Divas That Care Network

A Carousel Meditation

• Divas That Care Network • Season 15 • Episode 50

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Come and listen to our Host, Gia-Raquel Rose for our “End of Year, Beginning of Me” Podcast Series.
A powerfully themed mini-series helping women close the year with clarity and step into the next one with grounded self-love and vision.

Gia-Raquel Rose, owner of Airs Above Yoga, LLC and a real estate sales associate in Tewksbury, New Jersey has had a love for horses stemming from early childhood. Growing up in “horse country” afforded her the privilege of beginning to ride from the tender age of four. It was a childhood illness, which brought her riding aspirations to an abrupt halt. It took twenty years before she was able to reunite with her long lost passion for horses and their ability to heal. In that time, she received a Bachelor of Arts in Corporate Communication from Arcadia University and became a twice two hundred hour certified yoga instructor in both Hatha and Vinyasa. It was the loss of her mother, Rose, to breast cancer, which ultimately shifted her trajectory from the corporate world to the internal work for which yoga, as a practice, is renowned.

We guide a trauma-informed meditation using a carousel metaphor to identify repeating life cycles, meet symbolic animal allies, and create a safe path from stuckness to forward motion. We set a protective container, invite clear messages, and end with journaling prompts for real-world integration.

• grounding in breath, body comfort, and a protective light
• carousel metaphor for cycles and closure
• animal beneath you as protector and present pattern
• animal ahead as the next right step
• animal behind as motivation and drive
• right-side ally for pacing and method
• left-side ally for balance and grace
• releasing poles to move from confinement to freedom
• journaling prompts to capture animals and messages

For more Divas That Care Network Episodes visit www.divasthatcare.com

SPEAKER_00:

Diva the Care Radio, stories, strategies, and ideas to inspire positive data. Welcome to Diva the Care, a network of women committed to making our world a better place for everyone. This is a global movement for women to find women engaged in a collaborative effort to create a better world for future generations. To find out more about the movement, visit divushetcare.com after the show. Right now, though, stay tuned for another jolt of inspiration.

SPEAKER_01:

