Sometimes we don’t realize how much effort we are making until the effort stops.

In this extended progressive muscle relaxation practice, we explore the physical difference between tension and release by intentionally contracting the muscles before allowing them to soften completely. Rooted in the early work of physician and physiologist Edmund Jacobson, progressive muscle relaxation teaches us that “relax” does not have to be an abstract instruction. The body can learn through contrast.

Through slow ten-second contractions, intentional release, breath, and spacious periods of stillness, this meditation moves gradually from effort into ease—not by treating tension as something wrong, but by becoming more aware of when strength is needed and when the holding can finally end.

A practice for rest, body awareness, grounding, or simply remembering what it feels like to put something down.

Copyright

© 2026 Mariel Serrano. All rights reserved.

Written, created, and recorded by Mariel Serrano for Meditations with Mariel. This meditation and its accompanying written material are original works and may not be reproduced, distributed, recorded, republished, or used commercially without written permission from the creator.

August has a way of arriving slowly and leaving before we are quite ready. When August Leaves is an imaginative journey through the final golden hours of summer, a meditation on timing, longing, impermanence, and the strange tenderness of beginning to miss something while it is still beside you.

Together, we wander through late-summer light, sit for a while at the water’s edge, and meet August as something almost familiar: something waited for, briefly held, and eventually allowed to move toward the horizon.

Not everything beautiful is meant to be kept. Not every encounter needs to become a promise. And not every goodbye means forgetting.

Sometimes, a few hours are enough to leave something behind

Six months ago, beneath the lunar eclipse in Virgo, we entered the shadow asking what needed correction. We examined what had become misaligned, what could no longer remain unchanged, and what truth was asking to be acknowledged.

Now, the eclipse crosses to Virgo’s sister sign: Pisces.

This meditation returns to the thread we began in March, but from the other side of the Virgo–Pisces axis. Where Virgo asks us to discern, refine, and correct, Pisces invites surrender, dissolution, and completion.

And this one is intentionally short.

Not every ending requires a lengthy ceremony. Not everything needs to be analyzed one more time, understood from another angle, or given another hour of our attention. Sometimes we simply recognize that something has traveled with us far enough.

Perhaps tonight. Perhaps tomorrow. Perhaps somewhere in the days following the eclipse, you will encounter an old pattern, obligation, relationship, identity, or way of surviving and realize that something has quietly changed:

You cannot keep doing it anymore.

Not because you have forced yourself to let go, but because somewhere inside you, it has already ended.

Consider this meditation a short goodbye—a few quiet moments to prepare your hands to put down whatever the coming shadow reveals you no longer need to carry.

The Moon returns from shadow.

But you are not required to retrieve everything you carried into the darkness.

© 2026 Mariel Serrano. This meditation and accompanying written script are original works created and written by Mariel Serrano for Meditations with Mariel. All rights reserved. No portion of this meditation, script, or recording may be reproduced, adapted, distributed, recorded, published, or used commercially without prior written permission. Personal listening and individual meditation practice are welcome.

The second half of this Virgo journey moves beneath the surface.

Here, Virgo becomes the sacred art of separation the ability to distinguish what is yours from what you have been carrying for everyone else.

Through the symbolism of harvest, earth, descent, and alchemical refinement, this meditation asks us to consider what experience has left behind: the wisdom earned through endings, relationships, mistakes, intuition, boundaries, and all the former versions of ourselves that carried us this far.

What is yours to keep?

What was never yours to carry?

What has completed its season?

And what within you is finally ripe enough to be gathered?

This is Virgo beyond perfection: discernment as devotion, clarity as power, and the quiet confidence of trusting what you already know.

A meditation for separating truth from noise, service from self-sacrifice, intuition from fear, and your own voice from the expectations of others.

🎧 Meditations with Mariel

© 2026 Mariel Serrano. All rights reserved.

“The Sacred Art of Discernment: A Virgo Meditation” and its original meditation script, narration, arrangement, guided visualizations, and original creative language were written and created by Mariel Serrano for Meditations with Mariel.

