RWP Episode #166: Three Reiki Practices for Earth Day on Reiki Women Podcast

Join us for a special Earth Day episode of Reiki Women Podcast, featuring hosts Bronwen Logan, Michaela Daystar, and Carrie Varela. 
This episode offers a collection of three guided earth meditations designed to help you connect deeply with our planet. These Reiki women guide you through various practices that emphasize grounding, gratitude, and kindness towards the Earth. 
With a focus on the Japanese system of Reiki, the episode underscores the authentic spiritual perspectives of Reiki. 
Whether you're looking to transform your Reiki practice or simply aiming to feel more connected to nature, this episode provides practical and heartfelt guidance.

00:00 Welcome to Reiki Women Podcasts
00:12 Introduction to Earth Meditations
00:31 Meet the Hosts
02:00 Starting the Earth Energy Practice with Carrie
02:23 Grounding Meditation
13:06 Connecting with Plant Life with Michaela
23:23 Contemplating Earth Through Reiki Precepts with Bronwen
32:40 Final Thoughts and Commitments

Hosts
Bronwen Logan: https://ReikiwithBronwen.com
Carrie Varela: https://www.reikihealingsociety.com
Michaela Daystar: http://HeartscapesInsight.com

We now have our own email! reikiwomenpodcasts@gmail.com

Our own RWP Group discussion: Embodying Reiki
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Transcript

