Body Gratitude Meditation

Welcome,

My friends.

This meditation can be done in either a seated posture or laying down,

Whichever is most comfortable for you.

So go ahead and find a nice comfortable position,

And begin to settle in.

When you feel ready,

You can close your eyes if that feels safe,

Or simply soften your gaze.

Settling here with a nice slow deep breath in,

And a long breath out.

Taking a moment to let go of whatever has happened in your day up until now,

And setting aside for now the to-do list for the rest of your day.

Begin to let your awareness settle into your body,

Noticing what it feels like to be in your body right now.

Not judging,

Just noticing.

Do you feel a warmth or a coolness,

A lightness or a heaviness,

Or perhaps any tightness or tension anywhere in your body?

Notice if you could be 5-10% more comfortable in whatever position you've chosen for yourself,

And make any adjustments to feel a little more comfortable.

Slow breath in.

We often take for granted our body and all it allows us to do,

Until at some point it stops working in the way we want it to,

Perhaps due to injury or illness,

Disability or aging.

In those moments,

We can sometimes be overwhelmed with a sense of regret for all the times before that our body worked so smoothly,

Or smoothly enough,

And we never stopped to notice.

I've felt that my friend,

And I wonder if you have too.

Pausing regularly to practice present moment awareness and offer gratitude for our body can not only help us to appreciate when our body is working smoothly,

But can also help us to be more nurturing towards our body,

Making choices that support our well-being,

Being more patient when our body needs time to rest and to heal.

As we go through this body gratitude meditation,

If you are experiencing a limitation or a change in how your body is functioning,

I invite you to offer gratitude for what your body has enabled you to do up to this point,

And gratitude for how your body has adapted to accommodate for this change.

Take a gentle,

Savoring breath in,

And a gentle breath out.

Begin to slowly shift your awareness up to the top of your head,

Traveling down your forehead and softly landing at your eyes,

Thanking your eyes for the ability to take in color and shape,

Lightness and darkness,

To witness sunrises and sunsets,

And the faces and smiles of loved ones.

Bring your awareness slowly down to your nose,

Offering gratitude to your nose for filtering the air you breathe,

For experiencing pleasant aromas,

The smell of your favorite meal,

The gentle scent of a flower or fresh cut grass,

Or the smell of a fresh cup of coffee or tea.

Shift your awareness out to your ears,

Thanking your ears for the ability to hear voices,

Laughter,

Music,

The crashing of ocean waves,

The song of a bird,

The crunch of dried autumn leaves or icy snow beneath your feet,

The crackle of a fireplace,

And silence.

Shift your attention down to your mouth and throat,

Offering gratitude for the ability to speak,

To express your words,

Share your ideas,

And express love and gratitude to others.

Gratitude for the ability to taste your favorite foods,

To chew and swallow,

To sip cool water or enjoy a warm,

Comforting drink.

Gently bring your awareness down to your neck,

Thanking your neck for the support and stability it provides your head,

For the flexibility to look around and to change your perspective.

Allow your awareness to gently land on your shoulders now,

Traveling from your shoulders down your upper arms,

To your elbows,

Down your forearms,

Your wrists,

The tops of your hands,

The palms of your hands,

Your fingers,

And your fingertips.

Thanking your arms for the ability to reach,

To hold,

To carry and to lift,

To push and to pull,

To embrace and comfort those you love.

Offering gratitude to your hands for the ability to create,

To write,

Touch,

And to heal.

Allow yourself to settle in a little deeper now,

With a gentle breath in,

And a slow breath out.

Begin to shift your attention to the front of your torso,

Arriving first at your chest.

If it feels good to you,

You might bring your hands up to your heart,

And feel or imagine the steady rhythm of your heart.

Thanking it for beating day and night,

Never taking a rest.

For pumping life-giving blood to every corner of your body,

Always adjusting to your needs,

Beating faster when you run,

And slowing down when it's time to rest.

Allow your hands to gently fall back down to your lap or by your side.

Slowly shift your awareness now to your lungs.

Take a moment here to simply notice the quality of your breath.

Are you breathing deep or shallow?

And where do you feel your breath the most?

Is it perhaps on your upper lip,

In your nose,

The back of your throat,

Your chest,

Your belly,

Or perhaps somewhere else in your body?

