Hands can be at your side. Or, you can ‘hold the ball’. To do this, imagine holding a soccer ball at your navel. Hands and arms are relaxed, shoulders seated. This is a variation on a qigong technique. There is a subtle energy flow called the ‘Belt channel’. You are embracing this flow when ‘holding the ball’.

Slightly bend your knees.

Breathe gently, nice easy breaths.

Shift most of your weight to your heels. Feel the weight of your body pressing down through your heels into the earth. Hips over heels and shoulders over hips makes this easier to feel, but is not essential.

Gently shift your focus to your bones, starting with the bones in your heels, then your shins, knees, femur, hips, etc. Exact awareness is not important. Over time you will be able to feel more of your bones.

Extend your awareness from your heel bones down into the Earth. Feel down into the bones of Earth – stones, metals, minerals, etc. Feel the Earth reaching back up through you via gravity. When you inhale, bring Earth’s bones into your bones. When you exhale, release the Earth energy back into the earth. Continue with this circular breathing pattern for as long as you feel comfortable.

If you have healing sounds you like, they can add to the overall benefit of this meditation. The particular sounds aren’t critical. Ones that have meaning and feeling for you are.

There are two Aramaic words that I use as a kind of mantra:

Alaha – uh-luh-huh – This is the name of Divine Healing Energy of Sacred Unity. I use it for the inhale.

Ar-ah – arrrr-ahh – the ahh sound is more embodied, almost more of an unhh, felt deep in the belly. This is Earth in all her glory. I use it for the exhale.

If I might alter* a lovely Irish expression – May the Earth rise up to meet you.

*The original is “May the road rise up to meet you.”