Meditations On Gratitude | Breath

Hello,

I'm Anne Sussman,

Founder of Mindfulness Meeting Place and the author of the Bliss Buddy project,

How Sharing Gratitude Increases Joy.

Today we will practice with gratitude for our breath.

I believe breath meditation is the foundation for all other meditations.

The magic of breath is it's portable,

It's always with you,

It's always in the present moment and it's free.

What better tool to call on in any situation to bring calm into your life.

When you think about it,

Your breath is your life.

We can go without food for many days,

Water for a few days,

But we cannot live without our breath.

It's the fundamental process that gives life to our physical form.

There are many different breath patterns that yoga and science advocate to bring about physical changes in the body.

Our miraculous bodies have two ways of relating to the world that happen all on their own without our consciously thinking about them.

The sympathetic nervous system controls the fight or flight response.

That's where our fear and anxiety live.

It's often the way we're living in our stressed out lives.

The part of the nervous system that controls the rest and digest response,

The peaceful place,

Is the parasympathetic nervous system.

Breathing in and out of your nose signals the parasympathetic nervous system that it's time to relax.

This is important to remember.

You can set yourself up for a successful meditation each time by beginning with a few moments of controlled breaths in and out of the nose.

Actually,

Anytime you're feeling stressed,

A go-to technique is breathing slowly and deliberately in and out of your nose.

This will bring you back to the present moment and to a place of calm that comes from deep within.

So today we will begin with a meditation focused on gratitude for our breath.

I always like to begin with the essentials for any meditation practice.

So keep these in mind.

Remember it's okay to have thoughts in meditation.

The biggest misconception of meditation is that you need to clear your mind.

Actually,

That will never happen.

It's your mind's job to think thoughts.

That's what the mind does all day long.

You can stay in your thoughts as you sit.

That's daydreaming,

And there's nothing wrong with daydreaming.

It's just not meditation.

The moment you notice your attention has wandered off your breath and onto thoughts and you make a choice to return your attention to your breath,

That's when the magic happens.

It's in the choice point that you train your attention to be focused where you want it in the present moment.

Don't try too hard at this.

It's not a practice of heavy concentration.

It's really a very gentle shifting of your attention from thought back to breath,

From thought back to breath.

It doesn't matter how many times you return to your breath.

That is the practice.

You're doing it just right.

Let go of expectations.

Each time you sit in meditation,

It's new.

You're new.

So just be kind to yourself,

Letting go of any judgments and stick with it over days,

Weeks,

Months,

And years.

The changes that meditation will bring to your life are subtle yet profound.

We will be meditating for about 20 minutes.

You'll hear a chime at the end.

Keep your eyes closed and I'll let you know your next steps.

So let's begin.

Come to find a comfortable seat upright if that's comfortable for you and relaxed.

Minimize your distractions for our time together.

And when you are ready,

Gently close your eyes.

And now begin by taking a few long,

Slow,

Deep breaths in and out of your nose,

Signaling the parasympathetic nervous system that it's time to relax.

Controlling the breath right now,

Knowing that you're safe,

Grounded,

Present,

Making this choice to meditate.

So as you listen to the sound of the chime,

You can now let your breath return to its natural depth and rhythm.

There's no need to control your breath anymore.

You may notice your breath speeds up or slows down,

But your breath knows exactly how to take care of you,

So just let it be easy.

Notice the temperature on your skin,

The warmth or coolness of the air.

Notice the sounds around you,

Sounds in your environment or distant sounds outside.

Sounds need not be a barrier to your meditation.

In this practice,

You want to welcome everything and resist nothing.

Let's bring some relaxation to the body by beginning with the top of the head,

Softening the scalp and unfurling the brow,

Allowing the face to be soft and easy,

No expression necessary.

Checking in with the jaw,

Seeing if you might need to unclench just a little bit,

Allowing the tongue to rest easily in the mouth.

Inviting the shoulders to soften down the back.

Come to notice your spine,

From the base of your spine to the top of your head,

Reaching tall,

Holding your body in a posture that feels like dignity to you,

Relaxed,

Alert.

Notice your front body softening in the top of your chest on down through the diaphragm,

Just letting your belly be soft and easy like a great big Buddha belly.

Noticing your right arm from the shoulder on down through the elbow all the way to the fingertips just softening.

And letting go of any tension,

Maybe holding in left arm from the shoulder on down through the elbow all the way to the fingertips.

Noticing your pelvis sinking a little bit deeper into the cushion seat beneath you.

And seeing if you can notice the cushions beneath you,

Behind you,

Rising up in reciprocity to support you in your practice to hold you.

Noticing the right leg from the hip on down through the knee all the way to the toes softening.

And letting go of any tension you may be holding in the left leg from the hip on down through the knee all the way to the toes.

Scanning your body,

Seeing if there's any place you might have missed that's calling for some ease or comfort.

Knowing in this practice you can always shift or move if you need to and trying to sit as still as you can.

And now turning your attention inward to the interior of you.

Coming to notice any tingling,

Pulsing sensation in the body.

You may notice that most in the fingertips or the toes.

You may not notice anything at all.

That's okay too but that sensation is your aliveness.

We're alive in our bodies we almost never notice.

And now come to find your breath wherever it's most obvious for you.

That might be at the tip of the nose noticing the cool air coming in through the nostrils leaving a bit warmer above the upper lip.

For you you might notice your breath most in the rise and fall of your chest or your belly.

Just like the tide of the ocean coming in,

Going out,

Resting your attention on the sensations of breathing.

On the expansions you breathe in,

The space,

Contraction as you breathe out,

And the space between the next breath.

Coming to mind and to heart,

An appreciation of breathing.

All the magic that happens as you breathe in and out.

Just in your attention on the gratitude you can feel for the breath.

When you notice your attention wanders to thought as it will over and over again gently return to the breath and the feeling of gratitude for the breath.

You can be grateful for each breath you take.

Feel the gratitude as you fill your lungs,

As the breath expands your body.

Feel the gratitude as you notice the pause,

The space between the in-breath and the out-breath.

Feel the gratitude as you notice the exhale and the contraction as your breath gently leaves the body.

Become grateful for the oxygen.

Once inside the lungs,

The oxygen can travel through the bloodstream to wherever in the body it's needed.

Notice the feeling of gratitude for the elimination of carbon dioxide,

The waste no longer needed.

Feel the gratitude as you notice the pause,

The space between the in-breath and the out-breath.

Can you notice the feeling of gratitude rising with each in-breath and each out-breath?

Each pause,

Each space.

Gratitude for the magic of how we breathe,

It is life itself.

We'll sit mostly silent,

Resting your attention on the sensation of breathing and the feeling of gratitude for the breath.

Align the time.

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Notice where your attention is and gently return to rest in the gratitude you have for each breath.

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So keeping your eyes closed.

Relaxing in stillness just a little longer listening to the sound of the chime.

It's always important to come out of meditation very slowly.

It's the part that most people forget.

So keeping your eyes closed you can now begin to deepen your breath.

Wiggle your fingers and your toes.

Slowly starting to stretch into the space around you.

Taking your time.

There's no rush.

And lastly when you feel ready you can slowly open your eyes.

Gaze at the floor.

Getting a little bit of light in before opening your eyes fully to come back to the space.

Thank you for joining me in the first of ten meditations on gratitude.

I would like to leave you with a short quote today from Cynthia Shoshana Ozick,

An American short story writer,

Novelist,

And essayist.

She says,

We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.

I would agree.

Thank you for joining me.

I wish you peace.