Can meditation be the key to transforming your daily life? Join Natasha Joy Price and her guest, the multi-talented Julia Wood, as we explore the profound benefits of meditation in our latest episode of "Balm to the Soul." Julia, who has previously shared her insights on artwork, now takes us on a journey through the essence of meditation. We discuss how this practice can quiet the mind, connect us with our higher selves, and foster a deep sense of oneness. Discover the myriad benefits of meditation, from improved sleep and reduced stress to enhanced concentration and the nurturing of compassion, patience, and gratitude. Julia also introduces us to deep belly breathing, a technique that promotes relaxation and emotional control, and emphasizes the importance of being present and honest with oneself during meditation.
In the latter part of this enlightening episode, we lay the groundwork for a daily soul connection meditation practice designed to align your life's purpose and bring balance and clarity. Through a soothing visualization exercise featuring a descending white light pillar, Julia guides us in anchoring and balancing our soul’s light. This practice aims to help us call back parts of our soul that have been lost or given away. Consistency is key, but Julia reassures us that there should be no pressure—embracing the journey is what matters most. As we wrap up, we reflect on Julia's previous breathing exercises and express our excitement for her upcoming sessions. Julia leaves us with a heartfelt blessing, encouraging everyone to embrace their unique journey. Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe to "Balm to the Soul" for more enriching content.
Can meditation be the key to transforming your daily life? Join Natasha Joy Price and her guest, the multi-talented Julia Wood, as we explore the profound benefits of meditation in our latest episode of "Balm to the Soul." Julia, who has previously shared her insights on artwork, now takes us on a journey through the essence of meditation. We discuss how this practice can quiet the mind, connect us with our higher selves, and foster a deep sense of oneness. Discover the myriad benefits of meditation, from improved sleep and reduced stress to enhanced concentration and the nurturing of compassion, patience, and gratitude. Julia also introduces us to deep belly breathing, a technique that promotes relaxation and emotional control, and emphasizes the importance of being present and honest with oneself during meditation.
In the latter part of this enlightening episode, we lay the groundwork for a daily soul connection meditation practice designed to align your life's purpose and bring balance and clarity. Through a soothing visualization exercise featuring a descending white light pillar, Julia guides us in anchoring and balancing our soul’s light. This practice aims to help us call back parts of our soul that have been lost or given away. Consistency is key, but Julia reassures us that there should be no pressure—embracing the journey is what matters most. As we wrap up, we reflect on Julia's previous breathing exercises and express our excitement for her upcoming sessions. Julia leaves us with a heartfelt blessing, encouraging everyone to embrace their unique journey. Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe to "Balm to the Soul" for more enriching content.
so welcome everybody to another edition of balm to the soul. I'm natasha joy price and today I have a recurring guest, uh, visiting us, julia wood. So thank you so much for joining us, julia. It's lovely for you to support the podcast oh, it's a pleasure to be here.
Speaker 2:
Thank you for asking me, natasha.
Speaker 1:
No, it's a pleasure, so so last time Julia was with us, we were talking about her artwork, so go back and listen to that session if you haven't listened to it. But today we're going to talk about meditation because Julia is also a meditation teacher. So take us through what you're going to talk about meditation wise, because everybody's heard about meditation. But, yes, take us through how, what you're going to talk about Julia.
Speaker 2:
Yes, of course. Well, today I'd just like to talk about what is meditation and also, very importantly, the benefits of meditation.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2:
And then after that we are going to practice some deep belly breaths. Practice some deep belly breaths. It's a special type of belly breath breathing which tells your body it's time to relax, it's time to kick back, it's time to just relax a little, and then I will take you into a beautiful meditation. It's not a long meditation. It's ideal if this is like your first meditation or you don't have much time to meditate. It's not a long meditation at all and it's all about connecting to your soul and it's a very special meditation. I do this almost every day. So I'll start with.
Speaker 2:
What is meditation?
Speaker 2:
So, in simple terms, meditation is the means for quieting the mind and allowing the everyday thoughts and barriers of your personality or your ego to cease to be dominant.
Speaker 2:
At this point of stillness and being a little bit more in control of your emotions, you can reach beyond the confines of your physical body and your world and allow yourself to feel a connection to something greater than your small self, your personality, your ego, and it's a gradual unfolding of your personal enlightenment, your personal learning and awakening that we are all a part of a oneness and we are not individuals at all.
