Welcome to this meditation,
An invitation to gently come back to yourself.
Come to find a comfortable seated position.
Gently allowing your gaze to soften,
Bringing your eyes to close.
Reach the crown of your head upwards,
Lengthening through your spine.
Drop your shoulders away from your ears,
Opening through your heart,
And allow your hands to rest gently in your lap or on your knees.
Find stillness turning inward and quiet your mind.
Bring your awareness to your breath,
Without changing it,
Just noticing the natural rhythm as it moves through your body.
If it feels comfortable,
Begin to deepen your inhale through the nose,
Allowing the breath to expand through the belly,
The ribs,
And the chest.
Gently exhale,
Softening the chest,
The ribs,
And the belly.
Again,
A slow,
Steady inhale,
And a soft,
Easy exhale.
One more breath like this,
At your own pace.
Allow your breath to return to its natural rhythm.
From here,
We'll begin to shift our awareness toward a sense of gratitude.
Bring your awareness to your heart space.
Begin by noticing anything in your experience that feels steady or quietly supportive.
There's no need to search,
Just allowing something simple to come to mind that you're grateful for.
A person,
A moment,
Or even a small sense of ease.
As you hold this in your awareness,
Notice what you feel in your body,
Perhaps a warmth,
A softening,
Or something more subtle.
Let yourself stay with that feeling.
And from here,
Allow that sense of appreciation to gently expand,
Noticing the breath moving in and out,
The life within you in this moment,
The support beneath your body,
There's nothing you need to name or define,
Just rest in the feeling as it's here for you.
Take some time now to sit quietly,
Holding space for your own experience of gratitude.
I'll bring you back in a few moments.
Begin to bring your awareness back to your breath,
Noticing the natural rhythm of your inhale and exhale,
Gently becoming aware of your body and the space around you,
Noticing any sounds in your surroundings,
The temperature of the air on your skin.
Begin to invite small movements into the body,
Perhaps wiggling the fingers,
The toes,
Rolling the shoulders,
Or moving in a way that feels natural to you.
Take a slow,
Steady breath in,
And a soft,
Gentle breath out.
When you're ready,
Gently open your eyes,
Take a moment to notice how you feel,
And know that you can come back to this sense of gratitude at any time during your day.
May you carry peace with you wherever you go.
Thank you for listening.
