A Breath Between the Rows

Every time I go over the hill from the Wellhouse toward the Garden Shed, I am filled with a sense of growth and possibility. Seeing nature's bounty on the horizon brings an anticipation of unknown goodness: What will be perfectly ripe today? What will be blooming? What stories will I hear? There is always something to look forward to catching at just the right time.

Long Summer days become short, savored moments while enjoying the first handful of blueberries, warm tomato or story told for the first time. Coming to the Garden feels like home to me; yet it also feels new, fresh and exciting! I hope you too can find an outdoor space that inspires fresh growth and possibility for a moment of meditation.

Begin by finding a comfortable posture (seated is fine) and grounding. Focus your awareness on your physical body, and feel your body begin to settle into the place you are sitting. Take a moment to scan from your toes to your head, and notice anywhere you might be holding tension. Allow it to soften.

Feel the earth underneath you and the support it gives.

Acknowledge the space it holds to cultivate growth: the nutrients it supplies, the rain it soaks up for roots to carry to leaves, flowers and fruit.

Feel the warmth of the sun on your skin.

Acknowledge the power and distance of sunrays to bring light energy to the plants, initiating growth.

Notice all that is green around you.

The color green is a sign of life, of growth, of change. Find hope in the beginning of a seed and the seed of the fruit.

Take a deep breath of warm, oxygen-rich air. Exhale slowly and fully. Do this again.

Breathe in, filling up the expansive space of growth within you. Breathe out stale, stagnant air. Breathe in, receiving nourishment and support. Breathe out doubt. Breathe in the sun's light and energy. Breathe out lethargy and negativity.

Breathe in hope, wonder and possibility. Settle into an easy breath. Acknowledge the ease of growth in nature. Settle into a space where you are free to receive what you need to grow. (Breathe and be here as long as time allows.) Acknowledge how your energy stores are replenished, and cultivate gratitude for the life-giving earth that holds us as we grow.

Now go eat a tomato.

Hope Parks, Blackberry Farm Wellness Lifestyle Expert