0:06

Hi, and welcome to Reiki Women Podcasts, and we have a special treat for you today. We've put together three separate earth meditations for you that are here to celebrate Earth Day. And of course, these, practices you can come back to at any time that you like. We hope that they help to bring you into communion with the earth. Welcome friends to the Reiki Women Podcast, an exploration into the profound depths of the system of Reiki. From a Japanese spiritual perspective and how that relates to our modern lives, we are keeping it real to Reikis origins, challenging the new age stereotype that things like. Crystals, chakras and angels are authentic aspects of the system. I'm Bronwyn Logan, and when I'm not writing best selling books about the Japanese system of Reiki, 75,000 readers and counting, I'm here debunking, outmoded reiki myths and coaching individuals and groups. Through my website, Reiki with Bronwyn. And I'm Mikayla de star, lead teacher and Weaver of Hardscapes Reiki connecting the dots between reiki and environmental and social justice because our individual healing cannot be extracted from healing relationship with the collective and with the land. And I'm Carrie Rela from the Reiki Healing Society here to help you transform your reiki practice into a thriving, prosperous business. 'cause while passion fuels your purpose, it's time to make it sustainable, authentic, and beautifully used. We're three women diving into the heart of Japanese Reiki. We're building a community that centers women's voices and inspires wellbeing. We're not just for women, we're for everybody. Come join the conversation. so Carrie, take it away. Alright friends Well, thank you so much for joining us today and very happy Earth Day to you and very happy Earth Day to Pachamama our beautiful planet rumbling underneath our feet. So let's dive into a practice to help cultivate earth energy. We're gonna close our eyes. And bring your breath and awareness into the hara in Japanese, the hara is called the Ka Tanden, and it's also called the Tandien in Chinese. And this is an energy center. If you're unfamiliar, that rests below the navel in the bowl of the pelvis. And as you bring your breath down into your belly, feel free to even place your hands on the belly and just appreciate that sensation of touch. So, in the Japanese perspective, the, the Hara helps us connect to Earth Energy. And we can use this part of the body and potentially if we, uh, you know, access it as an energy center, like a place where we're tapping into our energy, our energy body, if we're familiar with doing that, you know, it helps us find more grounding and stability in our life. And literally it's like I like, think of it as like my brain. I'm just trying to bring my brain, uh, into a more body centered awareness. So getting out of all the thoughts in my head and starting to tune more deeply and deliciously to the body. So how about have a moment. Some do a little scan of your body from your head down to your feet, softening your forehead, your ears, your jaw. Give a little space between the teeth. Relax the neck and shoulders and just feel a gorgeous breath in your chest. Feel the lungs expanding in your body and how like the whole architecture, everything in the body is so perfectly designed so you can breathe these big, gorgeous breath. Relax your belly. Relax the spine, relax your hips. Relax the legs, the knees, the shins, the ankles. Relax the calves. Relax the arches of your feet and your toes neglected. The arms relax, your shoulders, your elbows, your forearms, your wrists, your hands. These big breaths, feeling that ease and relaxation moving through your body, again, inviting the mind to relax as well. Releasing the need to think or solve or fix or analyze. To simply just be, to be here in this moment in time, thinking about the importance of now all that you're creating and manifesting and all the life that's happening around you and. And feeling your body as a part of the earth came from the earth. You know, trillions of ancestors before us. Who knows where we inherited this body from? So many people, so many lives, so many journeys. And with your breath and your inner gaze still resting in the hara mind. Resting in the hara. Imagine as if the horror is just sprouted some roots, and your energy, your energetic roots start to grow underneath you forming a strong foundation anchoring you to this planet and to this day. Okay. And as you feel your energetic roots grow like the roots of a tree, you know, they would grow down into the sides. Some trees, roots grow straight down, some grow more surface level. Bring yourself into the sensation of placing your feet on some sun kissed grass, bare feet on sun kissed grass. It feels like nice grounding is a. Gradual process, and then sometimes it's instantaneous. Just happens just suddenly there. Through this sensation of groundedness, these energetic roots reaching down into the earth, let's rest our mind. Our awareness and our incredible gratitude for this planet and all that it does for us. The earth, uh, carries very little. If we're a good person or a bad person, it feeds us and houses us the same no matter who we are. It's this universal love and foundation and support for all living beings to feel that that flow to you now. And this Earth Day, maybe thinking about one thing that you're committed to doing to keep your footprint on the earth, soft and gentle. Maybe there's one action that you are committed to that expresses kindness. For our planet and all its living creatures, and I reckon my friends here, Bronwen and Michaela, will also help us journey deeper into this kindness for the earth, but truly from our heart, from our roots, from our foundation. Feeling our appreciation and gratitude for the earth and all living beings, including ourselves, and just breathing that in, that appreciation and gratitude for the earth. Breathing out, offering that gratitude down through your energetic roots into the earth. Into the planet, breathing in our appreciation and gratitude for all living beings. And then as you exhale, sharing that appreciation and gratitude for the birds, the bees, the animals, the plants for all living beings, our fellow humans. Breathing in and cultivating this appreciation and gratitude for yourself, for your body, and as you exhale that inner smile, sharing this appreciation and gratitude for yourself and for your body, feeling that resonate in all cells. All right. And then from this place, I'm gonna pass the baton over to Michaela. Michaela take us deeper into this gratitude practice for our mama Earth. Yeah. Thank you Carrie. So Carrie has brought us into this rooted place, our energetic roots in the ground, feeling that connection with our dear mother Earth, the way our bodies reflect her body and our indeed built of her body. And now we're gonna take that sense of connection and gratitude to a specific place to our connection with our rooted verdant siblings in the plant world. And as we know scientifically, we share our breath with the plant life in this world that we exhale carbon dioxide, which they inhale and they exhale oxygen, which we inhale. It is a beautiful, reciprocal relationship that is essential to life on this planet. And so from this rooted place in our hara, our roots in the ground, I'm gonna invite you to bring your attention to the plant world and to perhaps a specific plant. Perhaps there's a tree outside your window or a potted plant in your space. Perhaps you have a memory of a favorite tree you used to climb as a child, and I'm gonna invite you to orient yourself towards that plant either. A plant that's in your specific environment or one that's in your memory? I myself have this window full of plants right here and a statue of of Gaia of our earth mother. So that is where I will be focused on my practice. But you could say in your imagination if you wish. And so as we orient towards our plant siblings, continuing to breathe in and down into your hara, into this rooted place within you, I invite you to bring your attention to the movement of your breath in and out of your body. And begin imagining as you exhale, your breath is moving towards the plant that you have chosen, that you are in relationship to in your space or in your imagination. And sense or imagine that plant taking up. That breath, that gift of life coming from you, and as it does it exhales. And so on your next inhale, imagine or sense that