Soul Deep Yoga & Healing

SoulDeepEpisode10:Spring Equinox W/Guided Meditation

Soul Deep Yoga Season 1 Episode 10

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0:00 | 45:35

The Spring Equinox marks the moment the Earth comes into perfect balance between equal light and darkness. But for many ancient cultures, this wasn’t just the start of spring,it was the "real" New Year. In this episode we explore the spiritual meaning of the equinox, the wisdom of our ancestors, and why this powerful seasonal shift is the perfect time to reset your energy, release what no longer serves you, and begin again. Meditation at 36:12

SPEAKER_02

Hello, hello, and welcome to today's Soul Deep Yoga and Healing Podcast. And today is our 10th episode. We are so excited to have you here. Um, today we are talking about something really special and fun, um, the spring equinox. So thank you for joining and listening in with us. If this is your first time here, my name is Kimmy, and next to me I have my co-host, Brittany. Woo! All right. Well, let's first start off just with recap from the week, Britney.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, what did you do this week? How'd it go? It's been a good week, it's been a busy week. Um, we've been planning our spring equinox event. Yes. Um, it was also a pie week. So I got to enjoy pie week. Um yeah, just pretty much just like work, kids that's it. And planning. And planning, yeah, just like literally work and just trying to take care of home life.

SPEAKER_02

That seems pretty similar to my week as well. I mean, obviously we were planning together, so we did that. Um, but I also got to uh see my family this week. A bunch of my family came up and had lunch at my house this week for my brother's birthday, and my brother is uh lives out of town, so it was really fun to have him and his wife come in. Um, so I also got to spend time with kids and family and I'm glad do all that fun stuff.

SPEAKER_00

So I always like hearing your experiences with your siblings because I've met most of them. And you guys all have quite the personality. We yeah, very good personalities, and like it's just really fun to see you guys together. And I would have to say that you and your brother are very similar when it comes to like energy vibes and stuff.

SPEAKER_02

So uh well, I take that as a compliment.

SPEAKER_00

So do you have any magic moments?

SPEAKER_02

Um, I'd say that was my magic moment, honestly, being able to see my family this week because we do all live in like different states, so everybody traveled up to to come to my house, so that's probably my even the one back up northeast Lorien. No, no, she wasn't, she was the only sibling that wasn't able to come out, but that's valid because she's yeah, she's in Iowa.

SPEAKER_00

So Iowa, there we go. I knew it was somewhere. What is that? Something always somewhere.

SPEAKER_02

Um but yeah, so it was it, yeah. That was my magic moment. I gotta hang out with my niece and nephew, and they're just at a fun age. My my nephew thinks he's Spider-Man, so we we did all sorts of spider stuff. Yeah. It was good.

SPEAKER_00

Um was your magic moment this week? My magic moment this week? Okay, so on Monday nights I teach restorative, which obviously you already know. But um, so one of the students is has to take a long-term break because she has to have another neck infusion, which good luck, because that's that's hard. Yes. And she she's been limited on like her movement in general, so she's been like you she's solely been coming to class for the mental relaxation, the mental restoration, the mental clarity. And she she was just telling me she that she was just like very thankful for my class and that she appreciates it. She's been struggling with like mental chatter, like, and it she was like, I just haven't been able to get it to shut off. And she was like, You have helped me to get to get through that. Cause but I get it, I wake up every morning. Man, my mind is going million miles. Million miles chatter, like, and it's sometimes it's reliving past conversations, sometimes it's just like we're bringing it up. Like, yeah, did I do this right? Did I do that wrong? Or so um, just to hear that I was helping somebody. That's really cool. I like it. Yeah, I love that. I love that for you. So we love to hear stories, we love to hear how yoga helps you. So if you guys have any, please, please, please send them in. Yeah, send them in. We love them. We want to share them to the world because we have lots of things to say and share. Yes, agree. Um, okay, poll of the day. Kimmy pulled from our comfy, cozy, which oracle deck? Yes, would you pull, Kimmy Harker?

SPEAKER_02

I pulled the fire card, and the words associated with this card are creativity and strength. And this picture of the fire is really cute. It's just a little fog or log fire. I cannot talk today, but it's got cute little like flowers and mushrooms growing out of the logs, too. So, and it's got like some magic dust coming off of the flames, so it's like an enchanted looking fire.