Historical, astrological, mythological, and alchemical concepts referenced within this episode—including Virgo, Mercury, Spica, Greco-Roman mythology, traditional astrology, and historical alchemical symbolism—belong to their respective historical and cultural traditions and are not claimed as original intellectual property.

The original expression and creative meditation presented here may not be reproduced, republished, recorded, distributed, adapted, or used commercially without written permission from Mariel Serrano.

For personal listening and contemplative use only.

Virgo is so much more than perfectionism, organization, and the endless need to fix things.

In this meditation, we travel beyond the modern Virgo stereotype and into the older symbolism of the celestial maiden: the harvest, Mercury, Spica, discernment, separation, refinement, and the quiet intelligence of knowing what is ready and what is no longer yours to carry.

Through a journey into the late-summer field, we explore Virgo not as an archetype of perfection, but as an archetype of sacred discernment: the ability to notice, tend, separate, release, and transform experience into wisdom.

And yes, Virgos get a moment to remember that sometimes… we fucking knew. ♍️

A meditation for trusting what you notice, honoring what has ripened, releasing what does not belong to you, and carrying only what deserves to enter your next season.

🎧 Meditations with Mariel

© 2026 Mariel Serrano. All rights reserved.

“The Sacred Art of Discernment: A Virgo Meditation” and its original meditation script, narration, arrangement, guided visualizations, and original creative language were written and created by Mariel Serrano for Meditations with Mariel.

Historical, astrological, mythological, and alchemical concepts referenced within this episode including Virgo, Mercury, Spica, Greco-Roman mythology, traditional astrology, and historical alchemical symbolism belong to their respective historical and cultural traditions and are not claimed as original intellectual property.

The original expression and creative meditation presented here may not be reproduced, republished, recorded, distributed, adapted, or used commercially without written permission from Mariel Serrano.

For personal listening and contemplative use only.

There are moments when the light we normally navigate by becomes obscured. But obscured does not mean lost.

Inspired by the symbolism of the Leo eclipse, this guided meditation explores the threshold between who you have been and who you are becoming. Through deep rest, reflection, visualization and spacious moments of silence, we explore identity, discernment, changing desires, relationships, self-worth, creativity and the quiet work of calling your energy back to yourself.

This meditation is not about predicting the future or forcing a particular outcome. Instead, it asks you to become quiet enough to notice what is already changing within you.

What still belongs to you?

What are you carrying simply because you have carried it for a long time?

What happens when something—or someone—returns, but you are no longer the person who once needed it?

What if changing your mind isn’t a failure of commitment, but evidence that you have grown?

And beneath all of those questions: Who are you when the expectations, roles, relationships and stories become quiet?

The Sun does not cease to exist when it is eclipsed.

And perhaps neither do the deepest parts of ourselves.

Sometimes they are simply waiting to be remembered.

Come as you are. There is nothing you need to manifest, predict or force. Simply listen.

© 2026 Mariel Serrano. Written, created and recorded by Mariel Serrano for Meditations with Mariel. All meditation scripts, original narration and creative content are the intellectual property of Mariel Serrano. All rights reserved. No portion may be reproduced, republished, recorded, distributed, adapted or used for commercial purposes without written permission.

Before entering the meditation, “Remember Who You Are,” I wanted to offer a little context for the symbolism behind it.

For thousands of years, eclipses have captured the human imagination as moments when the familiar order of the sky is interrupted—when light becomes obscured, the landscape changes, and something we know is still there temporarily disappears from view.

In this short introduction, we explore the eclipse as a metaphor for transformation, uncertainty, identity and remembrance, along with the symbolism of Leo: the heart, courage, creativity, joy, self-expression and the willingness to inhabit ourselves fully.

This isn’t about predicting what an eclipse will bring or telling you what you should manifest. It’s an invitation to consider something quieter: What parts of ourselves can become obscured without ever truly being lost? And what happens when change asks us not to become someone new, but to remember who we were underneath everything we learned to carry?

This episode serves as a companion introduction to the guided meditation, “Remember Who You Are: A Leo Eclipse Meditation.”