Thomas Day, and welcome to the Diva's that care network. I'm your host, Giorka Rose, owner of Airs Above Yoga, and you are listening to Above the Ground Podcast. If this is your first time tuning in, our network is in its 15th year and listened to in over 30 countries. I would like to personally thank you for giving me the gift of your time. As always, it is my honor to hold space with you. And continuing on this theme of the cycles that involve, you know, awareness, acknowledgement, um of which aspect of the cycle you happen to be in, and you know, the process of the beginning, middle, and end in its simplest form. Um, as we're gonna do a little bit of a meditation today, what I really want to focus on uh is the way that we identify, you know, which cycle, let's say, is top of mind, that is the cycle that is most hindering our growth, or the cycle that maybe we repeat the most often, the cycle that is keeping us stuck or not fulfilling our highest and best good, highest and best use as a human on this planet, how these cycles um can be stepped out of or completed once and for all, so that we can move on to the next. Um, and I will say as a plug to uh to Miss Chonda, and if anyone in my in and around my age group did not grow up on Gray's Anatomy, then I don't know where you are. Um, and you know, most of the shows that this woman has come out with have have taken on a life and a following of their own. And so I want to give a little bit of a nod because this meditation kind of came to me um through a certain episode from Gray's Anatomy. Um, so I apologize for any of those of you who may not be fans, um, but I'm going to use a specific episode based on trauma, childhood trauma. Um, and I'm gonna kind of pull a meditation from it as the meditation came to me from this kind of metaphor and this experience. And for anyone that's not familiar, I'll give you a brief backstory on this particular snippet. Um, the main character of the show had a mother who had uh Alzheimer's. It's a pretty big theme throughout the show, but especially in the earlier years. And um the mother also they had a complicated marriage and she had an affair. And I don't want to give too many spoiler alerts for any of you who haven't had the pleasure of experiencing Gray's anatomy from beginning to not quite over yet. Um, but essentially, there is there's a flashback episode where in that episode um a young Meredith Gray is on a carousel, um, and her mother is essentially being broken up with by the man she was having an affair with. And the mother, even though she uh was not, I believe the fact in the flashback she had already was experiencing signs of Alzheimer's, but in the episode itself, the flashback was with regard to prior to any degradation of her mind and the fact that she still had a fairly tumultuous and or aggressive way of relating with her daughter. Um, and so she stuck poor Meredith on this carousel, wound up having, you know, a bit of an emotional breakdown over the abrupt and one-sided ending of uh an affair of relationship. And and you know, the quote, which give or take is pretty close, is that she couldn't get off the carousel and that she wanted to get off the carousel. And it was the mother who made that comment, ironically enough, even though it was the daughter that she had placed on the carousel as this happened, at least as far as my memory is concerned. And so when we think about this meditation, the reason that I'm sharing this backstory is because not only is that, I think, you know, a great metaphor that everyone is familiar with, um, this idea of going around in circles and going around in circles and getting nowhere, right? But also this kind of, you know, bringing it back to childhood trauma and how that affects our relationships as adults and how that affects our choices with our environment, with our work, with the people that we interact with. You know, your childhood kind of sets the tone. And unlike Miss Meredith Greg, I will say I had a wonderful, wonderful, very uh nurturing and caring mother. So I don't have that experience, thankfully. Um, and I was very, very blessed um to have the mother that I did for as long as I did. But um, that doesn't mean that there weren't other, you know, child, no one gets out on the cage, right? Like everyone has something, whether you were bullied, whether, you know, whether you had a divorce or an ill parent, or you know, there are any number of ways that a child can, you know, feel traumatized. And they are neither to be judged, they are you know true experiences to that child. But what I want to focus on, and I don't usually preempt the meditations because I like to kind of let them flow and kind of get rid of them, but I do want to give a little bit of a prompt prior to diving into the meditation itself, and it is very, very simple. This prompt is while we when I lead us through this meditation, it's going to place us tongue in cheek on a carousel. And what I want you to pay attention to, now I don't want you to start thinking now, oh, this is what my carousel looks like. That's not that's not what I want. But what I do want you to kind of plug into your subconscious now as a little bit of an intention for the meditation, is to see and ask your subconscious, kind of ask yourself in this prompt right now, to put the animals that are the actual carousel pieces, or if you can imagine a carousel and generally it's horses, maybe some circus-style animals like a bear or a lion. Um, so those are the types of animals that are generally associated, air quotes, for those of you that are listening with carousels. But I want you to kind of set the intention now before we get into the meditation itself, to ask your subconscious to put underneath and around you as we come into this meditation, animals which then can act as signifiers, symbols, or representations of what you may need to focus on. And the reason is that again, spoiler alert for the meditation, as we move through this, there's going to be the main animal that you happen to be riding on on this carousel. And then you're going to be able, in your mind's eye, to look around you and notice what other pieces are around you in front of you, to the left and right behind you, etc. Um, and I want you to, when you come out of this meditation, I don't usually give jot down notes, I usually let it be open for interpretation, but I would like you to jot down the animals, A, the one that you're on, B, the one that is directly in front of you, C, the one that direct that is directly behind you, the one that is to the left, and the one that is to the right. Um and you know, to that end, I hope that they carry significance for you. And I want you to be able to reference them as you kind of navigate through the next steps. Um, and more on that later. But as always, now that I've given a little bit of a spoiler alert to the meditation and a nod to Miss John Primes, and thank you so much for all of the wonderful creative work that you've put out to inspire um teenage and pre-teen and prepubescent and um young adults and adults and middle-aged women. Um, thank you for all of those things. And I'd like to now invite you to set yourself up for this meditation um in whatever way you feel comfortable and confident to do so. And again, always remembering that when you come into meditation, the most important thing is your physical comfort and the ability to remain in that place undeterred, uninterrupted for, you know, let's say approximately 10 minutes. Um make sure that you're not in a position where you're going to start to feel pain, whether it's in your lower back, in your knees, um, in your hips, anywhere that you have a sensitivity or predisposition for getting stuck or feeling tight. Maybe choose a way that you can connect yourself with the ground comfortably and supported, whether that is in a seated position, where you can even sit with your back up against a wall, you can lay down. I'm a big fan. I know it's not traditional in the eastern sense, but I am a very large fan of uh laying down and being reclined in meditation. Um it's just always worked well for me. And I do think it supports the grounding, even though from an Eastern standpoint it is not technically aligning the chakras vertically. I still think that if you are coming out of that because of discomfort, then it's taking away from the meditation and your chakras are still in alignment, even if they're horizontal. So take from that what you will. Legs up the wall is also a wonderful way. And if you are concerned that you may not feel as grounded with legs up the wall, then you can always put, um, if it's comfortable for you, like a little bit of a weighted blanket or a pillow or bolster just on the top of your bottom, on the bottoms of your feet as your feet are up, um perpendicular, if you will, to the ceiling. Um, arms outstretched, palms facing up if you are reclined and feeling inspiration is required, or palms facing down if you feel a little bit frazzled, that you may want a little bit more of a restorative energy, a little bit more grounding, if you will.