SPEAKER_00

Ooh, whimsy. It does look whimsy very simple, but the deck is very whimsy, so I've I love this deck. Alright, so I'm just gonna read the deck, and so the mantra is creativity or strength. I tap into my creative powers. The message: the fire card is here to remind you that you have all the tools to move forward. Fire ignites your inner creativity and fuels your strength. This is the time to harness your passions and let them blaze brightly. Fire is both a spark of inspiration and a force of transformation. Embrace it with confidence. Know that at this time your creative power knows no bounds. But with power comes responsibility. So channel your strength wisely and use it to bring warmth and growth, not destruction. If you've been contemplating starting a new project or taking a risk, fire is here to tell you now is the time. Within the flames of creativity, lie the momentum and strength to shape and forge ahead. And your prompt, what drives or motivates me to create?

SPEAKER_02

Ooh, I love this card to go along with today's last.

SPEAKER_00

Well, it kind of also made me think of this morning when um, because we've been really talking about um, you know, getting the camera set up so that we can start, you know, showing our faces and like, dude, my fire was going this morning with like creative setup ideas and stuff like that. And so definitely starting to feel that creative fire within.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, which is perfect because that's this is the season for it. Yeah, yep, exactly. But before we talk about that, um, we have some of our fun little segments. So I think we're gonna do our FMK first. Um, Brittany, I have a good FMK for you. Do you? You ready? So, because we're talking about the spring equinox today, um, we're my FMK is all the other main three because there's four total. So FMK, are you picking winter solstice, summer solstice, or fall equinox?

SPEAKER_00

Well, the things I'm saying in my head right now are really inappropriate. Thanks, Kimmy. That is a really hard one. That is hard because they're yes, but so what were my options? Winter, winter, summer, or fall. Fall. I know. I gave you I gave you a finger. You did. Oh no.

SPEAKER_02

Um I'm gonna kill Winter. Really? That actually very much surprises me. I'm gonna kill Winter. I thought you were gonna marry Winter, to be honest. Okay, kill Winter. Who are you marrying?

SPEAKER_00

That's the hard one. Because we have had some really good summer and fall. Our outdoor events are phenomenal. And summer solstice, we do a drum circle. Drum circle. Alright, I'm gonna I'm gonna marry falls. And I'm gonna F summer because Okay.

SPEAKER_02

Interesting. Interesting.

SPEAKER_00

I can I like marry both? Like I love. I really do. I I in general, summer and fall, you know what? I don't know. Never mind, because they've all been my favorite, and I'm actually really excited about this one because it's in a completely different place. We're doing something really it'll be great. We'll we'll go into that. I'm really excited for this episode. No, that's good. Okay, so for mine, non-yoga related, um, but definitely we'll get to know each other more. So Mexican food, Chinese food, or Italian.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, I'm like literally the the least pickiest eater, so I eat everything, and all of those are like my top three. So this is hard. Um gosh. I'm gonna have to marry Italian food just because classic, like I'm always going back, you know. So Mary, Mary, gosh, this sucks. Um I'm gonna have to marry Mexican and kill Chinese, as much as I hate to say that because I love Chinese food.

SPEAKER_00

I only get like two things when I get Chinese food, so I'd probably kill it too.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I'm like, I have my go-to.

SPEAKER_00

I get my sweet and sour, and that's it. Sweet and sour, huh? Yeah. That's funny. And that might not even be categories in that type of food, anyways. So um, alright. Next segment is our love and hate. Kim Me, what you got? Okay, so my yoga love and hate is actually together.

SPEAKER_02

Okay. It's one thing because I love it and I hate it at the same time. Okay. Brittany, last night, during our sound bath. We had a we had a small group for a sound bath last night, and they're they're OGs. They're regular. They are people that we are very, very comfortable with. And Brittany, I guess, forgot where she was for a second and let out the loudest burp. Well, it wasn't even like an open-mouth burp. It was like in her mouth, but it was like a long burp. And it was like so quiet because we were just about to get started. She let out this burp. Oh my gosh. And one of our students just goes, What was that?

