Hello dear one.
I am so grateful you are here.
Today we are going to take time to connect with the spark of celebration within you.
When was the last time you celebrated life?
When was the last time you rejoiced in your own being?
Praised the victories,
Both small and large,
That are gifts waiting to be opened and acknowledged.
I see celebration as an act of honoring life,
A time to pause,
Reflect,
Rejoice,
And praise.
Yet in our busy day-to-day lives,
It can be challenging to take out time to celebrate the goodness and glimmers and to trust in this goodness.
So this is why we practice inviting ourselves into a space where celebration can sing from our hearts,
Calling us home.
So let us celebrate together.
I invite you now to close down your eyes and soften into a comfortable seat,
Whether seated in a chair,
A cushion,
Or lying down.
Feel into the support beneath you,
Breathing into all the places where your body rests upon the furniture and the floor.
Let yourself be held and cradled into calm.
And now notice the rise and fall of your belly and chest as you inhale and exhale.
Gently sip in the breath through your nose and then let it out on a sigh.
Take a few deeper breaths like this,
In through your nose and out through your mouth.
As you soften into your own skin,
Letting the jaw relax.
Letting the jaw relax,
Your shoulders soften,
Your hips unfurl.
And then let your breath settle into its natural rhythm.
And I invite you to rest here for a moment and listen to a poem of my own on celebration.
Celebration is a bird inside my body,
Her silver wings threaded with gold that flutter near the face of my heart.
Open,
She says,
From her full brown beak to life.
Let the tide of the terrific sweep you into remembrance.
All that is here,
Every beauty,
Every ache,
Every terror,
Every joy,
Is to be seen and celebrated.
Tie balloons around your burdens and watch them float towards the brushed blue sky.
Eat cake with the beloved and feel how a great joy has found you and claimed you and greeted you as a friend.
All my life,
I have forgotten this sweet freedom that tickles on the tongue,
That tastes of honeysuckle and sings in every cell.
All my life,
A celebration,
Every step,
A sonnet of birdsong.
So take a deep breath now,
Dear one,
Into your heart and then exhaling out.
See if you can connect with the essence of celebration within you.
Perhaps it is a bird inside your body,
Fluttering near the face of your heart.
Perhaps you feel it as a spark of light or a warmth in your belly.
Notice any images and sensations that arise.
And be and breathe with whatever is here as you feel into the felt sense of celebration.
Remember,
There is no right or wrong.
You just get to play,
Explore,
And be curious about what is unfolding within.
And as you feel into the energy of celebration within your body,
See if you can,
With your breath,
Invite this energy to expand,
To bloom within and around you.
And noticing too,
Any emotions that accompany celebration.
Be that joy,
Gratitude,
Delight,
Happiness,
Whatever is here,
Allow it to be.
So you keep breathing and feeling your whole system bathed in celebration,
Basking in this moment.
And now I invite you to affirm internally or out loud what you are ready to celebrate in this life.
Maybe you are celebrating showing up for this practice or taking a deep breath when you were feeling overwhelmed.
Maybe you are celebrating yourself for cooking a nourishing meal,
Holding space for a loved one,
Or taking a leap in your life.
Remember,
It doesn't have to be grand.
We get to celebrate the small moments and the large ones.
Just trust in whatever is coming up as you take a few moments to speak these truths into being.
And as you celebrate yourself,
Notice the aliveness in your body,
Breathing deeply into your heart.
Let yourself soften into lightness,
Play,
And curiosity.
Remembering that you don't have to do or be anything different to be celebrated.
Your very being is a cause for celebration.
And now I invite you to move into a posture that embodies the essence of what you are feeling right now.
Maybe this looks like your hands on your heart or raising your arms above your head or taking a big smile on your face.
You may even let out a sound,
Some words,
Or a deeper breath as you hold this posture embodying your spark of celebration.
And now as we begin to close our time together,
You can continue to hold your posture or let it go as you take a few deeper breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Invite in some movement as you breathe by rolling your neck and shoulders,
Rocking your body gently side to side.
Feel the connection between your feet and the ground beneath.
And then begin to connect with the room and space you are in.
And then when you feel ready,
Gently open your eyes,
Reorienting to your space.
Dear one,
I am celebrating you for taking the time to practice with me today.
I invite you to return to this meditation whenever you feel called to pause,
Reflect,
And rejoice in your precious life.
I invite you to return to this meditation whenever you feel called to pause,
Reflect,
And rejoice in your precious life.
For as you celebrate life,
Life celebrates you,
Meeting you with unexpected gifts and glimmers of goodness.
All this is here for you,
Dear one,
Sending so much love to you.
Thank you for celebrating with me.
