With spring around the corner and winter soon to be a distant memory, it is the perfect time to think about spring cleaning and new beginnings – not just in your space, but in your mind. Each season serves its purpose, with winter being the time of darkness, death, and rest before the new awakening and energetic rebirth of spring. As we move into spring, we feel ready to spark our energy, clear our minds, and welcome new beginnings. No matter how you refresh, you will want to make sure you clear your mind and take time to meditate, ground, and spring clean.
No matter if you are new to meditation or you’ve been doing it for years, spring is the perfect time to mentally refresh with this meditation. With people thinking an average of 70,000 thoughts per day, it is important to remain present with your thoughts, do an audit of what you think, and release those old, limiting thoughts and beliefs that will not serve you as you start your new beginning. Suitable for all levels, you won’t need any props for this practice, designed to help you release the old and energetically cleanse.
Find a place free from distractions where you can quietly meditate for about ten minutes. Begin this practice by coming to a comfortable position, either seated or lying down indoors or outdoors. Close your eyes if that feels good to you and begin by taking 3 deep cleansing breaths. Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. Do this two more times.
Now begin settling into stillness, allowing yourself to slow down and turn inward. Focus your awareness on your effortless breath gliding in and out of your body at the nose. Connect with your breath, and feel its melody as it flows in and out. Allow the melody to meet the percussion of your beating heart. Together, your breath and your heartbeat create a symphony of your vitality – a song you and only you get to experience because you are here, you are alive, and you are present.
Take a few moments to experience your lifeforce, your breath and heart dancing together as you observe them both. Allow yourself to move deeper inward with each passing moment, journeying towards your true center.
In your mind’s eye, imagine roots growing down from all of the points of contact between you and the surface beneath you. See these roots growing down from the body, through the floor, and into the earth. Watch your roots grow deep and wide, anchoring and grounding you. As you inhale, feel the new, fresh energy of the earth being pulled into your body through those roots, and as you exhale, feel yourself releasing all of the old, stagnant energy you no longer need.
Continue to breathe with the inhale bringing in fresh, new energy, and the exhale releasing any old, stagnant winter energy from your body. Do this for several minutes, feeling your connection to the earth beneath you, and with each breath cycle feeling more alive and more vital, like a slate being wiped clean.
Close your meditation by taking 3 more deep cleansing breaths and telling yourself three times’ “My mind is clear, my heart is open, and I am ready to begin again”.
*A note about this practice: if you are able to go outside and practice this meditation in nature, you may find it helps you welcome in that new, fresh spring energy.
Kelly Smith is a globally celebrated yoga and meditation teacher based in the Twin Cities. An E-RYT 500 and founder of Yoga For You, Kelly hosts the iTunes chart topping podcast Mindful in Minutes. Beside her podcast, Kelly is best known for her master trainings in meditation, restorative yoga, yoga nidra, and her yoga retreats as well as popup sound baths and meditation events in the Twin Cities. You can learn more about Kelly on her website yogaforyouonline.com or follow her on Instagram @yogaforyouonline. You can listen to Mindful in Minutes anywhere you get your podcasts.