Speaker 2:
We're all part of this big one family. And as you progress through what is meditation, it naturally changes the way you think and operate within your world, changes the way you think and operate within your world. So, as you progress with your meditations and the voice you turn into for guidance because I don't know whether you already tune into yourself, but you have this small voice sometimes and it will tell you to do one thing, and then there's another thought comes in over it and you do that instead and it's usually the wrong thing. It's. It's that quiet voice that is your intuition, your soul, trying to get in touch with you and say well, do this, that's the right way to go yeah the louder voice isn't the right way.
Speaker 2:
usually I always go with whatever comes first into my mind is the right thing. It's wisdom?
Speaker 1:
almost isn't it. It's your soul voice, your inner voice. Is that wisdom that knows far more than you?
Speaker 2:
Exactly, except it is you. It's like your higher self. So it's a gradual process of this awakening where you take control over your ego or your personality. You don't allow your emotions to rule you anymore. You can become quite neutral and you can make good choices from that. And continuing with, what is meditation? Over the past few years, meditation has become a popular therapy recommended to help people to sleep better, reduce stress and aid concentration. Yet meditation is much more than a useful tool for treating distraction or restlessness. It has a deeper purpose and strengthens positive qualities that we all naturally possess, like being more open, allowing our heart to open a little more, compassion, compassionate gestures, kindness, being kinder to yourself and to those in your world, generosity, patience, being more patient with others, those you don't even know and gratitude for your life as well and joy. I feel so much gratitude with all the work I've put in over the years yeah definitely yeah, and it's a lovely way to live your life.
Speaker 2:
It is.
Speaker 1:
I think also that gratitude is really helps you change your perspective on things if you come from a place of gratitude, doesn't it?
Speaker 2:
yes, it's. It's not something you can straight away do you feel, or do or be it's it. Once you begin the meditation pathway, everything starts opening up wonderfully for you. Yeah, and there are hundreds of different meditations that you can practice to develop specific positive qualities, as I mentioned just before. So, yeah, yeah, it's, it's a wonderful thing. Meditation it's, it's, it's a wonderful thing. Meditation it's a multi-purpose tool.
Speaker 1:
And it can take as long as you want it to take, every day. I know you said you do a meditation every day and I bet some people think, oh, I haven't got time. But actually if you only did it for a couple of minutes, it still has its benefits, doesn't it?
Speaker 2:
Yes? Has its benefits, doesn't it? Yes? And even with the deep belly breathing that we're going to practice, because we did that, we practiced the deep belly breathing in the previous podcast on the 24th of january this year, didn't we?
Speaker 2:
yeah, and it's a wonderful way to take control of your emotions. So the benefits of meditation are in meditation, you're totally honest and present with yourself, and this grows and grows and grows, accepting whatever occurs in your body and mind without needing to act upon it. You're the observer. You've probably heard that before, but being the observer in your life gives you so much power.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, and just again, I keep talking about perspective, but it's just shifting that mindset, isn't it?
Speaker 2:
And looking at things from a different angle can sort of reveal quite a bit sometimes indeed, and in meditation you slow down your thoughts and focus on some aspect of your body or mind. The most common object of focus for meditation is the breath. Your breath is always with you and it's a reflection of your inner state. It's quick or shallow when you're nervous, anxious, and it's slow and steady when you're calm and mastering your emotions.
Speaker 1:
I like that reflection of your inner self, and so true.
Speaker 2:
And meditating on the breath is an immediate way to connect your body with your mind so that you're opening yourself up without judgment to whatever you are experiencing in the present moment. It's teaching you to be more present, to stand in your own power at that moment.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, because that's not always easy. Is it to stand in your own power? It's not we say that, but um it.
Speaker 2:
That can be quite difficult for some people well, the way to start to feel you're standing in your own power is to actually love yourself, and I've learned this because I was like many other people. I didn't really take the time to care for my mind and my body and my emotions, and I've put the work in over the years now and, yes, self-love is so important to living a good, happy, successful life yeah, I completely agree with you there.
Speaker 1:
I I check in on my emotions every day. Um, it needs to become part of your routine, doesn't it?
