| Length | 10:17 |
|---|---|
| Subject | Morning |
| Best time | First thing, on a day you need to feel steady |
| Position | Sitting or standing |
| Style | Guided, one image, a short poem, ends on the singing bowl. Music underneath |
You become an old tree. Not to feel strong, but to notice the roots were already down there doing the work.
About 10 minutes, ending on the singing bowl.
There is a short poem in this one. Roots do not rush to reach the dark, they trust the slow unfurling. What is solid need not shout. The tree does not work at standing up, it simply is, and your resilience is the same. A tree does not grab hold of a leaf on the way past.
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Thank you for sitting with me.
Steven
Who this is for
Days when you feel unsteady and are about to go looking for strength somewhere outside yourself.
You become an old tree in this one. Not to feel strong, but to notice the roots were already down there doing the work.
What happens in this meditation
The body softens from the crown of the head down to the toes, and you notice the mind going quiet on its own once it does.
Then you are somewhere peaceful. A forest, a meadow, a garden. Your spine is the trunk, your arms the branches, and roots grow from the base of your spine down through soil and stone.
There is a short poem in the middle of it. Roots do not rush to reach the dark, they trust the slow unfurling. What is solid need not shout.
Then the breathing does the work. Draw stability up from the earth on the way in. Let anything shaky go on the way out. A tree does not grab hold of a leaf on the way past.
It ends on the singing bowl rather than a count.
How to get the most from it
Ten minutes, and you can do this one standing up, which suits the image.
The thing to notice is that the tree does not work at standing. It simply is. Your resilience is the same, and you already have it, which is a different feeling from being told to be strong.
You have generations of experience in you. This is a way of remembering it rather than manufacturing it.
Questions people ask
Do I have to picture a forest?
No. Any place that feels solid to you will do, and the roots matter more than the scenery.
What if I do not feel resilient at all?
Then you are exactly who this is for. It is not asking you to feel it, only to notice that the roots are down there regardless of how today feels.
Why a singing bowl instead of counting back?
It brings you back without a jolt, and it suits the pace of this one. You will know when you are back.
