This is Janine Tandy,
And welcome into the practice.
Today,
I'll be offering you a form of gratitude practice.
And one of the compelling reasons why I'm drawn to gratitude practices is they allow us to lean into the felt experience of abundance.
So often we focus on what we think is lacking in our lives,
In our relationships,
Or maybe what isn't feeling right in our bodies,
And it can put us into a mindset of feeling impoverished.
And so by redirecting our attention into places within our own self,
Our own bodies that we can have gratitude for,
Creates an interesting new perspective.
So let's begin.
Allow yourself to take a few deeper rounds of purposeful breaths.
So as long as you're not noticing any congestion or illness,
Allow the breath to move in through the nose.
And if needed,
Slowly out through the mouth if a little bit of tension can be released.
Also can help us to feel just a little bit more grounded and present.
And as you take these more attentional breaths,
Where attention is more placed where the breath is,
Invite in a sense of gratitude for the breath,
For your lungs.
Being able to breathe allows us to be here alive in our bodies.
And so often it's something that sits in the background of experience.
But if we're not aware of it,
It's something that sits in the background of experience.
But if we bring this into the foreground and feel into a sense of appreciation for being able to breathe here right now,
That can be quite extraordinary.
Just appreciating the breath and appreciating how our lungs work for us every day,
Every moment,
Every breath.
And now slowly drawing your awareness to your heart space.
As you bring your attention to this area of the body in the upper part of the torso,
You might be able to notice the feeling of the heart beating.
Or it can be just placing your attention in this physical location in the body.
But as you do so,
Just offering gratitude for this incredible organ that beats so many times a minute,
Allowing blood and oxygen to circulate through the body,
Which can allow you to move freely,
To energize the body,
And again,
To allow us to be here in our bodies.
And also how our hearts allow us to feel the expressions deeply of joy and happiness and connection to ourselves and to others.
And that's something to be deeply grateful for.
So just resting in the heart center for a few more breaths.
The center of our internal solar system.
Now slowly drawing your attention to the hands.
However,
They may be resting in the heart center.
So just taking a few deep breaths in the center of the heart for a few slowly drawing your attention to the hands.
However,
They may be resting in the seat you're in or even if you're lying down.
Our hands do so much for us every day,
Whether it's typing at a computer or writing,
Driving,
You know,
Holding on to a cup of coffee or tea.
Our hands allow us to connect through touch to ourselves and to others.
How beautiful that is.
So allow your awareness to rest here and have gratitude for what they do for you.
Another aspect of our physical body that allows for connection.
Or even language if we use our hands in this way for gesturing or for communicating.
Through sign language.
It's holding gratitude for our hands.
And with the next cycle of breath now drawing your attention a little further down the body,
Allowing them to rest to pause where the feet are.
And just as the hands do a lot for us,
So do the feet.
If we have ability in our feet to walk around,
To step,
To run,
To move slowly or quickly,
They allow us to get places.
How amazing that is.
And as I mentioned before,
Often what our feet do for us is more in the background of experience.
Maybe we notice them more if we have injury or if there's been any more significant issue.
And it can be nice to rest in also what they do for us.
Gratitude for our feet.
And slowly draw your awareness now back to the felt experience of breathing here in your body.
Maybe noticing the depth or where the body responds to breath through movement,
Expansion or contraction or feelings of fullness and then emptiness.
One more time connecting to this preciousness of life and gratitude we can have for this important aspect of ourselves.
And as we begin to close this practice,
If it feels right for you,
Maybe placing one or both hands over your heart center as a gesture of connection and of gratitude for all these aspects of our body.
You're just resting here for a moment or so.
Thank you so much for taking time with me here.
Thank you so much for taking time with me here.
I hope this has been a benefit.
Take care.
