Gratitude For Our Body
When we are in pain or things start to go wrong within our bodies or if we have things that have always presented challenges for us, it can be hard to have gratitude for the many things the body does for us. It is easy to feel frustrated, angry, worried, and even scared. There are studies that show that gratitude is a powerful tool for happiness and pain management. This is a short meditation to help us cultivate more gratitude for our body.
Transcript
Hi everyone.
We're going to talk today about gratitude for our bodies.
When we're in pain or things start to go wrong with our bodies,
Or if we have things that have always presented challenges,
It can be hard to have gratitude for the many things that the body does for us.
It's easy to feel frustrated,
Angry,
Worried,
And even scared.
There are studies,
However,
That have shown though that gratitude can not only be a powerful tool to increase happiness,
But it also has shown a promising effect in lowering of physical pain.
Whether this is perception or physical phenomenon,
It is hard to say,
But definitely an attitude of gratitude has been shown to help.
I'm going to guide you through a short meditation that I would suggest doing every morning for at least a week to help shift your mind from going to the regular human bias for the negative,
Just to help build a daily pattern of gratitude in your life.
So find a comfortable seated position either in a chair or on the floor,
Or you may also like to try lying down.
Close your eyes if you're comfortable,
Or simply let them go out of focus.
Let us take three deep breaths together,
In through the nose and out through the mouth.
Let us meditate for a moment on all the little processes that our bodies do for us every day without even thinking about them.
Our eyelashes keep dust out of our eyes,
The sweat that keeps us cool,
How the body creates protective scabs over wounds,
How it grows nails to protect our digits,
Giving us pins and needles so we know we have reduced blood flow.
It does a whole myriad of things for us every day that we don't really give much thought to.
So let's meditate on that now.
A.
B.
F.
Now let's meditate on how our bodies help us to move about the world.
For some of us,
That's with our feet or legs.
For others,
That's with their arms or hands.
Take a moment and concentrate on that part of yourself that helps you move about the world and thank it for getting you to remain to be.
You might like to gently touch that part of your body and thank it for the many places that it has taken you.
Let's take a moment and concentrate on that part of yourself that helps you to remain to be.
Let's take a moment and concentrate on that part of yourself that helps you to remain to be.
Now let us meditate on how our bodies help us to interact with the world.
Take a moment and concentrate on that part of yourself that helps you interact with the world around you and thank it for all those mundane things we don't think about,
Like the ability to communicate and use tools and all the various other ways that we interact day to day.
You might like to gently touch that part of your body that helps you interact with the world and thank it for letting you connect with everything around you.
Let's take a moment and concentrate on that part of yourself that helps you to remain to be.
Now let us meditate on how our bodies help us enjoy the world in so many ways,
Like experiencing a divine sunrise,
Or hearing our favorite piece of music,
Or helping us play a favorite sport.
Take a moment and concentrate on a part of yourself that helps you enjoy the world.
You may wish to gently touch that part of your body as you send a gratitude for all the wonderful experiences that it's helped you enjoy.
Let's take a moment and concentrate on that part of yourself that helps you enjoy the world.
Finally,
Let us meditate on how our bodies help us to love others through acts of kindness and physical touch,
Whether that be wiping away a loved one's tears,
Or picking them up groceries,
Or giving them a hug.
Take a moment and concentrate on a part of yourself that helps you to love others and helps you to love others through acts of kindness and physical touch.
You you you you you you you now come back to the room slowly feeling the temperature of the air on your skin wiggling fingers and toes and then stretching everyday we're working with a different ball of clay we will have our ups and our downs but truly there's much to feel gratitude for each and every day everyday I have gratitude for you another person in the world wishing not only to heal themselves but to heal our shared world thank you sending you much love and light namaste you you
4.7 (38)
Recent Reviews
Rusty
January 9, 2023
Excellent meditation to not only heal your relationship with your body, but with the world 💛🌍
Helena
November 3, 2022
Olivia, you are one of my very favorite teachers on Insight Timer. Thank you for this beautiful gratitude meditation and all your others ❤️
Felise
November 1, 2022
Olivia… 🙏🏽 A combination of your soothing voice, which makes me feel safe, calming music and wise advise makes this a meditation worthy of appreciation. I am grateful for you being here with your sound wisdom to help others who wish to heal themselves. ✨🦋✨🤗✨💟✨🌷🍃✨🙏🏽✨
Rebecca
November 1, 2022
I live with chronic pain from a genetic condition that causes joint and muscle issues along with a host of secondary physical challenges. I have a fairly good working relationship with my body; we take turns freaking out, my body and I, but always support each other through the rough patches. We're a conjoined team. My body is dealing with some difficult times right now, so I am as supportive and encouraging as a best friend can be. When I become mentally or emotionally overwhelmed, my senses seem heightened and I am made aware, most without my volition, of how beautiful the world is and how fortunate I am to exist within it and have a part in what has been and what it becomes. My legs itch to go for a walk and soon my mind and spirit has settled back into a calmer and better place. Our agreement is no simultaneous crazy-making - and I say that as a soon-to-be (a few weeks) PhD candidate in psychology. 😉 I am always on the lookout for practices such as this which acknowledge and respect the gifts our bodies are to us, in whatever form they take. There is so much known about the human body, and yet it is still so incredibly mysterious. I am grateful for this vessel in which I move through my world, every single day. It may not meet some visions of "ideal," but I find the unique perspective it allows me to take far more compelling than the perspective that thousands of others have (and that I used to have). My awareness of the finer points of life, the details I see now because I must slow down - taking the opportunity to "smell the roses," as it were - is wonderful. Engaging in activities I never thought I would have time for is a blessing, even if that has come as a trade-off when prior activities I enjoyed are no longer physically possible or healthy for me. I appreciate this practice so much. Much respect to you for recognizing the need and addressing it. For chronic pain and physical issues, it is known that an attitude of gratitude actually decreases pain levels and distress, while fighting it tends to increase the sensation of pain and resulting distress - and adds frustration and anxiety, often depression, to the mix. I hope many people listen to this, even those who do not have physical health concerns. We can all benefit by an improved relationship with our bodies. Tuning in and observing, appreciating, respecting, and expressing gratitude for our organic being is a great way to start. On a personal note, I did find the choice of music somewhat jarring and it took me a moment to settle in as a result. Not because there is anything at all wrong with the music, however. I love it! 😊 It's just used in multiple sleep and meditation tracks by one teacher here whom I have listened to for many years as one of my primary teachers, so hearing the music I associate so strongly with his tracks was the reason it was jarring for me. I felt like I should be settling in to sleep, and not hearing his voice kept popping my awareness back. In retrospect, that was actually helpful, as it enabled me to make the switch to your soothing and lovely voice, focusing on the content of the practice which is so different than those sleep practices. Well done, from the bottom of my heart. I've bookmarked this and saved it to multiple library folders as well as added it to a couple personal playlists. I fully expect to be listening to this track frequently from here on. Thank you so very much for gifting this extraordinary community with this insightful and well-crafted practice. I see you and the light within you. Be well. 🤲🏻💖🤲🏻