It is the true richness of the season.
Today we are 10 days from Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. It is a time of lighting lights, on trees and house and menorahs. We smile and greet others warmly. We give gifts and hope that they are what the other person wanted, fret over what the perfect gift might be.
Isn't it amazing that out of this time of barren branches, cold winds, and falling rain we find all this warmth emanating from inside? Maybe it's because we are stripped back to ourselves more in Winter, more able to find the glow within.
I've put a simple practice at the end of the post to guide you into what I'm talking about. Enjoy and let me know how it goes!
May your holidays be filled with your own inner glow.
Simple Stillness Practice
Set a timer for 5 minutes and sit down in a comfortable chair.
Take 3 deep breaths, in through your nose and out through your mouth (pursed lips can aid in this), allowing your body to settle down.
Now imagine falling snow, the quiet of a Winter's night. Allow that quiet to surround you, as if you were standing alone in a field of falling snow.
Let your body breathe deeply if that is natural, and also allow the breath to become more shallow as you relax. (We breathe deeply to bring on relaxation, but once relaxed the breath naturally becomes quite shallow.)
Continue to breathe normally and simply connect to that experience of stillness. Be in that field, feel the quiet and stillness of Winter.
