I feel the warmth of the sun against my naked skin and I breathe a deep sigh of contentment and appreciation. The light and warmth of the sun spread as a radiant wave of relaxation through my body and mind after countless months of chill and snow and the corresponding contraction and hibernation of my internal energy. As new life pushes up through the thawed, fertile soil, bursting into vibrant color and sweet aroma across the landscape, I feel an opening into the expansive energy of seasonal rebirth within my soul.  The free flow of life force through me expresses itself as a softening, a receptive expansiveness, and spontaneous, innocent movement of joy which dances my body back to pleasure.

This Spring I invite you to set aside time for stillness to listen to the beckoning of your soul.

What is your body/mind’s simplest pleasure in this moment? It is accessible immediately, given the right nutrients: awareness, acceptance, gratitude.

Here’s a simple practice to help you tune in:

  1. Find a quiet place to sit. Silence your devices. Get comfortable. Dedicate this time to YOU.
  2. Close your eyes. Gently allow your breath to deepen and lengthen. Notice the support of whatever you are sitting on and the sensations at the points of contact between your body and the support. With each exhalation, allow yourself to relax into that support a little more.
  3. Once you feel your body beginning to relax and your mind coming into more stillness, ask your body what it wants right now. Refrain from going into your head to answer what you think you want. Cultivate a stillness and spaciousness, a deep listening for the answer to arise from your body.
  4. When you feel an impulse, gently follow it without assessing or judging it. Simply follow and allow the organic unfolding of awareness and experience. Perhaps you may become aware of how fatigued your body/mind is and the impulse to rest. Allow yourself the luxury of replenishing non-doing. Perhaps you may notice your senses becoming more acute and bring your awareness to the simple pleasure of receiving the sounds, smells, sights and textures around you. Perhaps you may notice an impulse to sigh, sing, move or stroke your body with kindness. Whatever it is, can you bring non-judgemental acceptance and your full willingness to indulge in your soul’s deeper desires moment-to-moment?

This is the path of joy. This is the path of embodied awakening.

This is the means of coming back into connection, balance and harmony with your essence and allowing it to express through you in your life: to animate and inspire your creativity and passion; to tap into flow and open the door for grace to move through; to invite ease and pleasure; to reap the harvest of gratitude and contentment; to shed the shackles of limitation and open to infinite possibility in each moment.
Awakening connection Gratitude Pleasure Self Love