SPEAKER_00

Is that a new instrument?

SPEAKER_02

And I just started dying.

SPEAKER_00

I cried for like five minutes because it was so.

SPEAKER_02

It was it was a it was a solid derail for five minutes because it was like, and Brittany was just like deer in headlights for a second. I was like, I'm so sorry, you guys. I don't, I don't, I don't know. I did that. It was so funny. I loved it. I was like, especially with the group we were in, I'm like, it's it was totally, it was perfect for the um, but yeah, I I loved that. It was hilarious at the same time. I hated that because it took us a solid five, seven minutes to like get back into it to be like, all right, well, like no, we gotta like get serious. We're wasting time. I know. Let's start the sound. Oh, yeah, it was it was good. So thanks for the giggles last night, Rett.

SPEAKER_00

I don't know what was going on. Yesterday was a long day, so it was a long day. I taught, I taught the morning classes, and then on Saturdays I work over at Crest Club, and so I went there and we were really busy because it was high day international high day. And I just don't think I separated myself because I work alone over there, so you could probably imagine the belch is over there. So yeah, it was a long day, and then I had to come back to the studio and help with the soundbest, so yeah, which is fine. Alright, so mine. Yeah, what's your yoga love and hate? My hate is I hate not being able to find a good playlist. And when I say good, it's like all my playlists are good, but like you I've heard them a hundred million times, and I'm like, I need to do it.

SPEAKER_02

I want a new one that's like I don't have to edit or like take songs out of because it is, it's so it's kind of hard to find like a good quality playlist. So especially if you're a yoga teacher out there and you have good music, please send us your your username on Spotify. We'll follow you. Yeah, we'll follow you. Um also we we should put together Soul Deep Spotify because we have tons of yoga playlists and we have we do we have good music taste, but at the same time, like we teach so many classes that like we've heard this music so much.

SPEAKER_00

And also, like for me, like my the students like I don't want them to hear the the same thing over again and be like I hate this song, you know. Oh, this one again and champamasana, yeah, yep, yeah. And then so for my love, um, so after class I just announced that it was pie day over at Crest Club, and I'm like, come see me guys, I'll be there all day. Sewing pie. Uh-huh. Dude, some of the students actually showed up and bought pie. Yes, I was so happy. I was like, stop, you guys listen.

SPEAKER_02

That's so cool. Uh-huh. I love that for you.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, so overall, yeah. Good week.

SPEAKER_02

Good week. Good week. And it's about to be a better week. Yes. For the spring equinox. Let's start talking about it. Yep. All right. So um, the spring equinox is also known as Austera or the vernal equinox. Um, and for 2026, it's going to be held on Friday, March 20th. Um, what is the spring equinox? So, the spring equinox is when day and light are in perfect balance. So, we'll have an equal amount of daylight and an equal amount of night. Um, before we talk about the spring equinox, what even like we need to talk about why we're celebrating this and kind of give you an overview of the wheel of the year. Um, if you haven't heard of the wheel of the year before, it's a spiritual calendar used in many modern um pagan and earth-based traditions to mark the cycle of the seasons throughout the year. So it consists of eight seasonal festivals, often called Sabbaths, that reflect the changing relationship between the earth and the sun. These celebrations honor the natural rhythm of life: birth, growth, harvest, rest, and rebirth. Rather than viewing time as linear, the wheel of the year reflects a cyclical understanding of time, reminding us that life moves in repeating patterns just like the seasons. The wheel is deeply connected to the agricultural cycles that ancient people depended on for survival. Observing the sun, the length of daylight, and seasonal changes helped communities know when to plant, harvest, store food, and when to prepare for winter. It was quite literally how they survived back in the day.

SPEAKER_00

Um, and it was also their way of keeping track of time.

