Body Gratitude Meditation

A gentle body scan combined with words of gratitude for all parts of your body to reminder yourself for all that it does for you and with you.

Let this be a gentle reminder in the morning to start the day, during the day to get a boost or for a final gratitude practice in the evening. Know that gratitude is a practice like everything else and can build over time.

Music: What really matters - Adi Goldstein

Transcript

So go ahead and find a comfortable position,

Either seated or lying down,

And make sure you're as comfortable as you can be.

So take all the pillows,

Blankets,

Seating cushions that you need and sit or lie down and start to feel the ground underneath you.

Start to feel your back,

Your bum,

Where you're seated or lying,

And feel into where your body feels heaviest,

Which part of you is pressing most into the ground,

And then start softening your face,

The tongue inside your mouth,

And the inside of your ears.

And then we will go one by one through the different body parts and give thanks to those parts.

We'll start with our toes.

So start wiggling your toes a little bit to bring some attention to them,

And then gently slow down and come to a rest.

And they say thank you to your toes.

Thank you toes for giving me balance,

For the ability to have sand run through you on a sunny day on a beach.

Thank you for the ability to grip and point,

And for the possibility to happily wiggle.

Relax your toes a little bit more,

And then bring your attention to your feet.

Gently move your feet,

Bring awareness to them.

Then come to stillness and say thanks to your feet.

Thank your feet for letting me stand strong and upright,

For leaving my footprint on the earth,

For letting me dance through life.

Take a breath,

And bring a little bit more softness and relaxation to your feet.

Bring your attention to your legs.

Gently start moving them a little bit,

Rolling them from side to side.

Feel their heaviness wherever they're resting on,

Then come back to stillness and start thanking your legs.

Thank your legs for the strength to walk,

To run and dance,

To lift and jump,

And to carry me through the day and throughout my whole life.

Take a gentle inhale,

And exhale,

Relax your legs.

And bring your attention to your lower torso.

Gently move that part,

Either from side to side or front and back.

Then come to stillness,

And if it feels right,

Maybe bring your hand to that part,

And then start thanking that part.

Thank your hips for connecting my upper body with my lower extremities.

Thank you for the way that you can wiggle and shake.

Thank you for my reproductive organs,

For the ability to create and bring life into this world.

Thank you bum,

Because it's so nice to be able to sit and ground through you.

Thank you belly,

For holding my organs,

For processing my food to give me energy.

Thank you for holding that place of my intuition and my gut feeling,

The place of my core,

And my strength to move me forward.

Take a gentle inhale,

And exhale that part of your body a little bit more.

Then bring your attention to the upper torso.

Gently move that part,

Maybe from side to side,

And then come to stillness,

And start to thank your upper torso.

Thank you chest,

For being a place to lean on,

To rest heads,

To nurse.

Thank you lungs,

For your ability to take in oxygen.

Take deep breaths that fill me with life energy.

Thank you heart,

For never skipping a beat.

For working day in and day out,

Without a break.

Thank you for being hard for what I long for,

And for showing me the way.

For holding loved ones dear,

And feeling oh so many feelings.

Take a gentle breath into that place,

And relax a little bit more on your exhale.

And bring your attention to your back.

Gently move your back and your spine,

And then start slowing down,

And start thanking your back.

Thank you back,

That you actually have my back,

If I let you.

Thank you spine,

For giving me the courage,

And letting me twist in all different ways.

For letting me move to the music that I love.

Take a gentle inhale into that part,

And relax a little bit more on the exhale.

And bring your attention to your shoulders.

Start moving them.

And slow down that movement,

And start to thank your shoulders.

Thank you shoulders,

For sometimes seemingly carrying the weight of the earth on you.

And thank you for other times,

Having that backpack on you,

That leads me through adventures.

Thank you shoulders,

For allowing a shrug when I don't know,

And a wiggle when I like.

Thank you shoulders,

For letting me dance.

Take a gentle inhale into your shoulders.

And let them relax on the exhale.

And bring your awareness to your arms,

And gently start moving them.

And slow down that movement,

And start thanking your arms.

Thank you arms,

For carrying all those groceries.

And all my important things,

Wherever I need them.

Thank you for carrying children,

Animals.

For hugging my loved ones.

For supporting me through pushups,

And for opening up through sun salutations.

Thank you arms,

For taking whatever wants to be taken in.

Take a gentle inhale into your arms.

And soften them on an exhale.

And bring your attention to your hands.

Gently move your fingers,

And your hands.

And start slowing down that movement.

And begin to thank your hands.

Thank you hands,

For the ability to feel a numerous amount of textures and finesse.

Thank you for the ability to craft and write.

To type and paint.

To caress and touch.

Massage and stroke,

And scratch that itch.

Take a gentle inhale into your hands.

And soften and release on the exhale.

Start bringing awareness to your neck.

Gently move that neck a little bit.

Coming back to stillness.

Start thanking your neck.

Thank your neck for the possibility to connect my head and the rest of my body with each other.

For being the pathway where my food and air comes through.

For holding my Adam's apple,

And my vocal cords.

To make sounds that make me be heard in this world.

Take a gentle in-breath into your neck.

And then relax this part on an exhale.

And last,

But not least.

Bring your attention to your head.

Gently move your head from side to side.

Coming back to stillness.

And then start thanking your head.

Thank your head for holding my brain.

To remember all those things that I need.

And thank you for forgetting the ones I don't.

Thank you for the ability to think and make sense of things.

For driving me nuts sometimes.

And also the ability to find the solution.

To bring me back on my path.

Thank your eyes for showing me what is around me.

For being one of my senses.

Thank you for being able to see beauty.

And for lighting up.

For the ability to direct my gaze to what I want.

And close and protect and rest.

Thank your nose to sense what is cooking.

And detect what is off.

For breathing and calming me down.

Thank your mouth for the ability to taste,

Chew,

Devour in the scrumptiousness of food.

For smiling,

Talking,

Shouting,

Singing and kissing.

Thank your ears for listening and having my balance build into you.

For the ability to hear voices,

Songs and nature.

For giving me a sense of where I am and where others are.

Take a gentle inhale into your whole head and relax that part and exhale.

Then notice your breath and the ground underneath you.

Feel the quality of your inhale and exhale.

Feel that whole body and all its sensations.

And then give thanks to that body.

And then move your body all the parts that we just went through in a way that's pleasurable and nice to you.

And then slowly come to a rest.

And now start to thank that body.

Thank you body for being mine in whatever shape you are.

For having me,

For caring me through life,

Even on the days that are hard.

For dancing with me on those days that are amazing.

Thank you body for telling me with all the signals what you want,

Even though I might not always understand it yet.

Thank you body for letting me learn with you get to know you and understand you better.

So we can make this life worth living.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Reviews

I went on a hike yesterday that included a challenging 2 mile uphill assent up a mountainous butte, so beautiful and the view was worth every step.
Three days shy of my 69th birthday, today I awaken with tired and aching muscles and joints...and stumbled upon this meditation. So grateful to be reminded how glorious a friend and companion this body and all her parts are to me.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.