The Mountain Horse:

This Guided Meditation is

a part of Someday Farm's

Companion for Practice series

where a familiar and friendly voice offers a guided meditation and some gentle practice reminders and cues. For the student who has learned a practice and is ready to devote themselves to a prescribed duration of said practice. A voice to go on the journey with you and within you.

Choose a practice you've learned, choose a duration, and invite Someday Farm into practice through your ears and mind and heart.

Caution:

This Guided Meditation is only intended to be a supportive companion for someone engaged in a well-understood Horse Stance training session. If at any point, it becomes inappropriate or unwise for you to continue your training session, discontinue it. Please do not misconstrue this Guided Meditation as an encouragement to continue. Suspend or end when your circumstances suggest it - not when I conclude the meditation.

Enjoy!

Prologue:

For 1, 3, & 5 minute versions of this Guided Meditation intended to serve you at varying Practice session durations, please join me (for free) at: https://www.swellcast.com/shhdragon. There I've marked each using the hashtag #Companion4Practice to make the relevant Guided Meditations more readily findable.

Versions:

The Mountain Horse - 5 min

https://www.swellcast.com/t/O1UlfS1vBhGEkGy

The Mountain Horse - 3 min

https://www.swellcast.com/t/O1UlfPujrVCE5tP

The Mountain Horse - 1 min

https://www.swellcast.com/t/O1UlfQ0PBUN36kh

Music cue:

The Mountain Horse:

a Deep Meditation to Accompany Horse Stance Practice

(Begin by settling into your horse stance - knees bent to create a stable base, thighs parallel to the Earth or stand a bit taller, spine erect, and arms in your preferred position. Take several natural breaths before beginning the meditation.)

Earthen Foundation

Sink your weight into the vast Earth beneath you, Your feet spreading like the roots of an ancient bamboo grove. Feel each toe fully connect with the ground...gently, Creating ten pathways for Earth's energy to rise.

Your stance widens like a mountain range, Each leg a separate peak with a shared foundation. In the space between, feel a cauldron forming, A vessel to collect and transform primal force.

The Bubbling Springs of your feet now activate, Drawing minerals and energies from soil and stone. You are not standing on the Earth, but becoming it - The boundary between body and ground dissolving.

The Crucible of Transformation

Your thighs burn with the sacred fire of discipline, Each moment a choice to endure and transcend. The burning is not your enemy, rather your Teacher, Consuming weakness, distilling intent, refining strength.

Imagine your legs as twin pillars of iron, Heated in the forge: first becoming malleable, then strong. Pain transforms into vibrant heat, then stable power, The caldera's alchemical process and the Warrior's Body.

Feel the trembling muscles steadying with each breath, Like wild horses being gentled under your command. The shaking is not failure but awakening, New neural pathways forming with each moment of intentional Presence.

Breathe in - root deep, the great mountain grows. Breathe out - release, the mountain spring flows.Breathe in - fire refines, strength takes shape. Breathe out - soft surrender, presence awake.

The Empty Basin

Your pelvis forms a perfect basin, Tilted neither forward nor back, but centered in balance. Feel this bowl filling with liquid light, A reservoir of energy gathered and contained.

Your tailbone descends toward the Earth's core, Creating space for your spine to lengthen skyward. The sacrum becomes a solid foundation stone, Upon which your column of vertebrae rises.

Imagine the space between your hip joints widening, Creating room for energy to circulate without obstruction. The Kuà opens like double gates to a hidden garden, Where intention can flow freely between upper and lower.

Breathe in - Earth steadies, firm and vast. Breathe out - fire tempers as pain dissolves. Breathe in - Qì rises, strength unfolds. Breathe out - weight sinks, spirit holds.

The Central Tower

Your spine ascends like a tower of light, Each vertebra stacking perfectly upon the one below. Feel the spaces between them expanding slightly, Allowing energy to flow like wind between mountain peaks.

Your lower back gently curves inward, Not exaggerated, but natural and supportive. This gentle hollow creates a cradle for your kidneys, Ancient storehouses of primal essence and will.

From this central column, all movement originates, All force transmits, all balance maintains. In stillness now, you align this precious tower, The axis around which your martial universe revolves.

Breathe in - passive mountain quiet, steady and strong. Breathe out - cool river long, flowing along.Breathe in - fire bright, lighting the way. Breathe out - softened stone, soft as clay.

The Dragon's Pearl

In the lower abdomen, just below the navel and deep within, Feel a sphere of concentrated awareness forming. This is your Dāntián, your center of gravity, The pearl that the dragon of your body protects.

With each inhale, golden light streams into this center, With each exhale, it condenses, grows denser, more real. This is not just imagination but energetic truth - The creation of your stable center through intent and breath.

