Taurus Lunar Eclipse 2023 Meditation: Embrace the Present, Release Rigidity, and Nourish Yourself (77)

Ever wondered how celestial events like lunar eclipses can stir up your emotions and teach you life-altering lessons? This is your chance to explore that connection. 

In this episode, we navigate the upcoming lunar eclipse in Taurus on Saturday, October 28, 2023. Eclipses can be a time of unstable energy that can stir up big emotions.
In this context, self-care takes center stage, especially during this lunar event. Join us as we explore the connection between celestial energies and emotional well-being, emphasizing the importance of embracing the present and relinquishing rigid plans.

Amidst the unpredictable energy, prioritize your well-being with practical tips. Nurture your body, mind, and spirit through a dedicated mindfulness meditation and breathwork practice, centering on the transformative equal-part breath technique, known as sam vritti. 

• 08:48 Meditation begins

Transcript

Holly: 0:00

Hi everyone and welcome back to how the Wise One Grows. Let's take a moment to land here together with 3 deep breaths. So just notice where your body makes contact with the earth and take a big breath in. Fill your chest and belly with air, exhale, open your mouth, let it out Again. Inhale, chest and belly, expand, exhale, let it all go. One more inhale and exhale. Then you can return to where your body makes contact with the earth and slowly open your eyes as you return to this space. Thank you so much for taking the time to land here together today.

Holly: 0:58

So in today's episode we are going to talk about the upcoming lunar eclipse in Taurus, we're going to talk about some of the lessons coming through in ways we can take care of ourselves, our bodies and our minds during this season, and we're going to include a guided mindfulness practice and mindfulness meditation that's going to include some really powerful breath work for you. So let's dive in. I am not an astrologer. I'm getting most of this information from Chani and her podcast in the Chani app, as well as the pattern. I have personally found that using these tools has been helpful for me in how I'm choosing to navigate my days, my weeks, just being aware of what's happening in the sky and noticing how I can relate that to my life. So we've just entered Scorpio season.

Holly: 1:49

On Monday, the 23rd, and on Saturday, october 28th, we have a lunar eclipse in Taurus, and this eclipse is one that's the last of a series of eclipses with Taurus that have been going on since November 2021. So eclipses, as we talked about in our solar eclipse meditation, they're all about shadows and bringing things to the light, and they're oftentimes of really unstable energy and they can stir up surprise events, maybe speed up endings and beginnings. These are just kind of things that might be happening during eclipse time. This particular eclipse in Taurus is the last one of a series of eclipses in Taurus, I think in the North node, that have been going on since November 2021. So this eclipse is kind of cool if you reflect back on what was happening in your life around that time, around November 2021, maybe what lessons have been unfolding since then. This is kind of like bookmarking the end of that chapter, that series of lessons. So I think that's a cool thing to sit with. With this eclipse Can we reflect back on what was happening then, to where we are now. What have we learned? What ways have we grown? And it's also important to note that eclipses can bring out a lot of feelings and big emotions.

Holly: 3:28

So it's really important, I think, to tend to your body and your mind and your well-being during this time. This is a really good time to really listen in to what does your body need? Are you hydrating? Are you drinking enough water? Are you getting enough rest? Are you eating enough? Are you eating the right things to make you feel nourished? Are you even taking in other things of nourishment, like getting outside or indulging in a creative practice? What ways can you take care of your body, mind and spirit? Honestly, always, but particularly during this wave of eclipse? So really good things to think about. How can I prepare myself for unstable energy If we know some things are going to be shaken up? How can we tend to ourselves and be as grounded as we can going into that? So that's what I would recommend leaning into as we work our way towards Saturday and as we reflect on eclipses being a time where things often end, maybe a time to let go and shed some skin, I want to share what has been coming up for me. This just kind of like came to me yesterday and I think it's really important to share and I think it's a powerful reflection around this eclipse.

Holly: 4:47

Yesterday I was having a moment where I was thinking about my life and I was like, man, I don't have a plan. I don't have this big, grandiose plan about my business, my podcast, my work, my life, the things that I want in life. I don't feel like I have it all mapped out. I can't map it out yet. It's unclear to me.

Holly: 5:14

And there's one story that I can tell myself and that I was telling myself. I was like, man, you don't have a plan, that means you are a failure, that means you're not going to achieve your dreams, your podcasts, it's not going to grow, your business is going to go nowhere. This mean girl soundtrack can get really, really loud. And I noticed that story and I was like, well, that's one story I'm telling myself, right, but maybe another story that I can tell myself is that a plan is just a plan, right, a plan can't predict the future. We can't predict the future, but instead of focusing on a plan of things I can't control, what if I focus on tending to myself?

