Morning Practice For Gratitude With Meditation, Yoga & Dance

Thank you for taking the time to do this M practice today.

Find a position that is comfortable for you either sitting or lying down.

Start by connecting into how your body feels.

Relax the muscles in your scalp,

Brow and jaw.

Bring a slight smile to your lips.

Release any tension you feel in your body,

Neck,

Torso or legs.

Bring your attention to your breathing.

Focus on your nose and the sensations you feel as you inhale and exhale.

Take a nice deep inhale and as you exhale release any stress or tension you feel.

You can let out a sigh through your mouth as you do this.

Take another deep breath and another.

You can set an intention for today's practice.

To be kind to yourself,

To stay in the moment,

Stay connected to your body and to be grateful for your life.

There are so many beautiful aspects of our life that we can be grateful for,

But often we focus our attention on the negatives.

We tend to overlook or take for granted the good things we already have.

So often we spend time chasing happiness,

Not realising it can be right there in the present moment.

It can be found connecting to the people we are with and the world around us.

Bring to mind one thing that you are grateful for.

This could be a loved one,

The beauty of nature or the wonders of the modern world that make our lives easier.

The simple things we take for granted like shelter,

A hot shower,

A nice meal or the technology that keeps us connected.

It could be the human rights,

Freedoms or privileges that let you live the life you do,

Your health and the incredible way your body works.

Focus on one thing you are grateful for and relish the feeling of appreciation for having this in your life.

Breathe in gratitude and as you breathe out,

Let this feeling resonate in your body.

Now bring to mind another thing you are grateful for.

As you breathe,

Give thanks for having this in your life.

Finally,

Bring a third thing to mind.

And again,

Breathe in and out gratitude for this.

Now take a moment to imagine if these things were no longer in your life.

How would that make you feel?

It can be easy to forget the blessings we do have in our life.

We get distracted by looking for the next thing we want.

But then once we get that,

We move the target even further.

Happiness comes from savouring and appreciating the good things you already have.

You will now do some mindful stretching.

Come to a comfortable cross legged seat.

Bring your attention to your breath.

Inhale and as you exhale,

Let out a long sigh.

Bring your attention to your body.

Root down through your sit bones.

Notice where your body touches the floor and reach your head tall.

Take a minute to appreciate what your body is capable of doing.

Lift your shoulders up to your ears.

Start to make circles as you let your shoulders slide down your back.

Connect to your breath as you repeat two more shoulder circles.

On your next inhale,

Roll your neck gently to the left and make small gentle circles with your neck.

Exhale as you rotate your neck back and inhale as you roll your neck forward.

Repeat this at your own pace as you follow your breath,

Noticing anywhere you may be feeling tension.

Reach your fingertips all the way up to the sky.

Stretch,

Taking a deep breath in through your nose.

As you exhale,

Gently twist to the right.

Left hand comes to the right knee.

Right fingertips come behind you.

Breathe into the twist.

Keep the shoulders relaxed as you return to centre.

Take another big inhale as you reach for the sky again.

And as you exhale,

Twist to the left.

Right hand comes to the left knee.

Left hand behind you.

Take a deep breath in and slowly unravel as you breathe out.

Come forward onto all fours into tabletop position.

Hands under shoulders and knees under hips.

Find a nice neutral spine.

Then inhale,

Drop your belly towards the mat and open your chest forward,

Cow pose.

Art the back gently and lift the head and gaze up.

As you exhale,

Round through your spine into cat pose.

Engage your core by pulling your belly into your spine and bring your head down towards the mat.

Then moving with your breath,

Inhale to drop your belly again into cow and exhale to round your spine,

Navel draws into cat.

One more time,

Inhale,

Cow and then as you exhale,

Cat.

Do this a few more times by yourself.

Inhale back to neutral spine.

Exhale,

Tuck your toes,

Move your hips up and back into downward facing dog.

Inhale,

Steady your hands and push the mat away,

Letting your side body stretch.

Exhale,

Let the head be heavy and soften your shoulders.

Send your tailbone high to the sky.

Inhale,

Soften ankles down.

Exhale,

Deep breath in,

Deep breath out.

On the next inhale,

Engage your core and lift your right leg high,

Three legged dog.

As you exhale,

Bend your right knee,

Stepping your foot in between your hands for crescent lunge.

Align your front knee with your front ankle and lower the back knee to the ground.

On the next inhale,

Sweep your arms overhead and draw the shoulders away from the ears.

Exhale,

Lift your heart up.

Breathe here.

On your exhale,

Bring your palms down to your mat.

Inhale and step your foot back to plank with your weight resting on your arms and your body in a straight line from your shoulders to your ankles.