© 2026 Mariel Serrano. Written, created and recorded by Mariel Serrano for Meditations with Mariel. All meditation scripts, original narration and creative content are the intellectual property of Mariel Serrano. All rights reserved. No portion may be reproduced, republished, recorded, distributed, adapted or used for commercial purposes without written permission.

This episode is a live recording of a crystal sound bath, created to offer a space of deep rest through the healing qualities of sound alone. There is no guided meditation or spoken visualization—just an immersive journey of resonance, vibration, and stillness.

Throughout the session, you’ll hear the soothing tones of crystal singing bowls, the grounding presence of a gong, the rhythmic ebb and flow of the ocean drum, the gentle whispers of a rain stick, and the delicate shimmer of chimes. Each instrument is played intuitively, allowing the sounds to unfold naturally and invite your nervous system into a place of calm and restoration.

Because this is a live recording, you may notice subtle background sounds or small imperfections that are part of sharing this experience in real time. Rather than distractions, they serve as reminders of the present moment and the shared energy of a live gathering.

Find a comfortable place to rest, allow yourself to simply receive, and let the sounds carry you wherever you need to go today.

Recorded live with gratitude.

New Moon in Cancer | The Seed Within

Recorded live during a New Moon in Cancer sound bath, this meditation is an invitation to approach manifestation from a different perspective.

Rather than asking, “What do I want?” this practice gently asks, “What within me is ready to change?” Like a seed, true growth begins in darkness. Before anything can bloom, something must soften, open, and release.

If you’re listening from home, I encourage you to have a small seed, a bit of soil, and a container or pot nearby before you begin. Toward the end of the meditation, there will be an extended period of silence while participants in the live class choose their seeds and plant them. Rather than skipping ahead, allow that time to become part of your own ritual. Choose your seed, plant it with intention, and reflect on the old pattern, belief, or version of yourself that you’re ready to lovingly release. When you’ve finished, gently curl back into a comfortable fetal position and simply rest, allowing yourself to receive the closing blessing.

Because this meditation was recorded live, you may notice a few small sounds, pauses, or imperfections along the way. I chose to leave them exactly as they are. They serve as a reminder that healing isn’t polished, transformation isn’t rehearsed, and some of the most meaningful moments happen when we simply allow ourselves to be fully present.

Thank you for allowing me to share this sacred moment with you. May this New Moon remind you that manifestation isn’t only about creating a different life, it’s about becoming the fertile ground from which that life can naturally grow.

With gratitude,

Mariel

© 2026 Meditations with Mariel. All rights reserved. This meditation may not be reproduced, distributed, or recorded in any form without written permission.

There is a Spanish phrase that has always stayed with me: me haces falta. It is often translated as “I miss you,” but its deeper meaning is far more profound. It speaks to the way love changes us, leaving behind a sacred space where another soul, a memory, or even a former version of ourselves once lived.

As Mercury retrograde invites us to revisit the past, this meditation explores what it truly means when old people, memories, dreams, or emotions resurface. Rather than asking who is returning, we ask a different question: What is my soul trying to remember?

Through a journey of longing, remembrance, and quiet reflection, you’ll be guided to honor the connections that have shaped you—not through attachment, but through gratitude for the ways they awakened your heart. Whether you resonate with the idea of a twin flame, a soul mirror, or simply someone whose presence transformed your life, this meditation offers a gentle space to reflect on love, absence, and the wisdom hidden within both.

Perhaps me haces falta has never meant, “I cannot live without you.” Perhaps it has always meant, “Because I loved you, I discovered a deeper capacity to love.”

May this meditation help you embrace the sacred return of memory, reclaim the parts of yourself waiting to come home, and trust that every meaningful encounter leaves your soul more open to love.

This meditation is inspired by contemplative spirituality, symbolic astrology, and the timeless mystery of love as a path of transformation. It is intended for reflection and personal growth rather than as a statement of objective spiritual fact.

© 2026 Mariel Serrano. All rights reserved. This meditation may not be reproduced, distributed, recorded, or transmitted in any form without written permission from the author.