SPEAKER_02

As well, yes. So, I mean, for us nowadays, obviously we have our calendars, yes. Yes, and we very very rarely even think about where the sun is in the sky. But back in the day that was how we survived, and we've lost touch with that. So this is about coming back in touch with the ancestors, too. So um, so there are eight festivals in the Wheel of the Year, but the main four um are is going to be winter solstice, spring equinox, summer solstice, and autumn equinox. So winter solstice is also known as Yule. Um, the spring equinox, which is what we're talking about today, is called Ostera. The summer solstice is called Litha, and the Autumn Equinox is called Mavon. Um, and these just mark the turning points of the sun's journey across the sky. So the equinoxes are when day and night are in balance. The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, or also the celebration of the return of light, because from winter solstice moving forward, you gain more light every day. Um, and then on the opposite end, there's the summer solstice or litha, which is the longest day of the year and the shortest night, um, which just celebrates vitality and all of the abundance that we have in that season. Um, and then in between all of those, so from Yule to Austera, there's the cross-quarter festivals in between. And so, in between those points, there's the halfway points in between Yule, Ostera, Litha, and Maben. So there's eight total, but we'll talk about those other half in between days when the time comes to that. Um, so those are the main four, and those are the main four that Brittany and I celebrate um with the studio. Those are the the celebrations that we usually host, are just those main four. Um but the reason why we celebrate that is because we actually gain um inspiration from ancient pagans. So um pagans didn't exactly celebrate the way that we practice today, uh, because we've definitely modernized it. Um, but they would honor the seasonal shifts through community gatherings, they would do rituals, and they would do agricultural uh traditions. So some typical ways that they um used to celebrate was through bonfires. Um, they'd also share food and do like a feast. Um, they would do blessings for crops and livestocks and set intentions um for their fields. Um, they would do a lot of just dancing and listening to music and storytelling and honoring ancestors um and also going along with it. It was usually like they would decorate with um things in season. So, specifically for spring, like lots of flowers and stuff as well. Because these festivals were a way for the community to get together and to celebrate. Um, but they weren't just like a spiritual thing. Um, it was a deeply practical thing. Um, it was a way that they would help communities stay connected to the land and to each other to bring everything um back to balance. So um why this is important today um is because we often feel disconnected from this rhythm of nature. Um, and so the Wheel of the Year invites us to slow down and to notice the changing world around us and to actually become connected. And from my own personal experience from when we first started this to now, I love celebrating these. I would rather celebrate Yule over Christmas, to be honest. Like I love aligning myself with the actual changing of the seasons. Um, and I feel like every every season I just keep learning more and more, which is really cool. Um, but yeah, just so the reason why we're celebrating is just to align ourselves back into that energy of Mother Nature. It helps us feel closer to our ancestors, helps us feel more aligned with the the seasons of our life that we're in right now. Um, so astrologically, what does the spring equinox mean? So the reason why day and light will be in balance is because the earth's access is tilted in such a way that the sun sits directly above the equator. And because of this alignment, nearly every place on earth experiences roughly equal hours of day and night. And so this moment of balance has fascinated human civilizations for thousands of years, and long before modern calendars and clocks, ancient cultures closely observed the sky to track the movement of the sun. And these observations were essential for agriculture, survival, and spiritual traditions. The spring equinox marked the end of winter scarcity and the beginning and growing season. And because of this, many ancient societies viewed this time of year as a symbol of rebirth, fertility, balance, and new life. So um, I've always been fascinated by ancient Egypt, and so I thought that this was kind of a fun fact that I wanted to share. Um, so this is just some spectacle. It's not necessarily like a fact, but um some researchers believe that the Great Sphinx of Giza um faces the rising sun during the equinox, which symbolizes rebirth and the cyclical nature of life. So they think that they actually did that intentionally to that when the sun rises on the equinox, that she's bathed in light, which I thought was really cool. Let's talk about some of the general themes of this ring equinox. Equinox. Um, typically with the spring equinox, um, the themes are renewal, fresh beginnings. So thinking of like what spring is, like you often see new sprouts emerging. So this is like the rebirth stage, the the It's almost like the uh new year. Yes, it's almost yeah, it's like this is the perfect time to like set intentions, actually.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, because like in the winter time, like why would you want to set resolutions, intentions into something that's dead? Exactly.