Speaker 2:
and it is all an act of self-love, self-healing self-love is is the best thing you could do for yourself and for those in your world. Yeah, it really is, because how, when you start to heal and look after yourself, you're. The other people around you in your world are watching this and they start behaving in the same way yeah it's.
Speaker 2:
it has a knock-on effect and I can say that from experience. Okay, many people feel a greater sense of calmness after meditating. Using as a tool for relaxation is a huge antidote against the stresses of modern life and many people feel lessened feelings of anger. You know, say, when you're driving or you're out with strangers or people in any way, in any situation, you can have anger suddenly come up as an emotion. Meditating helps you to control, to step back and just be the observer, so that any sort of anger, anxiousness, fear you see it almost from the outside. You don't see it from the inside where you are. Does that?
Speaker 1:
make sense.
Speaker 2:
Yes, yes, definitely so. Meditation is very helpful in unraveling depression, because depression is a form of inheld anger, and meditation helps to show us the bigger picture in our lives. So that's really just an idea of what meditation is and the benefits, some of the benefits of which there are are many, so would you like me to move on to the next part, which is deep belly breathing?
Speaker 1:
yes, yes, let's do the belly breathing now this.
Speaker 2:
I'm just going to um walk you through this so that you can just practice this before we start the soul connection meditation. So if you want to just put yourself in a nice comfortable place and just allow yourself to become comfortable in your chair or your bed or wherever you are at this time, so before we start the meditation, let's practice the deep belly breathing for a moment. So, focusing on your lower abdomen. Take a deep breath in to your lower abdomen, expanding your lower belly outwards as you inhale, and then, as you exhale, pull inwards your belly, your lower abdomen, and we just repeat this process over and over. So we're taking a deep breath in expanding your lower belly and then, on the exhale, pull your belly inwards, so breathing in, expanding your lower belly, in expanding your lower belly, exhaling, pulling inwards your abdomen, and continue this deep belly breathing several times, just so that when we start the meditation, you can continue this, you can continue this. So welcome to this daily song meditation. Just make sure, before we start, you will not be interrupted for the next 10 minutes, allowing yourself this precious gift of time just for you. So now you're comfortable, sitting or lying comfortably. This soul meditation will set up the foundation for your day ahead. This very foundation of setting aside this small amount of time it's only less than 10 minutes is going to set your entire day up and allow new doors to open before you. It creates new alignments to help synchronise your soul's purpose into your current life's experience.
Speaker 2:
As we begin, take deep belly breaths. Take deep belly breaths, breathing in peace and on your exhale, release and let go of any heaviness and anything that doesn't serve this happy day ahead for you. So we're taking deep belly breaths, breathing in peace and on your exhale, release and let go of any heaviness and anything that doesn't serve this happy day ahead for you. Let your body soften and breathe in to the centre of your heart peace and stillness, enabling you to connect into the intelligence of your soul. Now notice, about a metre above you, a brilliant white light that is now descending down to you, and the closer it gets to the top of your head, your crown, it creates a pillar of this white light. Feel now this white light pillar all the way down from the top of your head, your crown chakra, all the way down your body, inside and outside, all the way down to the bottom of your feet, and then connecting even deeper into Mother Earth and you feel your roots reaching deep into the central core of our beautiful planet Earth, just feeling your roots anchoring you onto this planet. This white light pillar is your own light, your soul's light, and connects you to your soul's intelligence, the brilliance and radiance of your soul. So be aware that you are standing or sitting in your own light energy, your own pillar of light, and it is a balancing centre column of your own soul light. Take a deep inhale in and with your breath the column begins to expand outwards even more and with each breath you see your white pillar of light expanding out even further.
Speaker 2:
With great benevolence and for the good of all, in the highest reality, connect now with your soul's purpose by calling in now all parts and pieces that have been given away through time and space, feeling the return of the brilliance and radiance of your soul now and once again aligning to your soul's purpose your reason for being here on earth and exploring in this world. Parts and pieces of your soul that you have given away or that have been taken away from you through time and space and in all realities and lifetimes. Come, come, come, return, return, return into your pillar of light. Now, as you become more and more aware of the light surrounding you, your soul light and within you and within you, allow yourself to be led by this light Throughout your day, to help you make decisions and choices that are in alignment to this light, a light that brings more light into your body, into your mind and into your body, into your mind and into your beloved heart, feeling your heart starting to open and call upon the synchronicities for your soul to speak with you throughout your days so you make the choices that enable you to live your soul's purpose in every day and in every way.