Offer gratitude for every breath in and out your lungs have taken,

Even as you sleep.

Gratitude for inhaling fresh air,

Supplying oxygen to the cells of your body.

Gratitude for exhaling what your body no longer needs,

What no longer serves you.

Slowly shift your awareness down to your abdomen and the organs within.

Offering gratitude to the organs of your digestive system.

Your stomach,

Intestines,

Pancreas,

And gallbladder.

These organs that work together to help you digest and absorb the nutrients from your food.

Allowing these nutrients to be delivered throughout your body.

Bringing awareness to your liver and kidneys.

The organs that are constantly filtering your blood.

Detoxifying.

Removing what is harmful to you.

Gently shifting your awareness now to the back of your torso and landing first at your ribcage.

Following as it curves from your spine around your chest.

Offering gratitude for the protection it provides for your most vital organs.

Take a moment to notice how it expands as you inhale and contracts as you exhale.

Allow your awareness to settle now on your spine and the muscles of your back.

Beginning at the base of your neck,

Traveling all the way down to the base of your spine.

Offering gratitude to your spine and muscles of your back for providing support for your whole body.

For the flexibility to bend and twist.

And the strength and stability to lift and to carry.

Arrive now at your hips and pelvis,

The anchor for the meeting of your upper and lower body.

Begin to slowly travel now into your lower body.

Passing from your hips down the fronts and backs of your thighs.

To your knees.

Down your calves.

To your ankles.

Your heels.

The soles of your feet.

The tops of your feet.

And out to your toes.

Offering gratitude to your legs for the strength and support they provide you.

For allowing for movement.

To sit and to stand.

To walk.

Dance.

Run.

And explore the world around you.

Thanking your feet for the balance they provide to your body.

For literally carrying your weight through life.

One step at a time.

Always moving you forward.

Gratitude for allowing you to connect to the earth.

And to feel supported by the ground beneath you.

Slow breath in.

And a gentle breath out.

Slowly begin to zoom out.

See and feel your entire body,

From your head all the way down through your toes.

This incredible,

Intricate,

Intelligent system of organs,

Tissues,

And cells.

This home that you've lived in from the moment you entered this world.

If there are any parts of your body I didn't mention that you'd like to offer gratitude to,

I invite you to take a minute to do that now.

Gentle breath in.

And slow breath out.

I invite you to bring your hands to your heart,

Or anywhere that feels comforting to you.

I wonder now,

My friend,

Can you feel all the ways your body is supporting you?

Can you feel all the ways in which your body has been holding you,

Carrying you,

Through times of joy and through times of struggle?

In those moments when you may feel like your body is letting you down.

When all you can see is what's not going well.

May this be a reminder to you,

My friend,

Of how hard your body has worked,

Is working,

And will continue to work for you every moment of your life.

Doing its best to help you survive in the environment you're exposing it to.

And in those moments,

Instead of responding with impatience or frustration,

Or simply ignoring its calls,

Could you instead ask the question,

What does my body need to support its healing?

The more often we pause to cultivate present moment awareness and gratitude for our body,

The more naturally those kinder,

Gentler thoughts will come to us when we're in need.

I read a quote online recently,

And although I haven't been able to track down its original source,

I wanted to share it with you here.

It says,

If you switched bodies with the person you loved most for a year,

How would you take care of their mind and body,

Knowing you'd be giving it back to them?

How would you take care of that person you love the most?

Now do that for you.

What did that bring up for you,

I wonder?

May those words remind you to be gentle with yourself.

To love and nourish yourself the way you love and nourish others.

Take one final moment to notice again what it feels like to be in your body.

Noticing whether anything has shifted for you.

Any change in your physical sensations,

Your emotions,

Or your mood.

Know that by practicing even just a few minutes of gratitude daily,

You can completely shift the energy you surround yourself with,

And the energy you bring into the world and to those around you.

One more slow,

Deep breath in.

And a slow,

Steady exhale.

Slowly begin to bring a little movement back into your body.

Perhaps a gentle roll of your shoulders.

A soft sway of your torso or stretch of your arms.

Gently wiggle your fingers and your toes.

And when you feel ready,

Gently blink your eyes open.

Thank you.