SPEAKER_02

Yes. Um, so this is also the time of year for growth and possibility, which goes exactly along with that intention setting and with our card that we pulled today. So um, it's also the day of balance, obviously, because of the equal day and night, but it's also about awakening energy after the rest. So we have we're just coming out of winter. We've been in this slow dark season, and now for after the spring equinox, every day moving forward, we're gaining a little bit more light, a little bit more energy. Um, so this is about awakening that dormant energy that's within us right now, too. Um, and then we wanted to also share. Um, you've heard me call the spring equinox austere, and that's like a traditional pagan thing. But um, the reason why it's it's called that is because there's a Germanic goddess, the spring goddess, and I it's Oster. Um, I think is how you pronounce it. I could be butchering that. Um, but she is the one who's associated with dawn fertility and new life. Um typically associated with her, you'll see things like eggs and hares or rabbit, which represent fertility. So if you think about bunny, you can hear the thing like mating leg bunnies. It's because rabbits are so fertile. They're fertile, and this is the fertile season of our life.

SPEAKER_00

And also think in the wintertime we're we're cold and we're next to our lover.

SPEAKER_02

And um, yeah, also thinking about like eggs and stuff too. Like eggs are like that start of you know the burdening process, right? Like for those. Um, so this is where typical, so like Christian culture, this is what Easter is, right? That's probably why this is all sounding familiar, because um this is how Christians celebrate the spring incemox, essentially. Um so um another symbol that's associated is um seeds and sprouts just because of the all the growth and stuff that's happening within nature. Um, but also flowers as well, especially daffodils and tulips, which I like popping up everywhere right now, actually.

SPEAKER_00

Eat them all over my social media pages. I got irises to come grab.

SPEAKER_02

I love it. And so these symbols remind us that growth often begins quietly beneath the surface before it ever becomes visible, because think about eggs. I'm like, you can't see what's going on in there, but there's there's stuff going on in there until one day it hatches, right? Um, and same thing with the seeds and sprouts and flowers. It's like there's there's all that growth going on underneath the surface, which is what we've been doing right now. And then things are starting to come into fruition, all of our hard work. Um, so to go along with this, we wanted to share some um ways that you can practice yourself. So typically people will plant seeds. Um, this is also a good time to start your garden if you like to start your seeds at home. Um, this is a really good time to actually get started thinking about what you want to put in your garden and starting those sprouts. Um, decorating eggs, so going along with like the Easter tradition, um, this, the eggs again are just symbolizing new life and decorating those with intention and just getting that creativity started. Um, another way that you can celebrate is using a spring altar or creating an altar of your own. You can use things from outside using like nature to create an altar. You can use crystals or any other decorations that resonate. In the past, we've done crystal grids together before events. Yes, as well. Um, this is also so where we're in this season of new energies, tradition and everything, spring cleaning out with the old, making room for new growth. So, this is a really good time to think about your spring cleaning and get it done. Clean house, clean mind. Um, another way that you can celebrate the spring equinox is just spending time outdoors. Um, notice the little buds and sprouts that are around you and popping up, but just be a little bit more mindful outside. Um, and then if you have the opportunity to gather with your community to welcome the seasons. Um, you can eat gather and eat some seasonal foods together. Um, usually lighter meals are really good for this time of year, like bringing in like all the vegetables and the lettuces and all the herbs and things like that. Um, we have some questions of reflection that um Brittany is going to go over with you all. So if you guys want to write these down, if you have a journal or if you would like to just reflect on these, you can do that as well. But if you want to grab some writing utensils, um, feel free to just reflect on these questions or write them out, think about them.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, so if you're wanting some reflection on the past seasons, you can ask yourself, what did the winter season teach me about myself? For new beginnings and welcomings, what seeds of intention do I want to plant this spring? For finding balance, where in my life do I feel balanced right now? For personal growth, what habits or patterns support the person I want to become? For connection? How do I feel when I notice the changing seasons around me? And for intention setting, what word or theme do I want to guide me this spring?

SPEAKER_02

And that word or theme could be those like the beginnings, new beginnings, being anything, growth, letting go, balance, clarity, clarity, anything that resonates. So those are just some good questions for you to think about to get your mind rolling. Um, and from here, we are going to talk about what we are actually doing for our spring equinox um this upcoming Friday. Um, so we're going to be gathering and the location that we're going to. It's beautiful. Hemsley Ranch. It'll be great. Um, and right now the weather is looking very promising. This is the warm four degrees. This is the warmest spring we've ever had. We've never been able to do a spring equinox outside because historically there's snow. But but this year we're gonna try and do our yoga practice outside. And right now it looks like we're gonna be able to do that, which will be really great.

