Embodiment practice: Water Element meditation
A guided journey for the Winter Solstice.
Hey relative! For the month of December, I am trying out a new publishing format. On Monday I will send out a new essay along with a note on what I am listening to, reading, and creating. There will be an additional Friday post for paid subscribers to include either an embodiment practice or a recipe. If you have questions or feedback, I’d love to hear from you. Thanks!
Winter is a time for deep rest and reflection. In Chinese medicine, this season is associated with the Water Element (also referred to as Phase, or Resonance), as well as the Kidneys and Urinary Bladder. These organ systems include dynamic processes that rule our birth, development, and maturation.
In this meditation, I invite you to hold an image of water in your mind and heart. The body of water can be large or small—a river, stream, waterfall, lake, or ocean. Bring this image in when you start to wander, feel lost, or unsure. Allow the water to anchor you back into your body, and your experience.
To accompany your practice, here are a few affirmations to say aloud before you listen:
May I trust in my abiding resilience.
May I embrace the ever-unfolding emergence of the Great Mystery.
May this season be an opportunity to transform fear into wisdom.
To download a recording of this practice, and have access to additional resources in The Praxis Library, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Journal Prompts
To round out the practice, here are a few journal prompts that you can utilize as points of reflection. If you prefer to free-write first, please do! You can always come back to the prompts, and the practice, as often as you need.
How did it feel, in your body/mind/spirit to groan?
What sensations, thoughts, or feelings came up during your practice?
What is the form and function of your fear? What shape does it take?
How does fear move through you, and where does it go?
What is one acute or chronic fear that is calling to be transformed? What three things do you need to make this shift possible?
Monday’s essay will recap what I’ve learned in the last month of writing more frequently, and the plan for this newsletter moving forward.