Holly: 5:59

The thing that I can control is the way that I choose to respond to each moment as it unfolds. If I can really invest in getting to know myself, to getting to know my intuition, to my inner wisdom, to and to trust that, to develop like a deep relationship of knowing and trust within myself and being really present with each moment as it unfolds, then whenever I get to where I am, whatever moment I'm in, my plan can be tapping into listening to myself, my inner wisdom in the present moment and making an intentional choice in that moment. So, rather than planning something in the future and trying to stick to that plan as I go, what if what works for me is tending to myself and getting to really develop this self-trust and knowing and present moment awareness, so that I just know whatever comes to me I can handle it, I will make the choice that is right for me in that moment. And by being present with each moment and present within myself, I'm going to land where I'm meant to, even if I don't know what that looks like and that can be a lot scarier. But ultimately I think for me that's how I can navigate my life, the best, at least right now.

Holly: 7:27

And I'm not saying that plans are bad. I think that maybe I have, and maybe others can get a little bit too attached to the plan. So having a plan can be a great way to like set an intention in a direction for where you want to go. These are great things to do, but remember that you take you everywhere you go. So, instead of fixating your focus on the plan all along the way, focus on investing in yourself and trusting your inner knowing and your present awareness to guide you through each moment as it unfolds. So maybe that's something you sit with.

Holly: 8:08

This eclipse what plans, what attachments are we holding on to a little too tightly and can we let them go? Can we soften and can we bring our attention and effort to getting to know and trust ourselves and being really present right here and allowing that to be our compass, our guide? So, since eclipses can be a time of chaotic energy, we're going to do a mindfulness meditation with a breathwork practice that I have found really grounding over the last few weeks. So just take a moment and resituate yourself, get comfortable and you know, whatever you're doing, you can practice this breath. If you want to sit or lie down in meditation, that's great. If you're driving or walking, you can do this in those things too.

Holly: 9:05

So just take a moment first, wherever you are, to just notice where your body makes contact with the earth and notice all points that are touching the earth and take a big breath in, fill your chest, fill your belly with air and exhale. Open your mouth, let it out Again. Inhale, fill your chest, fill your belly with air, inhale, open your mouth, let it all go. One more inhale and exhale. So we're going to continue to really lean into the breath here. I want you to start by focusing on your inhale moving in the nostrils, down the throat, the chest, down the belly, really filling the belly with air, so the breath moves in and down, and then the exhale moves up the spine, the back of the neck and out the nose again. So inhale, breathing in and down, filling the chest and the belly, and exhale moving up and out, so practicing this circular breath inhale breathing in and down and exhale moving up and out. So continue breathing like this. And in a few moments we're going to start practicing an equal part breath, a somvreti breath, where we're going to inhale for four counts and exhale for four counts.

Holly: 11:16

This is a really good way to bring balance to the nervous system. Typically, we might find that we like to live in one part of the breath. Maybe we're just more comfortable breathing in the inhale or in the exhale and rather than leaning into what feels comfortable, it might be a little uncomfortable at first. We're going to find balance between the two and as we balance the breath, we're also balancing the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous system, bringing our body to an equilibrium. And often we don't live in that balanced state. So it's normal if you feel a bit of discomfort here. Try to be with it if you can. If it's too much, that's okay too. And we're going to continue this circular breathing in and down and up and out for this breath. And if you find that it's hard for you to breathe in and down, you're not alone in that. That means that your muscles are having a hard time relaxing to let the breath naturally move down. So it might help if you lie down to do so and just really try to relax as you do this breath, don't over effort it, don't think about it too much, don't tense too much, just try to let the breath flow. So we're going to take a cleansing breath to begin and then I'm going to guide us through a few counted rounds of this equal part breath, with four inhale and four exhale, and I'm going to set you free and let you find this equal part breath at a count that works for you. So let's take a cleansing breath to begin.

Holly: 13:00

Inhale and exhale. Inhale one, two, three, four. Exhale one, two, three, four. Inhale one, two, three, four. Exhale one, two, three, four. Inhale one, two, three, four. Inhale one, 3, 4. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4. Exhale 1, 2, 3, 4. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4. Exhale 1, 2, 3, 4. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4. Continue to breathe this way on your own.

Speaker 2: 15:16

Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4. Inhale 1, 2, 3, 4.

Holly: 17:14

Then you can release any control over the breath. Just let the natural breath flow in and out. Take a moment to bring a hand to your heart, notice how you feel, thank yourself for taking the time to take care of your body, mind, spirit and each other. Let's take one more breath in through the nose and out through the mouth. As we move through the rest of this week and this eclipse, remember to continue to take time to take care of your body, mind and rest. Do what you need to do. Practice this breath and meditation again and again to find grounding as you move through this week and beyond.

Holly: 18:21

I want to take a moment to give an extra big thank you to all of the members of the Dream Team. One of the intentions of this podcast is the spirit of Dana, which is giving from the heart, and that's what the Dream Team does. Members of the Dream Team support the podcast financially every month for as little as $3 a month, and your contributions make this podcast possible, and every month I use some of the proceeds from the Dream Team to support a community cause. If this podcast has been meaningful in your life in any way, if it's helped you, I invite you to join the Dream Team and even if you can't contribute financially, you can make a big impact by sharing this podcast or an episode you love with a friend and by leaving a review and subscribing to this podcast on your favorite streaming platform.