A Snowy Day Meditation Exercise ❄️

Prioritizing Self-Care

When it’s cold outside and you’re snowed in, it might be the perfect time to meditate. You might feel stir-crazy or restless because you can’t get anything done outside of your home.

I recommend doing this meditation at your own pace. It will take about 30 minutes to an hour. You could have someone read it out loud to guide you.

The meditation is intended to help you relax and to lower your stress. It's not meant to heal major aches and pains. Consider it a tune-up for your mental or emotional health.

Suggested Items For Meditation

• A room where you can be by yourself
• A beverage, a warm cup of tea or water
• Soothing music or binaural beats
• A timer

Snowy Day Meditation Routine

I suggest first brewing up a cup of tea, non-caffeinated, and slipping into some comfy clothes. It's nice to sip a beverage while you meditate.

When ready, go to a room where you can be by yourself. You can do this meditation on a yoga mat, on the floor, or in bed. If you want to light candles, I suggest white ones.

Find a comfortable position. Take a few deep breaths. Become more aware of your breathing. Now rub your hands together back and forth a few times and then stretch them out like you’re about to catch a ball. Say out loud, “I am open to learning something new and changing my habits for the better.” Rest your palms now, but keep them open.

Snow Visualizations

Close your eyes. I want you to think about snow falling outside. Don’t fear the snow; don’t envision a blizzard. You want the images in your mind to be calm. The snow washes out all the colors, sometimes snow is noticeably brighter than the day-to-day flora and other sites. Snow can look more gentle and softer on a gray and cloudy day. Snow has a way of clearing the canvas and making things seem pure and clean.

For the next ten minutes, I want you to think about snow falling. Keep your eyes closed. Try to push back on thoughts that invade your mind. Try to be mindful of what keeps coming to the surface. If you can blank your mind, you’ll have better control of your thoughts and won’t be as prey to random urges.

Keep thinking about the snow falling, but now imagine creatures playing in the snow, like squirrels, foxes, bears, moose, and deer. The pine trees have snow-covered branches, and the smell of pine fills your nose. The hollow sound of your boots in the snow is pleasing to your ears. Let yourself fall in love with winter. Be present with the season.

Energy Work

Now imagine that snow is falling onto your open palms. It feels refreshing. Imagine the cool/cold energy traveling up your hands to your arms, elbows, and shoulders. Notice how your body responds to the idea that something cold is running back and forth, up and down your arms. (You could take an ice cube and run it down your arms.)

Imagine cold, pure white energy running around in a circle around your clavicle or shoulders. Let that energy run around your shoulders a few times in a counter-clockwise direction. Encourage your shoulders to relax. Say out loud, “I give my shoulders permission to relax.” Take a deep breath.

Now travel the energy around your shoulders up through your neck, to your third eye, and to the crown of your head. Imagine a wave of cold that helps to slow down your thoughts. When your mind tries to think of things in movement or videos, slow it down into freeze frames or pictures. Be present with your breath. Stay here with your mind for about 5 minutes.

When ready, imagine a white light coming out of the back of your head. Energy is escaping out of you. The white light is pulling you up. If you’re seated, it gives you better posture. The white light connects you to something beautiful and peaceful. It connects you to a loving place, somewhere you feel like you belong.

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Continue to think of the white light at the top of your head and gently massage your face with your hands. In small circles, massage your cheekbones. Do the same to the corners of your jaw. Take your fingers and gently massage your chin and then your forehead. Massage behind your ears, your neck, and the back of your head.

Take seven deep breaths and continue to think of the white light at the back of your head.

When ready, imagine the white light coming down your head into your body. The white light goes to your neck, shoulders, arms, and hands. Then it goes back up your arms, to the shoulders, and down the chest, belly, butt, thighs, shins, ankles, and feet, and then it goes back up making its way to your head. Close your eyes and really try to visualize this energy circulating throughout your body. This might make you feel really sleepy and that’s okay.

