Hello and welcome to your grounding meditation where we will explore the four directions and the five senses.
If you haven't already oriented your body with the four directions,
I'll invite you to take some time to do that now.
If you need to pause this meditation and access the compass on your phone,
Please feel free to do that.
You're gonna want to lay down in a way that allows left side of the body to face the east,
Your feet towards the south,
Right side of your body towards the west,
And the top of your head towards the north.
So once you find the four directions where you are currently located in time and space,
Lay down in that orientation and then we'll start practice.
As you settle on your back,
I invite you to bring a bit of space between your legs.
Allow your toes to flop towards the outside.
Bring your arms a little bit away from your body,
That way your armpits have room to breathe.
Soften the muscles around your jaw,
The muscles around your eyes,
And take a nice deep breath through the nose.
Inhale and exhale out the mouth.
Let it go.
Three more like that.
Inhale,
Open your mouth,
Exhale.
Two more.
Last one.
Inhale and exhale.
And now I'll invite you to bring your attention to your sense of sight.
If your eyes are already closed,
You're welcome to keep them closed and just imagine in your mind's eye some things that you would see if you were to open your eyes.
And if your eyes are still open,
You can always scan the environment you're practicing in and just name a few things that you can see.
Softening the eyes if they're open.
I invite you to practice the remainder of this meditation with your eyes closed.
You can gently turn your attention over to the sense of sound and notice what you can hear in your environment.
Gently shift your attention over to the sense of touch and notice a few things that you can feel in this moment.
Welcoming the sense of smell.
Is there anything that you can smell right now?
Lastly,
Noticing any tastes in your mouth.
Allowing all of your senses to be alive and awake.
And now bring more attention to your physical body.
Feeling that loving pull from gravity.
A gentle hug from the earth.
As we call in the four directions,
I invite you to bring your attention to the left side of your body.
Feel the left side of your body and the space beyond the left side of your body.
As we welcome and honor the direction of the East,
I invite you to welcome the image of a sunrise.
And perhaps imagine that you can feel the warmth of the sun on the surface of your skin.
Welcoming the smell of fresh flowers blooming in the spring.
Gently shift your attention to your legs,
Your feet,
And the space beyond your feet.
As we welcome and honor the direction of the South,
I invite you to bring to mind the image of a field of strawberries.
Maybe you can imagine what they might smell or taste like.
Gently guide your attention over to the right side of your body.
Feeling the right side of your body and the space beyond the right side of your body.
As we welcome and honor the direction of the West,
I invite you to imagine the image of a sunset from the shoreline of the ocean.
And perhaps imagine that you are dipping your feet in the ocean,
Feeling the cold water.
Gently shift your attention to your head and the space beyond your head.
As we welcome and honor the direction of the North,
I invite you to imagine the mountains covered in snow.
Perhaps you can feel the cold air and the solitude of winter.
Take a moment now and feel your whole body.
Your whole body.
And welcome all four directions.
East to your left,
South beyond your feet,
West to your right,
And North beyond the crown of your head.
Welcoming and honoring all four directions.
And as our practice slowly comes to an end,
Once again feel that loving pull from gravity,
A gentle hug from the earth.
And we'll complete our practice with four deep breaths the same way we started.
In through the nose and out through the mouth.
Inhale and exhale.
Three more.
Inhale and exhale.
Breathe in and out.
Last one.
Inhale and exhale.
From my heart to yours,
Thank you.
