My name is Nikki Rotterman and I will be guiding you through this meditation inspired by nature for the next 20 minutes or so.
So let's start by finding a comfortable position,
Seated or lying down and just starting to settle in here.
Grab any props that may help you feel more comfortable.
Sometimes I like to get a couple of wiggles out here,
Maybe even gently rock side to side before falling into my center.
And when you're ready you can close your eyes or you can soften your gaze.
We're going to start with a body scan where we'll be releasing any tension to help fully release into that surface below us.
Imagining a yellow light just above the top of your head.
This healing light softens the area of your body it covers,
Releasing any tension.
Using this light now to scan our body starting at the crown.
Imagine the light creating space between the thoughts in your head,
Almost as if you could relax your brain and your mind.
Lying down towards your eyes.
Maybe even flutter the eyelids open and closed,
Leaving them resting a bit lighter than they were before.
Seeing if you could invite more space between your brow.
And heading down towards your jaw,
Unclenching where you can.
And dropping the tongue from the roof of your mouth.
And following the light as it scans down your throat.
It might feel good to swallow here.
Maybe straighten your neck or move it into a more comfortable position.
Letting the light move towards your shoulders,
Inviting them to drop away from your ears.
Creating even more space for your neck.
Breathing deeper into the surface below you as the light moves towards your heart.
Dissolving any tension you may have picked up here throughout the day,
Whether it's yours or someone else's.
Using the light to scan the lower half of your body,
The belly.
Your hips,
A place that tends to store a lot of emotions.
Your thighs,
Over your knees,
And down your legs to your feet.
Now sending that light back to any area that may need another moment or two of comfort before we release it.
And letting the light go now,
Knowing it's yours to use as a tool whenever you need to temporarily shift from the tension that builds throughout a day.
We're going to begin to notice the natural pace of our breathing.
Just observing what this feels like in your body.
Paying attention now to the expansion of your ribs on the inhale.
Tuning into this expansion a little more with each breath.
And now switching the focus to the falling of your belly on your exhale.
Sensing a bit more with each exhale.
Sinking a little deeper.
And now noticing how the inhale and exhale,
This expansion and release,
Are working together.
Staying with this cycle.
If you find your thoughts trying to take focus,
Simply bring your attention back to your breath.
Giving yourself permission to focus on them later if you need to.
You'll know what to come back to.
Continuing to follow your breath here.
And now notice that brief space between each breath.
Once just after your inhale,
Right before your exhale.
And again after your exhale,
Before starting that cycle over again with an inhale.
Just bringing some awareness to this space.
Trusting that it will last however long or short enough to bring you to the next step in this process of breathing.
Kind of releasing.
And letting that go now.
And just sitting with your breath.
It's been fall where I live and I've really been trying to take in the vibrant colors of all of the leaves around me.
It's always a time that brings so much ease and feels like the most natural exhale to me following the humid summers.
And I noticed that I've been feeling a bit of resistance knowing that the leaves are beginning to fall and soon the trees will be bare.
Almost as if knowing that I don't want it to happen will somehow keep this natural cycle that actually carries so much purpose from happening at all.
But I was reminded recently that the fallen leaves recycle into the soil,
Planting seedlings and nurturing what's below.
Later allowing for a budding spring.
And this reminded me of a quote from Braiding Sweetgrass,
Indigenous Wisdom,
Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
Where she's going through the sap and the syrup production of maple trees and how each season plays such an important part of this system even when you can't see it happening.
She goes on to say,
The syrup we pour over our pancakes on a winter morning is summer sunshine flowing in golden streams to pool on our plates.
She beautifully shares that there has to be a trust that mother nature will find a way to feed even in the depths of winter.
So I invite you to sit with the following questions.
What is naturally falling away this season?
What seeds are you planting?
What are your seeds?
In what ways can you feed and nurture your body,
Your mind and your heart this winter in order to later bloom?
We are always in a constant state of becoming.
And sometimes that can feel like the fullness of the spring.
But you are still becoming even in the depths of the winter.
Now returning back to the body,
Spending a few breaths here.
Getting ready to come back to the room.
Beginning to wiggle your toes now.
Maybe give a little stretch of the legs.
Using your fingers and your shoulders.
Take with you any parts that resonated throughout the rest of your day or your week.
Maybe even come back to these questions and journals throughout the season you're in.
Thank you for showing up with me for yourself today.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
Thank you.
