Welcome to this Breath of Gratitude Meditation.
The intention of our practice is to learn the art of living in gratitude.
At the very heart of our practice today is mindfulness.
As we deepen our understanding of mindfulness,
We learn the philosophy of living day to day.
And when you add living in appreciation to this,
Well,
Each day has a tendency to get better and better.
Gratitude is a beautiful mindful meditation.
I especially enjoy using it during a body scan practice.
During a body scan,
The miracle of the body is at the forefront of our awareness.
And that's why it is one of my favorite ways to practice gratitude.
So let's begin.
Lie on down and set yourself up in a way that feels most supportive and relaxing for your body.
As you come down,
Notice how your body is lined up here.
You could draw an imaginary line from the crown of your head down to the space between your feet and see if you can make the right and left sides of your body align symmetrically.
Now take a few deep breaths as we do to calm and soothe the mind and body.
Allow your eyes to close and then wiggle your fingers and toes a little bit so that you can feel into your hands and feet.
You might nod your head from side to side,
Soften your jaw and just release the neck and shoulders.
And now I'd like you to place one hand over your heart and connect to your heart center.
Feel the weight of your palm as it's resting on your chest.
Notice if there's a temperature,
Maybe the hand is a little cold or it might be nice and warm.
Feel into that.
Notice the way that your chest rises and falls,
Expands and contracts as you breathe naturally.
If you allow your attention to go a little deeper into your heart center,
You might also be able to detect your very own heartbeat,
Beautiful heartbeat.
And now in your mind's eye,
I'd like you to consider a friend or a mentor who is very dear to you and all you've learned from him or her.
Allow the thought of this person to inspire feelings of love and gratitude in your heart.
As this image becomes more clear in your mind,
Tune into the sensations that you are discovering in your body.
Notice if there's an expression on your face,
One of joy,
Happiness or appreciation.
Maybe the corners of the mouth are turning up and the eyes,
The corners of the eyes are also turning up.
Notice the expression of a smile,
If it's there on your face right now.
And then follow that feeling into the back of the throat and see if you can detect a smile here.
And then allow your attention to move down your throat and into your heart and allow that same smile to be expressed here.
And now let your awareness begin to move throughout your entire body.
Move your attention all the way down to your feet and just give your feet a little wiggle here.
Perhaps roll your ankles a couple of times.
Acknowledge your feet.
Give thanks to the bones,
Muscles and ligaments that work together to allow us to connect with the earth and move from point A to point B every day.
Now allow your feet to relax and gently move your attention up to your ankles.
Remember to allow a wave of appreciation to move from your ankles up to your calves,
Your shin bones and your knees.
Appreciating the upper legs and the hips.
Bringing attention to the torso now,
The entire torso of your body.
As your attention rests in the stomach,
The chest,
The back of your body,
Allow yourself to appreciate all the biological processes of the body that are functioning when we aren't even thinking about them.
The neurological system,
For example,
Our incredible nervous system and a brain to boot.
Because of our amazing nervous system,
We also have the digestive system,
The respiratory system and the cardiovascular system all working together in complex ways to enable you to enjoy life to its fullest.
Take a breath in to your heart.
Feel your chest rise,
Your belly expand and then gently sigh the breath out,
Imagining that this breath of gratitude is now moving down into your legs all the way down to your feet.
And then bring your attention back up to your heart and notice your shoulders,
Your arms and your hands.
Just letting that wave of gratitude continue to wash through your body.
Moving your attention up to your throat,
Your neck.
Moving your attention to your mouth,
Your eyes,
Your cheeks.
Noticing your ears.
Noticing your whole head.
And now we're going to take another breath together.
Breathe in through your nose,
Filling up your whole body with appreciation and then gently sighing the breath out from the head all the way down to the feet.
And now my friend,
Bring your attention back to your fingers and toes and give them a little wiggle again.
Gently nod your head side to side.
And when you're ready to allow your eyes to open,
Just taking in the space again,
Noticing colors,
Textures,
Objects,
Anything you find interesting in the room.
And then I'd like you to make your way to a seat and sit comfortably.
Once you're there,
I'd like you to wrap your arms around your body.
Give yourself a hug.
Close your eyes and bring your attention back to your heart and take a moment now to thank a part of yourself that brought you to this meditation today.
Inside each of us is a wise one that knows exactly what we need.
Thank yourself for listening to that wise one and showing up today.
And now I'd like to thank you for sharing your beautiful practice with me.
I appreciate your energy.
I appreciate you for all that you are.
Now let's bring our hands together in front of our hearts in Anjali Mudra.
The palms are touching and Anjali means peace.
Take a nice deep breath in.
And as you exhale,
You're going to bow your head,
Honoring your practice,
Honoring yourself.
Namaste.
