Gratitude Practice

Hello and welcome to this 10-minute guided practice to promote resilience through a focus on gratitude.

The original version of this practice was designed by Dr.

Kathy Kemper at the Ohio State University Center for Integrative Health and Wellness.

Gratitude practice can be used to promote a positive mood,

Hope and resilience.

Research shows that as we experience positive emotions such as gratitude,

Our awareness broadens,

Our creativity and problem solving capacities blossom and we become much more effective in whatever we choose to do.

So let's get started.

To begin,

Find a safe,

Quiet place where you know you won't be disturbed for about 10 minutes.

And please don't listen to this recording while you're driving.

I'll keep track of time for you and I'll ring a gentle chime when about 10 minutes have passed.

So,

To get started,

Sit upright in a comfortable,

Stable position where you feel fully supported and your back,

Neck and head are straight but not stiff.

Or you might prefer to lie down on your back in a comfortable place with some support under your knees.

If you're lying on the floor,

Make sure you'll be warm enough.

You might want to get a sweater or a blanket if the room is anyway cool.

Allow your eyes to gently close or to maintain a soft focus,

Gazing a metre or two in front of you.

Take three deep breaths to bring yourself to the present moment and begin the process of feeling more peaceful and centred.

Make those breaths more deliberate and slow than usual,

Breathing into the belly so it expands as you breathe in and contracts as you breathe out.

And see on those three breaths if you can allow the out-breath to be longer than the in-breath.

So now,

Take a minute or two to mentally scan your body for any areas where there's any tightness,

Tension or soreness.

When you find such an area,

Imagine that you can breathe your warm,

Oxygen-filled breath into those areas.

Then,

As you breathe out,

Let the tension release.

Let that tension or tightness or soreness breathe out.

Now,

Notice any emotions,

Worries,

Fears,

Anger,

Irritations,

Jealousy or judgement that might be hanging around.

Just as we did with the tightness and the tension and the soreness,

Just breathe into those emotions,

Noting them and allowing them to be as you breathe into them.

As you breathe out,

Release them if they choose to be released.

If not,

That's OK.

Just notice them,

Breathe into them and let them be.

And now,

Just notice if there are any random thoughts.

Is there any internal dialogue or planning going on in your head right now?

Don't try to force it back,

Don't try to stop it.

Again,

Just notice it,

Breathe into it,

Into those thoughts and as you breathe out,

Allow those thoughts to flow out with the breath if they choose to do so.

Now that our bodies,

Emotions and thoughts are just a little clearer,

Perhaps a little more spacious and open,

We can bring to bring,

Begin to bring some focus on the events,

The experiences,

The people,

The possessions,

The pets,

Everything for which we feel grateful.

First,

Even the fact that you're listening to my voice means you already have several marvellous blessings.

There's the gift of life itself,

The most precious gift.

Somebody gave birth to you,

Fed you as an infant,

Changed your diapers,

Clothed you,

Bathed you,

Taught you to speak and to understand.

Somebody educated you so that you're here engaging with this practice today.

The gift of life is the ultimate gift.

Then you have the gift of hearing so you can hear and you can learn,

Whether it's the song of a bird,

The notes of a band or orchestra,

The sounds of singing and voices,

The sound of your own breath flowing in and out or the sound of a loved one.

The gift of hearing is something to be grateful for.

Then there's the gift of a heartbeat,

Moment after moment,

Pumping fresh life-giving blood to all of your organs.

Now let's think about some of the things that we have today that make our lives easier than they may be for many people in parts of the developing world.

We flip a switch and light appears.

Be grateful.

We turn a tap and clean drinking water flows.

Be grateful.

We adjust the thermostat and the room grows warmer or cooler.

Be grateful.

We have a roof to keep us dry when it rains,

To keep the sun off us when it's too hot.

We have walls to keep the wind out,

Windows to let in light and screens to keep out insects.

We enter a vehicle and it takes us where we want to go.

We have clothes to wear and machines to wash those clothes for us.

We have appliances that store food at just the right temperature and help us cook it without having to gather wood or light fires.

We've indoor plumbing.

We've public libraries that have thousands of books and recordings free for anybody to borrow and read.

We have public schools that teach us to read and write,

Skills that are still available only to a select few on a global basis.

Be grateful.

When we consider the everyday blessings we often take for granted,

We all have so much to be grateful for.

Now consider those people who enrich your life,

Those who smile at you and cheer you on,

Those family,

Friends,

Acquaintances and colleagues who support you when you need a shoulder to cry on or a hand to guide or support you.

Those people you know are there for you.

For the next few seconds let those people's faces flood your mind and feel the gratitude that you feel for them.

Now take a moment to reflect on your particular reasons for feeling grateful in this moment.

Call to mind anything and everything you have to be personally grateful for in your life,

However small those things might seem.

It might be as simple as I made my bus today.

My dog was excited when I walked in the room.

My baby smiled at me.

I did a good job.

Everything that you're grateful for,

Bring it to mind.

There is so much to feel grateful for in this moment.

Allow yourself to really feel what it feels to have that sense of gratitude.

Feel it in your mind,

Feel it in your body.

Let that sense of gratitude fill your heart and your mind and explode into a more positive mood and greater energy.

Now set a simple intention.

Make a commitment to yourself.

I'm going to make it normal for me to notice these things that deserve my gratitude and I'll visit with them at least daily.

When we finish this practice,

Take out of the practice the sense that with attention and intention you can find yourself feeling gratitude easily wherever you are.

You can draw on the strength of this gratitude whenever you wish to raise your mood and energy and to give you the boost you need in challenging situations.

In a moment I'll ring the bell to finish the practice.

Before I do,

For a few seconds bring your attention to the feelings in your body and your breath.

Notice how you feel throughout your body,

Your emotions and your thoughts compared to before you started this practice.

No judging.

Just noticing.

Now gently stretching your arms and your hands and your feet and your legs,

We bring the practice to a close.