Hi,
Sweet friends.
Welcome to this meditation for conserving your energy and leaning into rest as medicine.
This meditation is inspired by the lion animal guide who sometimes sleeps up to 21 hours per day.
The lion conserves their energy for hunting in the cooler evening temperatures,
Unabashedly resting because they know just how powerful they are.
So as we invite in the lion animal guide as a teacher to remind us of the power of rest,
I invite you to find a comfortable position,
Preferably lying down.
Before we come into stillness,
I invite you to take a big cat-like stretch in the body,
Making yourself as big as you can.
Maybe you take a couple of lion's breaths if those feel good for you.
Breathing in through the nose and exhaling,
Opening your mouth and sticking out your tongue as far as you can,
Making a ah sound.
Let's go ahead and try that if you'd like as you breathe in through the nose and opening up your mouth,
Sticking out your tongue.
This can be a nice stretch for your facial muscles as well.
After a moment of stretching,
Begin to sink into the surface that you're lying on,
Feeling it rise up to meet you and see if you can soften even 10% more into the surface,
Letting yourself grow heavier.
Now let's imagine you as a lion and you're taking a nap on the warmth of the earth under the sun.
You feel able to truly sink in,
Knowing this rest is vital to your entire energetic system and for your entire being.
Maybe you feel the warmth of the sun,
The coolness of the earth beneath you,
Maybe you're cuddling with your lion companions,
Feeling their warm fur.
Take a few breaths here from your courageous lion heart space and maybe a long sigh as you settle in even further to the support of the earth.
I invite you to repeat these affirmations after me if you'd like,
Either aloud or to yourself.
I call my power back now.
I call my power back now.
It is easy for me to conserve my energy for what matters most in my life.
It is easy for me to conserve my energy for what matters most in my life.
When my body asks for rest,
I listen.
When my body asks for rest,
I listen.
I know I am not supposed to do all of it on my own,
So I lean on my loved ones for support.
I know I am not supposed to do all of it on my own,
So I lean on my loved ones for support.
I am powerful,
Capable,
And compassionate.
I am powerful,
Capable,
And compassionate.
Go ahead and bring in the sunlight of awareness into the body.
Let the sunlight shine its awareness onto the left side of the body,
The lungs,
Feeling the lungs expand through the front,
Side,
And back of the body,
Illuminated and calmed by this light.
Then notice the right side of your body,
Feeling your lungs expand through the front,
Side,
And back of the body.
This light reminds you how powerful you are,
How needed you are,
And how vital your rest is.
Then feel into the full 365 degrees of expansion in the lungs as you breathe deeply into the front body,
Side body,
And back body,
Your torso illuminated by this light.
As you breathe in and out,
Let this light expand outward to fill the whole body and then the space around your body.
Feel its warmth and encouragement as if you were a lion napping in the sunlight,
Protected,
Supported,
Present,
Knowing that when you come back into the world,
You will emerge more compassionate,
More focused,
More able to move towards your goals like a lion hunting in the wild.
For exactly what it is that your heart desires.
Stay here for as long as you need.
Maybe you slip into slumber or maybe this pause was just what your heart needed and you're ready to come back.
Take as long as you need.
Sending gratitude to the Lion-Animal Guide for their wisdom and support.
And whenever you're ready,
Begin to stretch and gently move,
Noticing how you're feeling.
If you feel any different than before you started,
And whenever you're ready,
Open up the eyes.
I'm so grateful for you.
Thank you so much for practicing with me.
Have a restful,
Splendid day.