SPEAKER_00

It'll be really nice. We'll post some pictures up of the property and like how we hosted it. Um, so if you're not following us, go find us on Instagram and Facebook because we definitely post about this stuff. But the property that we're going to is absolutely amazing. I want to say there might actually be some baby animals out there when we go there. Yes, and then I've seen them posting their stories. So Hemsley Ranch is uh so another job I do.

SPEAKER_02

Um, Britney's many hats two wears.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, so this this ranch is actually an Airbnb, so anybody is more than welcome to book this place out. So we booked it, but I also clean this Airbnb on the side. And um, it's beautiful. It's it's it's a ranch. Um, they have so Hemsley Ranch also does horse racing, so they've had all their horses out there. They raised horses recently. And I've seen they have a social media as well, and on their stories, they've had some baby animals out there, so we might have to wander out there and check it out and see what they have. Because I know guests can go out there and get um eggs for breakfast if they wanted to.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, nice, that's cool. Yeah. All right, but yeah, so we're we're hosting out there, and how we're going to celebrate, we're gonna do our yoga practice outside. Um, and then we always do a seasonal craft to go along um with the season that we're in. So to go along with spring, um, we ordered some terracotta pots and some paint, and we're going to let our students paint the pot however they would like to, um, with their own intentions so they can write words on them, they can decorate them. I know like a symbol that I often um associate with the spring equinox is the Lotus Moudra, just because it's like it's that time of coming out of the dark and into the light, the blossoming. So um, I'm gonna offer that for people if they want to paint a lotus mudra or even whatever they want to do. But they'll have time to paint a cute little terracotta pot. And then Brittany and I also have like some vegetable and herb and flower seeds that they are going to plant seeds of intentions. So we'll have them write out some intentions. They can even plant them in the soil if they want to. Um, and they're just gonna be really mindful as they they plant those seeds because those those seeds are what they want to bring into this season that they're in. Um, so we're gonna do that, and then we're gonna have a very nutritious, and I'm very excited about our dinner. We always have the best dinners.

SPEAKER_00

We've been pretty consistent on like our meals, and I think this is the first time we're really changing up the whole, like it's not it's not a salad bar. So salad bars for spring in the past, we've done the salad bar, and but this year you wanted to switch it up, so we're doing charcuterie boards. Yep, we're doing a whole bunch of charcuterie boards.

SPEAKER_02

We've got a bunch of different meats and cheese and vegetables, fruits, and breads.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. Ooh, my favorite things. It's gonna be so yummy and really excited. And then we decided because like we weren't really we got a little nervous about the weather and stuff like that. And so I was like, well, let's do your bossel. And you're like, how about we do tea? I love tea.

SPEAKER_02

So we're gonna do tea and we have this beautiful lemon water. Yes, lemon water. Um, we always try and keep it like on theme with you know what's going on. So we have this really yummy um citrusy tea that one of our students actually dried and made. Actually, one of our teachers. Yeah. Teacher. Tigong teacher, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, our Q gong instructor. So that so we'll have tea as an option. And yes, Kimmy mentioned that we like to stay on theme with the food. So we really try to stick to foods that are in that season.

SPEAKER_02

And we're gonna decorate it all cute. So we're excited for the boards because we're gonna get some fresh flowers as well and put just some cute flowers everywhere and get it all decorated.

SPEAKER_00

And we're getting all of our soil seeds and fresh flowers from um Hemsley Gardens. So um Hemsley, Hemsley family doing great things, man. I love it. Yeah, we love it. Definitely supporting local and using our resources, and we're actually very thankful for them. So yes.

SPEAKER_02

So um, yeah, we're gonna we're gonna do our planter craft, and then after that, um, and dinner, we're gonna we're gonna settle in for a nice, comfy, cozy sound bath. We love our sound baths around here and the space that we're in.

