Episode 134 A Guided Meditation For Your | Experience Mountain Meditation Today: Holistic Short By Chris McDonald

Chris McDonald: Today's episode will be a mountain meditation, which is one that I've done for years that I wanted to bring to you today, because it's an amazing practice that will allow you to reconnect with your body as it draws inspiration from the solid presence of mountains in nature. And by cultivating the sense of stillness, stability, and strength within you, You can tap into the wellspring of inner wisdom and vitality.

So go ahead, find a quiet space where you won't be disturbed so you can fully immerse yourself in this meditation. And prepare to embrace the calm space that resides within. Whether you're a seasoned meditator or maybe you're just beginning, this meditation offers an opportunity to cultivate inner strength and connection to the earth.

Let's start right now on the Holistic Counseling Podcast. This is Holistic Counseling, the podcast for mental health therapists who want to deepen their knowledge of holistic modalities and build their practice with confidence. I'm your host, Chris McDonald, licensed therapist. I am so glad you're here for the journey.

Hey there, welcome to today's episode of the Holistic Counseling Podcast. This is going to be a holistic short, which if you remember, this means these are episodes under 10 minutes. So if you're short on time, but you still want your holistic fix, this is what these episodes are for. Cause I know not everybody has 45 minutes to an hour to listen to a podcast.

Want to make these more accessible for everyone. So this one's a little bit different than the prior holistic shorts where I've done where I've done a lot of teaching and helping you learn new skills, but this one's gonna be focused on your self care. This will be a mountain meditation to help you connect in ground in the present moment.

And it's a visualization that works best if you can close your eyes for this. So it's best if you're driving to pull over now, if you want to hear this now, or just pause this episode and wait till you get home to listen to this. Or if you're not in a space where you can sit quietly, cause that's going to, you're going to get the most benefit if you're able to sit quietly for this.

So without further ado, go ahead and sit for this one and you're welcome to sit in a chair. If you can have your feet on the floor, that's helpful. Helps to bring that awareness to where you are right here, right now. And just close your eyes if that's comfortable for you. Finding that quiet space within.

Just noticing your sit bones connected all the way up through your spine to the crown of your head, top of your head. Feeling that spine rising up towards the sky. Just connecting to what is. In this moment, noticing your breath for a minute, feeling where it is, if you can notice it more in your nose, the inhale and exhale, or maybe in your belly, feeling the belly rise on the inhale, fall on the exhale.

And take a deeper breath in through your nose, and just sigh on the exhale, letting it out. And do that again, inhale through the nose, exhale and sigh, just allowing the weight of the world to gently slip away. In this moment, we're going to use our imagination and just take this journey inside. So I want you to picture yourself standing outside near a mountain.

You're feeling tall and grounded, but noticing This majestic mountain in front of you, realizing that it has weathered countless storms. You feel the solidness of the earth beneath your feet. Your body is firmly rooted. Your spine is, is aligned and lengthened. And then you notice how you can be like that mountain.

You connect with that mountain and internalize it. Into yourself and imagine that you are the energy of the mountain. So, the top of your head is the peak of the mountain, your arms are the slopes, the sides of the mountain, and the bottom of the mountain is your feet. And now you feel even more firmly grounded and rooted into Earth's energy, connecting with it.

Visualize this vital energy as a radiant light flowing through you. With each breath, and with each exhale, imagine releasing any tension or negativity that might still be there, allowing it to dissolve away. And as you picture yourself as this mountain, you realize that you go through many seasons as a mountain.

First in winter, noticing the storms around you as a mountain. The snow burying you, cold ice, the wind whipping, freezing you, but as a mountain, you still stand. And as the winter winds die down and the snow melts, and the days start to get a little bit longer, spring envelops you as the mountain, and the leaves come out on the trees, the birds come back, singing their songs.

It starts to get a little bit warmer and warmer as the plants and flowers and bloom all up and down the mountain. And you notice this revitalizing energy of being the mountain. And with this mountain, it moves into full spring, fully. Embracing all the growth and change as it shakes away winter's grasp.

Moving fully into summer, slowly, the days extending even longer, more sunlight is felt on you as this mountain. And you're just so relaxed in the warm temperatures, feeling it to your core as a mountain, but noticing how hot it gets in the summer, and the thunderstorms that come and rock you, the winds, the rain, torrential downpours, thunder, and lightning, lightning strikes, yet still you stand as this mountain, Into fall as you lose your leaves, letting go, letting go, changing colors, multitude of colors, and golds and reds and oranges, browns, until the leaves fall and you shift back, the cooling temperatures come in once again, moving back into winter's grasp.

The one thing you notice about being a mountain. You always have that central part of you inside, that calm central part of you, just like the center of a hurricane, always the calm as a storm brews outside of it. No matter what life brings you or challenges you, just like the mountain, you have that inner true self that can stand up and withhold all that comes your way, no matter what the obstacles are.

You always have the central part of you that you can tap into this inner strength, even if it's difficult, you know, it's there and you can use this to help you get through the difficulties in your life. You notice sensations as your body, as you feel that inner strength. And wisdom of nature coursing through you, feeling the vitality and earth's wonderful grace, continue to embrace the stillness and stability of being the mountain, feeling the deep connection to the earth and all living things,

and just take a moment to appreciate the majesty of your body, feeling its resilience, capacity for healing, its ability to adapt, right? And grow. You are a remarkable creation, a masterpiece of nature's artistry. And as this meditation comes to a close, take a final deep breath through your nose, inhaling, gratitude, and exhaling, feeling the strength, breathing out, feeling all that strength residing within you, carrying this awareness with you.

The rest of the day, feeling that centered energy, knowing that you can always come back to this visual of the mountain and the calm center within. Remember you are strong, majestic, and capable of great things. And just try to bring awareness back to your body, into the room you're in, gently opening your eyes, looking around your room, and just coming back.

And that brings us to the end of another episode. I hope you enjoyed this meditation, and use it whenever you feel you need that gentle centering. I want to welcome any new listeners to the podcast. As a listener, you have access to my free nine part email course, How to Build Confidence as a Holistic Therapist.

In this course, you'll explore different holistic modalities, how to boost your confidence as a holistic therapist, And how to manifest your holistic practice. You'll also get bonuses, including a free script on how to teach a yoga asana and journaling prompts to guide you through. Enhance your holistic journey today.

Go to holisticcounselingpodcast. com, scroll down, enter your name and email address today. And this is Chris McDonald sending each one of you much light and love. Until next time, take care. The information in this podcast is for general educational purposes only and is given with the understanding that neither the host, the publisher, or the guests are giving legal, financial counseling, or any other kind of professional advice.

If you need a professional, please find the right person. one for you!