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Zeena Speciale, a shamanic Reiki master teacher, certified sound healer, and co-founder of hiKin—a community where hiking and kinship move as one—guides this weekly podcast into the heart of mindful movement and soulful connection. Sacred Steps offers walking/hiking meditations, breathwork, and nature-rooted reflections to help you find presence on the trail and clarity within.
Find Zeena at Soul Collective, her spirit-based yoga studio in the heart of Cave Creek, AZ, or at soulcollective.love.
Welcome to Sacred Steps presented by Heikin. I'm Xena Special, and I wanna thank you for being here. You could have stayed home. You could have said, not today. But instead, you showed up.
Zeena:You chose to walk with intention. You put on your shoes. You chose movement. You really chose yourself and that's powerful. So honor that.
Zeena:As you start walking, let me ask you something. When was the last time you did something ordinary without knowing it would be the last time. Maybe it was the last time you hiked a trail you thought would always be there. The last time your child asked to be tucked into bed at night, or the last time you held someone without realizing that they wouldn't be here forever. It doesn't look like a sacred moment.
Zeena:Looks like groceries in the trunk. Looks like a Tuesday. Sometimes, we don't realize how sacred the ordinary is until it's gone. But maybe sacred was never meant to be glamorous or extraordinary. Maybe it was meant to live inside the simple things.
Zeena:I have this friend who sees beauty in puddles. Puddles, truly. We'll be walking together, having a deep conversation, and she'll just stop mid sentence and crouch down beside a little puddle just to admire how the light hits it, how the sky reflects it, how the edges ripple like a tiny universe is breathing. She finds Sparkle in places I'd usually walk just right past, and that stuck with me. So now, I see sparkle everywhere, in the glint of a spoon, the shine on a leaf, the shimmer in an ordinary moment.
Zeena:It's a reminder that maybe we don't have to chase the big stuff. Sometimes, the magic is already under your feet. It's not some distant, perfect moment. It's right here in the mess and the mundane. So today, we walk to notice, to savor, to remember that even the smallest things can shimmer.
Zeena:Let's begin by walking just a little slower, slowing the pace just a bit. Not so slow that it feels unnatural, but just enough to be aware. Feel your feet beneath you. Heel to toe. Step by step.
Zeena:Letting the earth receive you. Now gently bring your attention inward to the breath. This quiet rhythm that's been with you in every ordinary moment you've ever lived. Without changing anything, just notice. Notice the inhale and the exhale.
Zeena:The subtle lift and gentle fall. Let the breath meet you where you are today. Now, take a slightly deeper breath in. And as you exhale, let your shoulders drop away from your ears. Let gravity have them.
Zeena:Let effort melt down through your arms, into your palms, into your fingertips. Inhale again. This time, feeling the breath expand into your belly. Let your abdomen soften, unclenching grip of tension or holding. And as you exhale, feel the space across your chest widen, your heart quietly opening without needing to perform.
Zeena:Feel the muscles of your legs with every step. The calves, hamstrings, quads, strong and steady. And now the joints of the legs, your knees, your ankles, your pelvis. Let their movement be fluid. Now come back to the breath.
Zeena:Let your breath return to its natural rhythm, unforced, unrushed. Feel your steps beginning to sync with that rhythm. Counting your steps on the inhale and exhale. Breath and body moving together as one. Inhale, arriving.
Zeena:Exhale, softening. Inhale, noticing. Exhale, letting go. Inhale, savoring. Exhale, releasing.
Zeena:You don't need to force anything. You are already here, already present, already walking through wonder. So keep going. Now let your awareness widen. Not to think, but to see.
Zeena:Look around you now. What small things are asking to be noticed? A crooked tree weathered by the elements, but still growing, still reaching upward. A bird flying overhead, its wings stretched out wide. A soft wind against your skin.
Zeena:The way the light changes as you turn a corner. These aren't the moments that we're taught to chase, but they're the ones that fill us and shape who we are. Now start to notice the colors surrounding you. The blue of the sky. Maybe that blue is pale and delicate, or maybe it's bold and endless overhead, or the bark of a tree, Grayish brown with hints of rust or silver streaking through.
Zeena:Or the ground beneath your feet. The color of the earth that's supporting you. Now, bring to mind your favorite color. Holding it gently in your awareness and begin to look for it in the world around you. Let it feel like a treasure hunt, a sacred noticing, a reminder that the world knows how to whisper to you in your own language.
Zeena:And every time you see that color, give yourself a little extra breath, a pause. Let it anchor you. Let it remind you that beauty isn't rare. It's simply waiting to be seen. Keep walking and keep looking for wonder.
Zeena:It's closer than you think. This is what happiness can look like. It's not about the destination. It's not about making it to the finish line. It's a moment, a real moment felt fully.
Zeena:And now, as we come to the end of our journey together, let this feeling stay with you, the way the world opens when you notice the small things. Let this be more than a walk. Let it be a remembering that happiness isn't something far away, waiting for you to earn it. It's something that's already here, woven into your ordinary days, like the scent of coffee in the morning or puddles. The blessings of your life may be quiet, They are steady and they are sacred.
Zeena:So take a deep breath in and a full breath out. Let your shoulders relax. Let your jaw unclench. Let your heart receive because this this walk, this body, this breath, this day was always enough. When you slow down and pay attention, you start to fall in love with all of the things you forgot to notice.
Zeena:If you're looking for more ways to move, heal, and align with your soul's light, visit soulcollective.love. Or you can find me in the Haikin Facebook group. That's h I k I n, hiking plus kinship. I'm Xena Special, and thank you, thank you, thank you for allowing me to walk this journey with you. Until next time, keep noticing, keep romanticizing the ordinary, and keep shining.