SPEAKER_00

It's so I can't wait to show you guys. So stay tuned for pictures. We have a professional photographer coming out. Um, we'll be taking our own stuff so like you'll kind of notice like the day before and the day of, like our setup and our progressions, and um it's gonna be fun. I'm I'm excited to see how this location pans out because we've we've normally have done winter and spring just across the street from us, but that place is under construction. Um, we call it the gingerbread shop, it's just an old, old name that Preston.

SPEAKER_02

They do the gingerbread competition.

SPEAKER_00

They do the gingerbread, yeah. And so it makes sense, yeah. So um Sawyer's been remodeling that, and so that's been, I cannot wait to see what it looks like over there because we need to be able to go back over there, yeah, and it's a huge space across the street, so it'll be great.

SPEAKER_02

Anywho, with all this in mind, happy spring, everybody. Welcome, spring, welcome in all the new growth and energy that you want to bring in. Um, and tap into that creativity. This is the time to really bring those intentions to life, taking small steps and actions towards that new life, new growth that you want to bring in. Um, with that being said, we have a guided meditation to end our podcast today. So if you guys want to go ahead and grab a blanket, um, settle into a space where you can close your eyes, get nice and comfy, cozy. This is going to be a visual guided meditation. So go ahead and we'll get started. Go ahead and allow your body to soften, settling into your space. You can soften your gaze or close your eyes. Take a slow, steady breath in through the nose.

SPEAKER_01

And a long exhale out the mouth. Again, inhale deeply and exhale completely. Inhale. And exhale.

SPEAKER_02

Make the next inhale you take. Be the longest breath you've taken all day.

SPEAKER_01

And sigh it all out. Let your breath settle into a natural rhythm now.

SPEAKER_02

Releasing all effort. Start to visualize yourself standing at the edge of a beautiful forest. It's early spring. The air is cool but gentle. It carries the scent of fresh earth and new life. Sunlight filters softly through the tall trees, creating warm patches of light on the forest floor. Take a step forward onto the path. With each step, feel the soft ground beneath your feet. The earth feels alive beneath you. The rich soil, the fallen leaves, and the quiet hum of life awakening. Birds begin to sing in the distance, and a soft breeze moves through the branches above you. You notice small green shoots emerging from the ground, tiny plants pushing up through the soil. Life's returning. Continue walking slowly along this path. And as you move deeper into the forest, the greens become more vibrant. Ferns are unfolding. Wildflowers are beginning to bloom. The forest feels peaceful, balanced, and alive. Ahead of you, you come to a small clearing, and in the center stands a large, ancient tree. Its roots stretch deep into the earth. Its branches reach wide into the sky. This tree has witnessed many seasons: winter, spring, summer, fall. It knows the rhythm of change. Walk towards the tree and sit beneath it. Feel the strength of the trunk behind you. And imagine your own energy grounding downward like roots extending into the earth. Feel yourself supported and steady. You gently lift your chin towards the sky and you look up through the branches of the tree. The sunlight is perfectly balanced, not too bright, not too dim. Light and dark in harmony. Take a deep breath in. Balance between effort and rest. Between giving and receiving.

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Balance between who you have been and who you're becoming.

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Now imagine a small seed resting in the soil beside you. This seed represents something new in your life. A dream. A change. A new beginning. What does this seed represent to you? Gently place the seed into the earth and cover it with this soft soil. You don't have to force it to grow. You simply trust the season. Silently say to yourself, I welcome new beginnings. I trust the rhythm of growth.

SPEAKER_01

I am in balance.

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Feel the warmth of the sunlight on your face. Feel the steady earth beneath you. And notice how calm and alive the forest feels. Take a moment to Thank the tree and the forest and the new season. And when you're ready, you stand and you begin walking back along the forest path. And with each step you take, you carry the feeling of renewal with you. The feeling that something new is quietly growing within.

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Take a deep breath in. And a slow breath out.

SPEAKER_02

Begin to wiggle your fingers and your toes and gently return your awareness to the space that you're in. Spring has arrived, and with it the promise of new life. Just like the forest, growth doesn't happen all at once. It happens quietly, steadily, and in its own perfect time. Thank you all so much for joining us today, from our heart to yours, Namaste.