenes around you,
As you feel the yearning to gallop,
To run free again.
Taking one last big drink of water before you do.
Just really enjoying the coolness as it hits your tongue,
Your mouth,
Your cheeks.
Maybe letting it surround your teeth,
Slowly drip down your throat,
Just really enjoying the sensations of it.
As you take that last sip,
Turn your stallion body to run before you gallop off.
Imagining that instead of a rider,
A person being saddled,
They're saddled to you.
You have your beliefs,
Your limiting beliefs saddled to you.
The subtle thoughts on repeat in your mind,
The not enough,
The too much,
The fear of losing control,
The fear of having control.
Whatever you're scared of deep down,
Whenever you're holding in deep down,
Imagine that strapped to your back in the stallion form.
Notice how it feels on the saddle.
If it feels heavy like a person,
If it feels heavier than a person.
Noticing where on your back,
Where in your body you feel it.
As your stallion eyes lock in on a target in the distance,
A place in which you wish to run,
As you prepare yourself to run.
Feeling these limiting beliefs as they're on your back,
Holding you,
Weighing you down.
You start running,
You start galloping towards that spot in the distance.
With each gallop representing a breath,
Each push of the legs,
Each landing on the legs,
Represents a breath.
Each time you push your legs,
Each time you breathe out,
The weight on your back lessens,
That limiting belief letting go,
As you keep running,
As you keep pushing for that spot in the distance.
Notice,
Each exhale,
Letting go a little bit more.
Each exhale,
Releasing a little bit more.
Each inhale builds that strength to push,
To transfer the weight from your feet,
From your hooves.
Notice,
As the exhale lets it all go.
Running for that spot in the distance,
Galloping on these hooves,
Creating a rhythm with the clunks of your hooves,
Creating a rhythm with your breath,
With your body,
Your mind.
Breathing in that strength,
Breathing out,
Letting all of those limiting beliefs go.
Breathing in the will,
Breathing out the execution,
The ability to let it go.
As you run for that spot,
As you gallop for that spot in the distance,
Each breath,
Each hoof that plants into the ground,
Getting you closer and closer,
Lightening the load on your back,
Releasing that sensation in your body.
As you run free,
Your mane rippling like a river down your back,
Your tail flowing free in the wind behind you,
Pushing harder,
Running harder,
Letting go even more.
As you begin to approach the spot you've honed in on,
The last bits of these limiting beliefs releasing from your saddle,
Releasing from your body.
Begin to slow your gallop,
Trotting up to this area,
To this spot you've pinned,
Letting that last little bit release behind you.
Leaving you free.
The saddle on your back disappears with that last breath,
The weight on your back,
The feeling in your body gone.
Just noticing how light,
How open,
How free you feel in this form,
Without a saddle on your back,
Without the limiting belief swaying you down.
Noticing the tickle of the breeze through your hair,
Through your mane,
Through your tail.
Noticing the freshness of the air as you breathe it in,
The crispness as it hits your nostrils.
Noticing the vibrancy of the blue sky,
The flowers around you,
The birds as they swoop and dive,
As they trill and sing.
Noticing the aliveness around you,
The brightness around you,
How you thought it was alive and bright before,
But now you really see it.
See the crispness,
The vibrancy of each petal,
Of each color,
Of each insect,
Of each bird.
Noticing how light you feel on this large stallion body,
How free you feel as you take in this gentle alpine meadow around you.
As you've let go,
As you've released those limiting beliefs,
And you've done so without judgment,
Without trying to figure out why they're there,
Why they were there,
Without trying to control them,
You just let them go.
You let them flow behind you as you galloped,
As you pushed these hooves,
This mane,
This tail across this beautiful meadow.
As your breath propelled you,
Your breath gave you strength and let you release.
Just basking in this sensation for a moment.
As you enjoy this lightness in your body,
Slowly begin to bring your attention back to your hooves,
Noticing how they stamp into the ground.
On your next inhale,
Imagining your hooves turning back into toes and fingers.
Exhale,
Letting that stallion form go bit by bit,
Your legs returning to yours,
Your human form,
Your belly,
Your back,
Losing its hair,
Gaining its human skin,
Your arms shrinking back to your normal size,
Your shoulders,
Your chest,
Your neck,
Returning to you,
Your face,
Returning to you.
Noticing if you still have any weight holding you down,
Saddling you,
The weight of those limiting beliefs.
Noticing if you feel a little bit lighter.
Noticing if you feel a lot lighter.
Maybe they're gone completely.
Wherever you are,
Wherever you come back in this human form,
Just acknowledging it.
Again,
No judgment,
Not casting any negativity on it.
Onto the beliefs,
Onto yourself.
Just acknowledging them,
Accepting them for where they are.
Accepting you for where you are.
As you become acquainted with your human self again,
This human form.
Taking one part of that stallion with you.
Whether it's the freedom of your tail as it blows in the wind.
Whether it's the heightened vibrancy and clarity that you experienced after pushing and galloping and releasing your limiting beliefs.
Whether it's the strong,
Solid feeling of your hose as they stamp into the ground.
Whatever it is for you.
Seeing what you can bring from that stallion into your human.
As you begin to bring your awareness back to your surroundings,
To your body as it lay on the floor or as it sit on the floor.
Noticing the feeling,
The ground beneath you.
Noticing the sounds in the room,
The space around you.
Noticing the smells as they flood your human nostrils.
Noting how they might be different from that of your stallion.
Bringing your awareness back to your belly,
To your breath.
As you slowly become more aware around you.
As you sit,
As you lay with yourself,
With your thoughts.
As you acknowledge yourself for where you are,
For where you've come from,
From where you've yet to go.
As you show yourself some respect,
Some appreciation,
Some gratitude for what you're doing,
For how you're doing,
For being you.
I appreciate you for coming on this equestrian journey.
I hope that you were able to release a little bit of those limiting beliefs,
In whatever way works for you,
However much works for you.
Releasing as much or as little as you're comfortable with.
I appreciate your time,
Your energy,
That you're putting into you.
The more you put into you,
The more you'll be able to grow,
To learn,
To grow,
To be with yourself,
Through all times,
Through all parts,
Through all aspects of life.
So just taking a moment to acknowledge yourself for that.
Whenever you're ready,
Maybe wiggling your toes,
Maybe wiggling your fingers,
While rolling your legs or rolling your head,
Just some subtle movements back to your body.
Maybe fluttering your eyes open,
Taking in your surroundings.
Take one last big,
Deep inhale.
And lion's breath.
Let the rest of it all go.
I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.
Thank you again for galloping with me today.
