Good morning.
This short practice together will hopefully set you up right for your day with feelings of gratitude and a positive outlook.
A concept from positive psychology developed by Sean Aker suggests that making small incremental changes can have a really significant impact on new neural pathways being developed and long-lasting behavioral change.
So if you can do this practice often,
Hopefully each day,
You will start to develop a really heartfelt sense of appreciation for yourself and for your life.
So as I've been talking,
Maybe you've found yourself a comfortable position.
If not,
Feel free to do so now.
You can gently close your eyes and gradually allow yourself to settle and relax.
Letting yourself breathe naturally and noticing all the sensations in your body as you breathe.
With a long,
Slow out-breath,
Let your shoulders relax down,
Allow your jaw to soften and relax and any holding or tension in your body to gradually melt away.
As you relax there,
You could gently bring your mind to something you're grateful for.
It could be a person,
An animal,
A moment or a place or even something simple like the warmth of sunlight on your skin or the comfort of your home.
And as you think of this thing,
Gently hold that image or feeling in your heart.
Let that gratitude grow and expand with each breath.
If you feel drawn to you,
You could even say quietly to yourself,
Thank you,
I am grateful.
If you notice you drift off or get distracted,
That's okay.
Just gently bring yourself back to the breath and back to the feeling of thankfulness.
Let it expand out through your body and beyond you,
Opening your heart and freeing feelings of appreciation and gratitude.
Now extending that gratitude outward for a bit,
Think of someone who has helped you recently or in the past.
Hold them in your heart,
Feel the warmth of it fill your heart and quietly say,
Thank you,
I'm grateful for you.
Take one more deep nourishing breath in and a really releasing breath out.
When you're ready,
Gently bring your awareness back to the space of your body and where it is seated.
Slowly beginning to wiggle your toes and fingers and slowly opening your eyes.
Ready for the day and hopefully carrying these warm feelings of gratitude with you.
