Winter Solstice Meditation: Honor Inner Light on the Longest Night (85)

In today's episode we're going to talk all about the winter solstice and we're going to practice a meditation to help you feel rooted as we move through this transition of season. Hi, and welcome back to how the Wise One Grows. This podcast is a space where we come together to reconnect to our inner wisdom, to one another, in the natural world. In today's episode we're really going to lean in to our connection to the natural world by talking about the winter solstice and practicing a meditation that's in alignment with this transition of seasons. But before we get started, I just want to take a moment to land here, together with three deep breaths. So just situate yourself where you are for a moment and, if it feels safe, if you're not driving, you can gently rest your eyes and notice where your body makes contact with the earth and take a big breath in, fill your chest, fill your belly with air, exhale, open your mouth, let it all out Again. Inhale, fill your chest, fill your belly with air, exhale, open your mouth, let it all go. One more, inhale and exhale and return to that point of contact with the earth as you return to this space. December 21st marks the solstice. If you're in the northern hemisphere, it's the winter solstice, so that means we have the shortest day and the longest night of the year, and if you're in the southern hemisphere, it's when you're going to have the longest day and the shortest night, but we're going to lean into the winter solstice for the northern hemisphere during our time together today. So, like I said before, the winter solstice is the shortest day and the longest night, and it's a really good time. It's a time when nature is telling us to go inside right, and not just like go inside of your homes, but to turn your awareness inward. That's what nature's doing. It's like turning off all the noise, turning off the lights and going inside, doing that deep underground work. This is the time of year for these things, so it's a great time for inner work. It's a great time to set intentions. I know we most typically think about New Year's resolutions being the time where we gear up for what we want for the year ahead, but if we're leaning into what's happening in the natural world, the winter solstice is a really potent time for that. I'm not a big advocate for New Year's resolutions, so much as I am for setting intentions and ways of being for each year and knowing that it doesn't have to happen once a year, that it can happen again and again every single day. But if we want to lean into the energy of this time of year, it's a really good time for reflection and intention setting. So this is a really good time to go inward, to do some deep inner work and reflection and to focus on that underground growth. So it's not like the I'm going to achieve this and that and the other. It's getting deep in the roots of setting in the work and the stuff that happens that no one sees, that you don't get a pat on the back for all the time. It's doing those deep underground things that set the foundation, that make us strong so that we can grow in all kinds of ways. And the solstice is a really great time to call in light. When we talk about how we want to celebrate the solstice, working with light is something to think about. So maybe you want to focus on some of this reflection. Maybe you want to practice this meditation while you are watching the sunrise or watching the sunset. Maybe you want to practice by a fire. Maybe you even want to like have a bonfire outside and decorate your own yule log with, like a natural greens wrapped around that log and writing your intentions on it and setting it into the fire. Maybe it's just lighting some candles and having some quiet time to sit with your practice, to sit with yourself and go inside. So these are just a few ways you can honor this shifting of seasons and to connect with it within you. I also just want to lean in here and remind us that this is a good time to slow down. You might be hearing a lot of rhetoric this time of year about ending the year strong and hustling and doing all the things. However, you might want to consider leaning into this mindset of ending the year feeling rooted and rested and ready to begin again. So, as you're reflecting on the year that is coming to a close and we get ready to embark on the year ahead, the solstice can be a really good time to let yourself replenish and nourish, so we can do this deep work and set the intentions for the ways in which we wish to grow as we move forward, as we continue to move through this life. So these are just some things to hold in mind, and now we're going to practice together. So, if you haven't already, find a space that feels safe and supportive for you to practice. You can practice seated, you can practice lying down, you can also practice on a walk, if that's what your body is calling for. Just find a space that feels supportive for you and let's get started. And we're gonna begin today's meditation by gradually shifting our awareness away from what's happening around us and drawing the attention inward. So we're gonna do that with the senses. So start by using your sense of sight right now. Use your sense of sight to notice where you are, maybe note like three or four things around you right now, and then you can gently rest your eyes or soften your gaze and start to bring your attention to sound. Notice where your body makes contact with the earth, notice where you feel the breath moving through the body, and take a big breath in and a big breath out and start to get really curious about the breath here. Notice the inhale and the exhale and then slowly begin to deepen the breath here. Take a long, slow, deep breath and then slowly begin to deepen the breath here. Take a long, slow inhale. Take a long, slow inhale, exhale and pause. Long, slow inhale, longer, slower, exhale and pause. Continue to breathe in this way by deepening the breath, we tap into the parasympathetic nervous system, we communicate to the body and the mind that it's okay, you can relax, you're safe here. And then release any control over the breath and just surrender and trust the natural rhythm and intuition of the breath. Know that the body simply knows how to breathe here. So surrender to that wisdom as the breath flows in and out and take a little mental inventory here. Scan your body from head to toe and just notice how you feel. Notice if there's any subtle adjustments you could make to feel 5 to 10% more comfortable here and honor that. Embrace any movements that are going to help you feel more supported here and then let the body become still, let your shoulders soft and down the back as you rest in knowing that you are held by the earth beneath you here, and then notice if anything arises for you here. Maybe there's like a pestering thought that just won't go away, or maybe there's like some emotional quality that you're feeling or some part of the body that is really loud right now and I want you to push it away. I want you to lean into it in a way that feels safe and just be with it. Let this being be an act of reflection, maybe even bring a hand to where in the body you feel that sensation and let yourself fully sit with, fully be with what's here. And I invite you to ask yourself now what's something you're proud of? Shutting some light into this moment, just take a moment to really celebrate yourself here, to feel that sensation of pride, feeling strong here, be proud of yourself for showing up for this moment it's no small thing and then ask yourself what needs attention in this moment and what needs attention in the earhut. You don't need to think about it too much, just notice what comes to mind and then ask yourself what are some intentions that you have for the earhut? What do you want for this next year? How do you want to feel as you move through your life? And then see if you can weave in that thing that needs attention to that intention. So being willing to do the deep underground work as a part of our underground growth, reaching these roots, getting the soil ready to plant the seeds of our intention. And maybe come up with a word, like one to three words or maybe a short phrase that encompasses this attention and intention that you want to carry with you, and bring hand to the heart and repeat this intention three times in your mind. Knowing this seed, knowing that every time you practice you're watering it. Let's take one more breath together, in through the nose and out through the mouth, and you can slowly open your eyes as you return to this space. Know that and return towards your roots. We come together every week for these mindful conversations and meditations. So coming together on this podcast is a way you can bring attention and intention into your life in a way in which you can water this seed. So we're here, we're doing this work as a community, so let's just keep taking it one breath at a time. Thank you so much for listening to this podcast today. I want to thank the people who make it possible. That's you, the listeners, and that's the members of the Dream Team. So the Dream Team is a group of incredible people who I adore, who come together every month to support this podcast financially and you can support this podcast for as little as three dollars a month and that support the operating costs and the work that go into making this offering into the world. So if you want to join the Dream Team, there's a link in the show notes to join. Super simple Choose the amount that's right for you and become a part of this community that we're growing in ways that we are cultivating this deep inner work within ourselves and one another. And if you can't support the podcast, find out more about the Dream Team. And if you can't support the podcast financially at this time, totally understand. You can still make a big impact and support this podcast by following, if you don't already, and sharing an episode that you love with a friend.