Speaker 2:
And each time you do this soul connection meditation you strengthen your connection to your soul's light and purpose for being here and notice that each step is illuminated and each door is opened before you. To is your choice, to connect to your soul's brilliance and radiant intelligence, and you can just focus on those thoughts just for a moment. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. It's time to just start bringing yourself back, just feeling your fingers wiggle your fingers, wiggle your toes, and you've done wonderful work for yourself and for your world. So, when you're ready, just open your eyes and know you've made a difference to yourself. And you can do this soul connection every day, and each day it will strengthen your connection to your soul.
Speaker 1:
Oh, that was lovelyia, thank you you're very welcome I. I have to say I really love your meditations. I loved the peace and love breathing that we did last time. If people listen to that, and I love that one as well it was just just. It really just centres you again, doesn't it? And I was getting all sorts of imagery and information coming in, which is lovely, things that have been on my mind and it's almost like even though I wasn't thinking about them, the answers popped in. Does that make sense?
Speaker 2:
Yes, it does.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, so just connecting to that really still, space is just lovely. It just makes you feel lovely, doesn't it? It's hard to explain, but it just really makes you feel so more balanced. That's all I can say. Really Balanced is the word.
Speaker 2:
Yes, if you think about that meditation, you're being balanced from your soul, which is your soul chakra, which is three foot a meter above your head, and you're bringing that light down through your body, all around your body, right the way down into the center core of this beautiful planet. So you're feeling balanced because you're in between the two.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, does that make sense absolutely, and I loved the pillar idea because that's how, um, I often see imagery and maybe I wouldn't call it our soul energy, but I often see pillars of light and we stand and we're standing in them. So that's a lovely way of looking at things and just allowing yourself to be immersed in all that energy and light.
Speaker 2:
Yes, indeed. Yes, this is my sole purpose, or one of my sole purposes to help people awaken and be their best self.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, and it's not a quick fix, is it? It's something that you have to do daily, regularly, not putting pressure on anybody to do anything.
Speaker 2:
Well, I was just going to say if you don't want to do it, don't do it. If you haven't the time that day, it doesn't matter, because when you do have time to meditate it was meant to be. Yeah, as you say, no pressure, don't pressure yourself.
Speaker 1:
No, no, people don't you do as much as you can do. Every little bit helps you. Every little bit is a tiny step forward, isn't it so? So, yeah, absolutely lovely. Thank you so much, julia. I've really enjoyed having you back on the podcast. It's lovely, julia, I've really enjoyed having you back on the podcast. It's lovely. I feel like I can go away and lie down now for a while, yes, and then do my cleaning and all the rest of it.
Speaker 2:
Well, maybe, after you've done your cleaning, whatever you need to do, just just have a lay down and listen to this meditation that is, and that's another thing I was thinking.
Speaker 1:
People can come back to this again and again and again and again. They can just until they can do it without listening to it. If that makes sense or if it helps them to just have that structure, they can come back to the recording and, you know, just start using that on a regular basis.
Speaker 2:
Oh, this is a daily meditation. This is something that you could do every day. Not all meditations are meant to be done every day. This one is so please, yes, enjoy it.
Speaker 1:
It's, it's a gift of love yeah, yeah, thank you so much, julia. I do do appreciate you coming back on and I think you're going to come on again, aren't you? And we're going to do a couple more sessions around meditation, and so, if you've enjoyed listening to Julia today, please keep listening, because we're going to have some more episodes our first meeting where we were talking about art, but julia did take us through some beautiful breathing, um, so have a listen to that as well, and um, and we look forward to having you again, julia, uh, in a couple of months oh, bless you and bless everyone who listens to this.
Speaker 2:
you're meant to be listening to this, so namaste.
Speaker 1:
Yes, namaste, thank you so much. So if you have enjoyed listening to Julia and myself, please like and share, and you can always comment on the Facebook page and you can also subscribe. There's lots of ways that you can get involved with Balm to the Soul. So thank you very much and thank you, julia, and I look forward to talking to you all again soon.