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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. Today, I'd like to tell you about a single feather that changed me. This tiny feather I noticed on the ground at a time when everything felt lost. It was just there, shimmering in the sun, frayed, half buried in ash, almost nothing.
Zeena:But something about it stopped me. I picked it up without thinking, and in that moment, something shifted. It wasn't just a feather anymore. To me, it was proof. Proof that something had survived.
Zeena:That beauty still belonged here. Proof that life continues, that we continue. And maybe you've had a moment like that, where everything you knew was burned down, and all you had left was a single feather of hope. Maybe that's why you're here. To remember who you are underneath it all.
Zeena:To gather the pieces of yourself. Not to rebuild what was, but to become something new, something freer, something truer, something forged by fire and ready to rise. That's the story of the phoenix. It's an ancient story told in every culture, in every era, in every language. The firebird of myth and legend is the symbol that lives in all of us.
Zeena:Because let's be honest, life doesn't go easy on anyone. We all walk through fire, grief, loss, change, pressure, heartbreak, burnout. And yet, you're still here, still rising. Not as the same person you were before, but as someone changed, tempered, refined. So pause to remember the strength that often gets buried beneath survival.
Zeena:Remember that there's a part of you that doesn't quit, that even when scorched by circumstance, knows how to rise. Not with force, no drama, but with quiet power. Today, walk with that intention. Let this be your ember. Let this be the moment you remember.
Zeena:A story doesn't end in ashes. It begins with the feather. Now that you've arrived, let's begin by returning to something simple, something steady, your breath. There's no need to change it right away. Just notice.
Zeena:Notice the way air moves in and out through your nose. Notice the rise and fall in your chest, that quiet rhythm that's been with you this whole time. Let this be your anchor. Begin to deepen your inhale, not forcefully, but curiously, as if you're fueling something inside you. And as you exhale, let it carry out anything heavy, anything stagnant, like smoke lifting from cooled embers.
Zeena:Try this now. Inhale through the nose, slow and steady. Exhale through the mouth like a wave washing through you. Again, inhale, gathering strength. Exhale, softening tension.
Zeena:Inhale. Fuel your fire. Exhale. Release the ashes. Let the rhythm be yours.
Zeena:Each breath is a choice, a return, a reminder. Let the breath center you, awaken you, and keep that awareness close. You are present. You are here, and your fire is just just beginning to rise. Begin to notice the rhythm of your walk.
Zeena:Feel the way the ground meets you. Solid, dependable, ancient. Each step, each breath, a rhythm of remembering. Now bring your attention to your body. Your body that carried you here through every storm, every wildfire, every quiet moment you thought no one noticed.
Zeena:Feel your feet meeting the earth, the heel, the ball, the toe, a quiet roll forward. This is your connection to now. Move your awareness up to your ankles and knees. Let the breath soften these joints. Thank them for bending when life asked you to.
Zeena:And now your thighs and hips, your root, the place where strength and story meet, the place you carry history, lineage, and sometimes grief. Walk with the presence here. Feel your chest lift with breath. Soften the shoulders. Let them drop.
Zeena:Release the weight you no longer need to carry. Feel the air on your fingertips. This is how alive you are. Relax the jaw. Soften the brow.
Zeena:Just let your expression be neutral. Soft. True. Now feel the whole body from the soles of your feet to the crown of your head, walking as one. Walking with awareness, with truth, with quiet strength, wiser, lighter, more awake than you were just a few minutes ago.
Zeena:This is you, rising already. Breathe into that and keep walking. Now ask yourself, what have I been carrying that no longer belongs to me? Whose expectations? Whose version of success?
Zeena:What story have I outgrown but kept anyway? Let these questions land. You don't have to answer right away. This isn't a test. This is a clearing.
Zeena:And now ask yourself, what have I survived that I haven't honored? And not just the big things, but the quiet battles, the mornings you showed up anyway, the days you kept going when no one saw you. Honor that now. Let the earth beneath your feet be your witness. And now, one last question.
Zeena:What part of me is trying to rise? Maybe it's a truth you've been afraid to speak, a dream you've shelved, a version of yourself that feels too bold, too much, too soon. Let it surface. You don't have to act. Just let it breathe.
Zeena:Let this walk be your agreement with yourself that you'll stop hiding from what wants to live. You're not here to burn yourself down. You are here to rise with intention, with clarity, with love. Let's keep walking. Now picture this.
Zeena:You're walking through a quiet landscape. The ground beneath you is soft with ash. The air is still. There are no flames here, only the memory of fire. Everything that once stood in your way burned away.
Zeena:This place, it isn't ruined. It's been reset. You reach down to touch the soil, and you feel warmth in your chest. A low, steady warmth, like something inside you is beginning to glow. An ember, steady, quiet, alive.
Zeena:That ember, it's yours. It's been there all along. Not asking for attention, only permission. With every breath, it grows, radiating through your chest, your spine, your whole being. And then, you feel it.
Zeena:Wings begin to unfurl from within. Feathers of strength. Wings made of truth, made from grit and honesty, and everything you had to release to get here. The weight of your old self falls away. And with one deep breath, you rise.
Zeena:You don't soar upward. You rise inward. Not away from your life, but deeper into it. Lighter, stronger, clearer. You are not escaping the past.
Zeena:You are rising from it. This is your transformation. You are no longer the person who walked into this fire. You are what remains, and what remains is strong. Breathe into this truth.
Zeena:Let it land. You are ready. You've walked through ash today. Not to mourn what's lost, but to remember that you are still here. That you are more than the things you've had to shed.
Zeena:You face the silence after the burn. You felt that ember inside you reignite, and you remembered something most people forget. You don't have to go back to who you were. You get to rise again and again and again. So take one last breath in.
Zeena:And as you exhale, let it mark the beginning of whatever comes next. Quiet, grounded, becoming. The fire was never your ending. It was just your beginning. If you're looking for more ways to move, heal, and align with your soul's light, visit soulcollective.love, or come find me in the Haikin' Facebook group.
Zeena:That's h I k I n, hiking plus kinship. We'd love to walk beside you there. I'm Xena Special, and thank you. Thank you. Thank you for allowing me to walk this journey with you.
Zeena:Until our souls meet again, keep shining.