Let's celebrate you today.
Celebration is a term that is used to honor and commemorate something special,
Maybe a person or event.
In our society,
It's popular to celebrate birthdays,
Anniversaries,
Graduations,
And weddings.
But it made me wonder why celebrating is only worthy at specific times or specific events and milestones.
Maybe if we celebrated smaller things more often,
That could promote more love and joy.
There is something called glimmers that I have heard of over the last few years.
It's a term used to define different things that are small celebrations and wins.
It's having the feeling of gratitude for the blessings in your life,
But actually looking for the glimmers is a little more intentional.
You don't need to have a big party with all the trimmings to celebrate glimmers.
It's simple.
Just be present,
Check in with your awareness,
And then have the acknowledgement.
You don't even need the people.
You can do this all on your own.
We are in a glimmer right now,
Celebrating this moment that you are experiencing.
You are meditating.
You are taking time for yourself.
You deserve this today and every day.
And I'm very proud of you for showing up.
Let me tell you a story about one of my first glimmers.
The first time I ever attended a public yoga class,
I was so nervous.
And in the last minute,
My friend that was supposed to come with me had backed out,
So I went alone.
After the class,
I was feeling so proud of myself that I decided I was going to celebrate this small glimmer.
Not only did I feel good physically from actual yoga,
But I wanted to give myself that pat on the back for doing something by myself.
So I stopped for a smoothie on the way home.
These are the things I don't feel that we do enough of for ourselves.
We are taught that this kind of behavior is selfish on some level.
So I think this is a good way to start to debunk that myth and practice celebrating the present moment,
Whatever that moment is.
As we head into our meditation,
I want to talk to you about gratitude.
Gratitude is an easy way to help us remember to celebrate these small glimmers.
There are different forms of gratitude,
But the one I want to focus on today we call gratitude in.
This is gratitude for yourself,
For being thankful just for you,
Your amazing gifts that you give to the world,
And your accomplishments.
This kind of gratitude is a celebration of you and each moment that you are in.
It is about shifting the perspective from old patterns,
Beliefs,
And ways of being into a new mindset that will help you to release this stuff and create space for new.
Practicing to identify things that you are grateful and appreciate about yourself,
Your gifts,
Your talents,
Your accomplishments,
Your milestones.
It is important.
But it can be hard to give yourself kudos or that pat on the back because you're just simply not used to it.
When we identify these moments and celebrate them for ourselves,
We can begin to cultivate a practice daily in a variety of ways.
And it comes with these benefits,
Lessening depression,
Fatigue,
And burnout,
Along with improving our resilience,
Our physical and emotional health,
And increasing our level of joy and happiness just for being us.
You can write it down,
You can say it out loud,
And you can even share with your friends and family.
These practices will allow the energy of gratitude to move through you and give you the opportunity to observe how it feels in your body.
The more gratitude that you express,
The more happiness you will begin to feel,
And this will grow the joy in your being.
The somatic effect on your nervous system will be positive and you will begin to notice subtle changes.
So let's begin our practice together by getting into a comfortable position,
Either sitting or lying down.
You might have a soft gaze towards the ground or even close your eyes,
Making any adjustments that you need so that you can feel comfortable,
Alert,
And relaxed.
Bring your attention to your breath.
Notice the sensations of every inhale through the nose,
Throat,
And lungs,
And every exhale through the lungs,
Throat,
And nose.
You may begin to breathe deeply from your belly,
Staying present with each breath and gently noticing how the breath becomes the life force energy.
I invite you to take a few rounds of breath in this way,
Start to cultivate your own rhythm and pace,
Breathing in deeply and exhaling completely.
Allow each breath to be a quiet celebration of you in this moment.
Feel the warmth and the relaxation spread across your body as you melt further and deeper into this space.
Let's take a moment to briefly scan from the top of our head down to our toes,
Softening and relaxing any parts that we're still holding,
Noticing any movements or physical abilities that you might appreciate,
And becoming aware of the places where you might be holding some tension or feel some tightness and soreness,
Bringing love and compassion to all the parts.
In here,
I invite you to say a silent thank you in your mind,
A thank you for your breath,
A thank you for this moment,
A thank you for your physical body,
And a thank you for your heart.
Really allowing yourself to lean into the celebration of this moment of your body and the peace.
And if your mind starts to wander,
Bring your attention back to your breath,
Noticing the body and how it hums with love and appreciation for this pause,
For this kindness and gratitude that you are showing it.
Keep coming back to that,
Taking a deep breath in and a long breath out together.
Let's imagine a circle being drawn about a mile wide and all around in the space that you currently are sitting or lying.
Bring your attention to everything within the circle.
Noticing the glimmers,
The small celebrations and winds.
Maybe it's simply nature or the softness of your bed or your chair.
Maybe it's your pets or animals that are nearby or loved ones in your space.
What glimmers are you noticing here?
And now we'll take another deep breath in together through the nose.
And maybe on this exhale,
Release that breath through the mouth,
Allowing yourself to sink deeper into relaxation.
And let's let that circle become a little bigger.
Imagine yourself in relationship to the entire world.
See yourself in the corner of the world,
The corner that is yours.
It may feel small compared to everything and everyone on the planet.
Recognize here how significant you are as a part of this beauty.
Acknowledge this present moment and the glimmers.
And maybe more glimmers arise as your circle gets larger.
And you lean into the feeling of appreciation and gratitude for the world around you.
And if it feels a little hard or difficult to find a glimmer in this moment,
Come back to your breath.
Come back to your heartbeat.
Come back to this quiet moment.
As the glimmers are still lingering in your mind,
No matter how,
Feel how this feels for you right now in this moment.
We'll take one last breath in here together.
And maybe let this one out with a sigh.
I would love for you to remember this feeling and sensation that there's so much greatness in your life right now.
No matter the challenges and no matter how you might feel today,
Remember you are surrounded by infinite blessings.
And taking this time in this quiet space can be a gentle reminder.
You are connected to it all.
You are a part of it all.
Sitting in appreciation of the present moment is a small magical celebration in itself.
Allow yourself to begin to come back into this space.
Maybe finding some movement through the hands and the feet.
And gently opening your eyes.
I invite you to write all that you are feeling in this celebration of taking this time to be fully present.
Making a note of our glimmers and writing down what we are grateful for is another way to express gratitude.
And then extend that to writing down one or two things that you will do for yourself in the next day or so to celebrate this accomplishment.
Even if it's a simple thank you.
Or maybe you want to hop in your car and grab a smoothie.
Taking this time each day or throughout the day is special and beautiful.
I hope that you will allow yourself the space to celebrate your glimmers as they arise.
I know in my own practice,
Glimmers have become a part of my daily life.
And the days when it's tough and it feels like everything is going wrong.
I can simply notice when I get a smile on my own face for no other reason than a butterfly flying by.
Or when my dog does something funny like chasing a squirrel through the yard.
It brings me back to this moment of celebration.
And I hope that you can celebrate that moment as well.
Thank you so much for meditating with me today.
Namaste.