Exhale,

Bring your hips up and back to downward facing dog.

You can pedal your feet here,

Being mindful of your breath.

Three legged dog,

Second side.

Slide the left leg up into the air.

Keep the hips level.

Take a deep breath in and exhale.

Bend your left knee,

Plant your foot between your hands and lower your back knee down to the mat.

Inhale,

Sweep your hands forward,

Up overhead.

Be fully present with your breath.

Exhale,

Bring your hands forward and down to the mat again.

Come to plank,

Keeping your back straight.

Engage your core and suck your belly in,

Gaze down.

Pigeon pose.

Bring your right foot forward and place it down on the mat behind your left wrist.

Extend the left leg back on the mat with the top of the left foot resting on the mat.

Come up onto your fingertips.

Lift the chest and draw the shoulder blades back.

Stay here or to deepen the pose,

Begin to fold forward,

Keeping the spine lengthened.

Come onto your forearms or rest your head on your palms.

Take a few breaths here.

Gently walk the hands and chest up.

Lift the right leg up and back slowly coming into downward facing dog.

Move your left foot forward and place it on the mat behind the right wrist.

Place your right leg back on the mat.

Walk the torso slightly up and lengthen the tailbone down to the mat.

Stay here or forward fold.

Breathe here.

Gently come out of the pose.

You can now take some time to stretch in a way that feels good to you.

Thank you.

Next,

You will start to move your body in a way that feels good to you and that you enjoy.

This can be done dancing or doing some cardio movements.

During this time,

Try to stay in the moment,

Connected to your body and breath.

Notice how it feels to move your body.

Connect to the music and let the feelings of gratitude you have just cultivated flow through your body.

Start to move your body to the music in a way that feels good to you.

Close your eyes and just move your body.

Let the feelings of gratitude you have just cultivated flow through your body.

Let the feelings of gratitude you have just cultivated flow through your body.

Listen to the music and connect to it.

Let the feelings of gratitude you have just cultivated flow through your body.

Let go of your inhibitions and don't worry about what you look like.

Let the feelings of gratitude you have just cultivated flow through your body.

Let the feelings of gratitude you have just cultivated flow through your body.

Let the feelings of gratitude you have just cultivated flow through your body.

Let the feelings of gratitude you have just cultivated flow through your body.

Let the feelings of gratitude you have just cultivated flow through your body.

Just let loose.

Try and have some fun.

Let the feelings of gratitude you have just cultivated flow through your body.

Let the feelings of gratitude you have just cultivated flow through your body.

Let the feelings of gratitude you have just cultivated flow through your body.

Let the feelings of gratitude you have just cultivated flow through your body.

Let the feelings of gratitude you have just cultivated flow through your body.

Let the feelings of gratitude you have just cultivated flow through your body.

Let the feelings of gratitude you have just cultivated flow through your body.

Let the feelings of gratitude you have just cultivated flow through your body.

Notice how your body feels now.

You may want to set an intention to move your body more this week and notice the difference it makes.

As Carol Walsh said,

Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person's physical,

Emotional and mental states.

Make your way to a seated position on a cushion or chair with your back straight.

You will now do a breath work exercise called Breath of Fire to help energize you.

Start by bringing your attention to your natural breath.

Notice your breath flowing in and out of your nose.

During this exercise,

You will focus on exhaling quickly.

Don't worry about your inhale.

This will come naturally.

Concentrate on quickly exhaling through your nose.

Let's practice this together.

Stop,

Relax and catch your breath.

You will start again breathing in and out of your nose with short strong breaths.

Return to your normal breathing.

You can repeat this breathing technique again if you'd like with shorter,

Faster breaths.

Stop and breathe slowly and naturally.

Notice if you feel more physically energized.

You are coming to the end of today's practice.

If you like,

You can set some intentions or goals for your day or week to come.

This could be making more time for the five M's in your life.

Or working on building a habit of gratitude in your life.

Research shows people with an attitude of gratitude live happier and healthier lives.

And the more you practice gratitude,

The more your brain will look for things you are grateful for.

You can do this by focusing on three things you are grateful for each day.

For the best results,

Try to choose different things each day.

You can write these down in a journal or note and speak them out.

This can be done in the morning when you wake up or before you go to bed at night.

The important thing is that you really savor the feelings of appreciation for having this in your life.

Remember,

As Russell Conwell said,

Your diamonds are not in far distant mountains or in yonder seas.

They are in your own backyard,

If you but dig for them.

When you are ready,

You can bring your attention back to the room.

Notice where your body touches the floor or chair.

Start to make small movements in your body.

Thank yourself for taking this time to practice self-care today.

What you focus on grows,

So remember to focus on the things that are good in your life this week.