SPEAKER_02:

And then just inviting you to, from wherever you are, begin to gently lower your gaze and finally close your eyes and begin to draw your awareness into your body by connecting with your breath. And as you breathe, begin to send that breath into all the points of contact between yourself and the earth beneath you. Truly begin to ground down. Feel the support of the earth. Feel it grounding you into this safe and sacred space. Begin to visualize the light surrounding you. And declare that in this space you are safe. You are protected. And only high vibrational true messages for your highest and best good. Can penetrate through this light. Only that which is directly from source the universe, God itself. Let me connect with you here. And use any visual aid that comes to mind if it feels safe and right for you. To see this. Golden, luminescent, white sometimes lavender light surrounding you fully and completely in a sphere. And then begin to visualize a glowing column of light just in front of you. And with your mind's eye. Gently place your hands around this glowing column of light. As you hold on to it. Feel its warmth. Continuing in the knowledge that you are safe. Then allow this light to begin to move through you. As it does illuminating your hands, your arms. And moving up through your body. And as this light moves through your body, begin to feel the gentle rhythm moving up and down. Feel free. Feel at peace. Feel balanced in this rhythm. Almost in the same way that you may find comfort in a rocking chair. Gentle Repetitive Soft Steady motion. And then as you slide your hands gently down What do you see? In your mind's eye realizing that you are now completely safe. On this carousel. Notice what stride this animal has. Notice its feet. Continuing in the knowledge that this animal is here to protect you. Ask if it has a message for you. Hear its voice. Trust in its message. Feel with your hands the software at the base of the neck of this animal. Does it have a name? Is it an animal maybe that you know? Or have lost? Is it a wild animal? Or a domesticated one. Ask this animal to help you look out in front. And notice the light expanding out and around you. What is it that you see? Do you see an animal just beyond the one that you are riding? The one that is carrying you through this cycle. Allow it to turn and look back at you. Again, feeling the safety and the steadiness and the gentle repetition of the rhythm. That is the next step. In the cycle that you're currently in. For your highest and best good. Onwards. And upwards. Thank this animal for giving you the message it has to share. And gently Coming back to the animal that you're currently riding on in that steady, gentle rhythm. Allow yourself and your animal to look back just behind you. What is there behind you? What animal is with you on this journey. Notice the movement. Is it free? Is it soft? Is it strong? This animal helps you to know your motivation. This animal helps you to recognize the drive to push forward through the cycles. Know that you can rely upon it. Whenever you feel even for just a moment. Or that you're tired. T or that you can't go on. T Remember this animal. T and remember this message. T as you and the animal beneath you begin to turn your heads. Gently pause. Extending your right hand out. And reach out to the animal just to your right. What animal is running beside you. Gently reach out. Notice how it moves. Notice its demeanor. Run your hand gently down its neck. Thanking it for being with you on your journey. Ask this animal if it has a message for you. A message of how to move through this cycle. Is it one you know? Heartfelt for you. Bringing your right hand back to the animal beneath you. As you both look over your left shoulder. Extending your left arm out long. What animal do you see on your left side? What animal is running alongside you. Look towards its gate. As you move through this journey. Thank the animal to your left for sharing its message with you. And bring both hands back to the golden light, connecting you to the animal just beneath you. This animal is with you always through every cycle. This animal can inspire you, support you, guide you, and protect you. Thank it. Thank them all. Allow the light that is between your hands to release from the form of a pole into the form of a lead, know that you and the animals that surround you are free. That even with the pull of the carousel in a new form, the rhythm is still there to comfort you when you need it from the animal that you have been going through this journey on. Look again to the animal to your right. Follow its lead. Releasing the poles and the leaves. Connecting you always. Above all, that you are protected on this journey to your highest and best self. Allow the light to settle into the sensation with the palms of your hands. The light of the leads connecting you to these animals that now run free. As you are now free. Free in the knowledge of where you're going. What animal is helping you get there. The drive you have behind you bringing you there. The animal leading you. And how to fulfill the culmination of this cycle and the animal that is protecting you along the way. Feel their strength. Feel their innate knowing. And feel safe. And the love and compassion they have for you. The love and compassion you have for them. Ground yourself back into your body now. Taking five deep breaths. Bringing your hands with the same soft glow from the leads connecting you to your animal helpers. Bring your palms to your heart. Ground yourself back in your body. Knowing they're with you. And when you feel ready, gently open your eyes. Always take your time for meditation and opening your eyes and making movements. And gently begin in your own time to make your way from your mat. I encourage you to write down any notes, the animals you saw, the messages they had for you, and how they were placed in your vision today. We hope this brought you insight, strength, motivation, and peace. I want to tell you how much I appreciate each and every one of you for sharing this space with me. I ask that you please feel free to share the same with your loved ones. For more fitness, follow me on all the socials at Above the Ground Podcast and visit my website, airsabove.com. As always, don't forget to check out my other episodes and all of my amazing sisters at DivaSatHare. You can find us on Spotify, Odyssey, Apple, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and anywhere else that you may feel guided. Again, my name is J. Raquel Rose, owner of Airs Above Yoga, and you are listening to Above the Ground Podcast, or every day is a good one.