As the white light goes through you, search for areas of pain. When you notice pain, work to release your grip at that spot and invite yourself to relax more. If you like to pray, focus on that spot and offer some prayers for healing. If there are any people who come to mind or other things, pray for them.

Keep circulating around the white light until you are content. It’s okay to have some thoughts at this stage to identify pain.

Surrendering to Relaxation

The next part of this exercise will focus on deeper relaxation. Visualize that you are a giant stone. You’re smooth, gray, and part of nature. You are a stone that’s sinking deeper and deeper into the earth. Snow is covering you up. The snow makes you tingle as it touches you. You may feel goosebumps.

You may need to turn off the lights for this next part. It might be easier to have someone read this to you or to read the instructions first and then put it into action.

Rest on your back. I want you to imagine the color black. Let your body relax even deeper. Say out loud, “I give myself permission to relax at a deeper level.” Let your body feel pulled into the earth. Sheets of snow cover you. Imagine an even darker black.

Let your shoulders drop deeper toward the earth. Let your torso drop deeper into the ground. Your feet relax and fall into a comfortable position. Your eyes get heavy. You find it hard to open them. You release them from their hard work to relax. While your eyelids are closed, gently move around your eyes as if to massage them.

Take your right hand and put it on your belly. Take your left hand and put it on your heart. Imagine a pale light coming out of both hands; it goes into your body to encourage you to relax. The energy moves around your body like fog. It goes around removing pain, stress, and worry.

As the fog gently moves around, say an affirmation to yourself. Here are a few options:

• “I accept relaxation.”
• “I give myself permission to relax.”
• “My energy is calm.”
• “I am peaceful and kind.”
• “I can be kind to myself and others.”
• “I surrender to calmness.”
• “I have the ability to be calm.”
• “I have the ability to be kind.”
• “I accept the fullness of healing.”

Another Round of Visualizations

I want you to visualize fog spreading throughout your body. It starts as a misty white and fades to a pale gray. You feel like water is hitting your skin and making ripples. The fog slowly travels up to your head. It massages the bottom of your neck, moves up and massages behind your nose, then behind your eyes, and lastly the crown of your head.

Imagine you’re a heavyweight sinking down into a lake. It’s getting darker and darker. Let your body push down, don’t try to lift it. Let yourself be still now for about 7 minutes.

When you’re ready, rock your body from side to side. Stretch your arms over your head. Yawn or make a noise you might have been holding onto. Check to see if you’re clenching your body anywhere, maybe your jaw.

Now close your eyes and imagine snow falling outside your window. Think about how it makes everything quiet and still. You can’t hear bugs or other critters. The snow gently covers the ground, cars disappear, tree limbs look heavy with snow, and streets can’t be seen.

Letting It Go, Practicing Forgiveness

If you have something you want to confess now or get off your chest, do it now while no one is around. Remember, what you press into snow will disappear. Snow is a good safeguard for secrets because it disappears.

Maybe write down something that’s been troubling you that you would like to let go of. Now is a perfect time to seek forgiveness. Write your secret and place it in a sealed envelope. This letter is just for you. Come back to it at another time to see if you’ve let go of your grudge a little more or even forgotten it. You can throw away this letter or shred it if you feel like that would help you to let go.

Try to let snow cleanse you. Let positive energy come into the crown of your head. This whole meditation exercise should activate your crown chakra.

Closing the Meditation

After you write or speak your message, sit in silence for ten minutes or so, not focusing on anything in particular. Try to blank your mind. When something pops up in your head, push it back by saying:

“I’m letting snow wash it away” or “I choose forgiveness.“

To end the meditation, place your hands on opposite shoulders. Hug yourself. Take two deep breaths. Say to yourself, “I am thankful for this time I had today. I am open to finding new wisdom.”

Lay your hands out before you, palms open. Take a couple of breaths. Fold your hands together and give yourself encouragement to start the next phase of your day or night.

Go forward and remember you can cultivate calmness into your day.

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

© 2022 Andrea Lawrence