breath emanating from that plant back to you in the form of oxygen. And as we orient our body and our breath and our attention. Towards the relationship we have with this plant and with the plant kingdom. We're gonna breathe with this plant for a little bit, and it can be helpful to include a gesture to help us focus our attention on this reciprocation between us and the plant. So if that feels helpful, I'll invite you to place your hands on your heart, bringing them up from your belly, where they were just arresting a moment ago. And as you exhale, begin to extend your hands out towards your plants, riding the full length of your exhale. And as you inhale, as if you're forming a figure eight with your hands, begin bringing them back towards your heart, exhaling, extending your hands out towards your plant, imagining your breath, following that gesture as a gift of life to this plant. And as you inhale receiving the gift of life back from this life giver, and let's continue following that pattern at your own pace of your own breath, the movement of your body pacing, the movement of your breath, and all the while your attention following this flow of breath, your body, your breath, and your mind all collaborating together. In relationship to this dear friend and ally, this sibling in the plant world. Let's breathe in this way for a few moments together. As we continue to breathe in this way, our body, breath and mind unified. With each other and with the plant life, invite you to sense or imagine that with each breath, a gentle pulse of light from your hara extends on your breath. This spark of life that dwells in your center at all times, that connects you all the way down to the center of the earth and out the edges of the galaxies and the universe itself. That same spark of life that is in you dwells in the deep places of this plant, and as you exchange life giving breath, you can sense or imagine the exchange of energy of light. Each breath, a gentle wave of light passed between you. Inhaling, inhaling life, exhaling life. Inhaling light and exhaling light, bringing our focused awareness to this consistent dance of life giving that we are engaging with every breath and every moment of our life. As we take in the oxygen that was given to us by the branch, let's continue breathing together for a few more rounds of breath. And at the end of your next breath, just invite you to come to a place of stillness and just rest for a moment here. One hand on your heart, one on your belly. Continue to feel this one breath exchanging between you. Sense your relationship. The goodness, the kindness, the generosity of this life, this relationship with the world that we get to experience when we focus our attention here. And in the space of being so well nourished by the plant life in your spaces. I invite you to bring to mind again the commitment that you made when Carrie invited us a few more months ago to make one small commitment that we can enact in the next few days in service of this deep connection or gratitude, our devotion to tending to the earth. Just allow that commitment or perhaps a new one if you didn't think of one earlier to come into your mind. In reverence to our relationship with the burden rooted siblings of this world and make this commitment and many after. And from this place of connection and committed dedication, I need to pass this thread to Bronwen to share one final practice with us. Hmm. Thank you Michaela. Hmm. So as we just sit here, wherever you are. Just listening to our voices. You might find yourself sitting in nature. You might find yourself sitting at home. You might find yourself sitting in an office under fluorescent lighting, wherever you are. Know that you are in communion with the earth, living in its daily rhythm of day and night, breathing that beautiful recycled air and oxygen. How do you feel about the world that you live in right now? Today, in this moment, we're gonna contemplate these feelings. Your worldview of the earth through the reiki precepts, giving you some structure and support. Be actively at one with the Earth on this Earth Day. So breathing down into the hara in this moment for today, only the feet on the earth, the head in the clouds with the sun, and we are this connection between the two and together with the earth and the sun and our bodies. We are our lives, our worldview, our understanding, and each of us is unique in that understanding. So as we breathe down into the hara, our hands relaxed upon the thighs, just contemplate these thoughts that for today only, I will not be angry about environmental destruction. Instead, I will discover determination. Thinking about how we can become paralyzed when we think of things around us that we are doing to our planet. Things that may feel beyond our power. Instead of feeling paralyzed or consumed by frustration, find a determination inside something that can motivate you. It might motivate you into action, or it may simply just change your worldview. Bend like a tree, but do not break. Find flexibility, find strength in how you view the Earth's challenges, accepting the things that you can't change, but be determined to change the things that you can change. Just breathe into this resilient self inside of you. Find this strength, this determination, and know that for today only, I will not worry about the Earth's future. Instead, I will take positive action. Know that worry will not change any of the challenges that we face. Instead, know that you can focus with your worldview on concrete actions. Things that are within your control. Something simple you can do right now. You can change right now. It could be be more considerate of how you use water. It could be reducing your waste walking instead of driving. Something simple. Release the burden of your anxiety that you have about the planet. Let it go. Replace it with commitment to practical action. Change your world view. Shift it from worry to purpose and breathe into this intention and know that for today only, I will be grateful for this beautiful world, this world that sustains us all. And think of something in your world, something in nature that you are genuinely grateful for. Clean water, fertile soil. Our life-giving trees. 'Kansha', gratitude is expressed, not just in words, but in respectful action. How are you gonna show gratitude for the earth today? Breathe deeply into your appreciation for Pachamama for the earth. All that she gives and know that for today only you will do what you can to the best of your ability to protect this shared environment. Think of how are you doing things? Are you doing them with integrity for your environment, for the world that you live in? And think about honestly what you are doing that may not be the best for the planet. May not be the best for you. It may not be the best for the people around you. For all the living beings on this planet, it might not be the best the trees and the earth. Be honest about that. When we are aware of these things, we then have the ability to change them. Breathe into this renewed commitment to change your worldview, to look at the world and yourself with integrity and honesty. For today, only know that you will be kind to every living thing that shares our planet. So breathing into your body, and as you breathe out, just expand your awareness out into the world. Include every life form, plants and animals, and the insects, the ecosystem, and think about the choices you make and just breathing in and out, allowing your kindness and love and compassion to be shared equally into your worldview, and think about any changes that you could make in your life so that you can express this kindness. Breathing in and out with that love that we've been working on today. Feeling that deep inter connection, that shifting of viewpoints and knowing that your world is what you make it, how you see it, how you view it. Change is always possible. So thinking about that change that Carrie mentioned, Michaela mentioned, I'm coming back to it now. Take that steadfast resolution, that determination and bring it in to this idea that you're going to shift and change in your world with love and gratefulness and integrity. Just breathing down into the hara, settling that determination into the deep belly and coming back when you're ready. Thank you everyone for sharing Earth Day with us and we look forward to seeing you at the next Reiki Women podcast. Yes. Thank you all. Enjoy. Bye.