Feel how all tensions of your stance flow toward this point, How all lines of force converge in this singular space. Your Dāntián becomes both anchor and generator, The place where Heaven and Earth energies combine.

Breathe in - fire glows, spirit flows. Breathe out - weight steadies, mindfire readies. Breathe in - posture rises, breathwork energizes. Breathe out - mindwind shifts, presence never drifts.

The Warrior's Frame

Your shoulders widen like the spreading wings of an eagle, Neither tensed upward nor collapsed downward. Feel them floating on invisible currents of air, Supported by the structure beneath, not by contractile effort.

Your chest neither protrudes with pride nor sinks with doubt, But maintains the perfect Middle Way of the warrior. Feel the sternum lifting slightly, creating space for breath, While the heart remains protected yet open.

Your arms, whether raised in guard or held at sides, Emerge from your deep heart center, not just from shoulders. Each finger alive with intention, each wrist supple yet strong, The frame of your upper body both substantial and light.

Breathe in - fire grows, breathing slows. Breathe out - weight grounds, calm surrounds. Breathe in - thighs quiver, Qì flows as a mighty river Breathe out - Intention flows, center always knows.

The Breath Bridge

Bring awareness now to the pattern of your breathing, How it changes and adjusts to the demands of your stance. Allow it to deepen, to reach the bottom of your lungs, Then to sink further, massaging your internal organs.

Feel how inhalation naturally straightens your spine, How exhalation helps you sink deeper into your stance. The breath becomes a bridge between effort and ease, Between the demands of discipline and the gift of release.

Imagine now that you breathe not just through nose and mouth, But through every pore of your skin, every cell of your body. Your entire being becomes a breathing entity, Exchanging energy with the universe that surrounds you.

Breathe in - Ancestors Teach, wisdom flows. Breathe out - roots reach, strength grows. Breathe in - stance holds, fire refines. Breathe out - mind clears, spirit aligns.

The Diamond Mind

As physical sensations intensify in your stance, Your mind becomes the still observer of this unfolding drama. Like a diamond reflecting all yet changed by nothing, Your awareness remains pristine amid changing sensations.

Notice thoughts that arise - of discomfort, of time passing, Of achievements desired or limitations feared. These are merely clouds crossing the vast sky of mind, Neither suppressed nor indulged, but simply witnessed.

In this witnessing lies the warrior's greatest power: The capacity to choose a response rather than a reaction. Your body may be fixed in form, but your mind remains free, This is the paradox and purpose of your standing practice.

Breathe in - Ancestors guide, stance stable. Breathe out - roots reach, fires enable. Breathe in - Qì stirs, strength aligns. Breathe out - mind clears, presence refines.

The Timeless Moment

As you hold this stance, time begins to transform, Seconds stretching into spaces of infinite potential. You stand not just in physical space but at a crossroads, Where Ancestors' wisdom meets your present willpower.

Feel the lineage of countless practitioners before you, Who have held this same position through centuries. Their energy supports you, their discoveries guide you, Your patient stance honoring their dedicated paths.

In this seemingly static posture lies all motion, In this singular practice, all techniques find their source. The horse stance contains the seeds of ten thousand movements, Just as the mountain contains countless streams yet to flow.

Breathe in - wisdom speaks, center holds. Breathe out - roots reach, force unfolds. Breathe in - stance deepens, time slows. Breathe out - form settles, power flows.

Breathe in - Ancestors call, wisdom stays. Breathe out - roots always reach, strength never sways. Breathe in - stance deepens, Qì expands. Breathe out - fire defines, presence stands.

Returning to Movement

As we prepare to conclude this guided meditation, Gather all awareness back to your central core. Feel once more the totality of your horse stance, The integrated system of energy and intent.

Breathe in - guidance speaks, spirit remembers. Breathe out - roots drink, power from embers. Breathe in - form settles, breath expands. Breathe out - mind clears, center commands.

Recognize that ending the stance is not an escape, But a transition, carrying its qualities forward. The strength, stability, & centered awareness Will infuse all movements that follow.

Breathe in - mountain still, forces rise. Breathe out - roots entwine, body wise. Breathe in - energy stirs, stance holds. Breathe out - wisdom flows, heart unfolds.

Breathe in - Ancestors whisper, stance remains. Breathe out - roots extend, strength sustains. Breathe in - fire pulses, presence grows. Breathe out - Qì settles, balance flows.

When you are ready, slowly straighten your legs, Rising from the depths with newfound power. The mountain horse now lives within you, Available in every step, every stance, every breath.

(Take three deep breaths to complete the practice.)

Thank you.