This is a gratitude practice.
Practicing gratitude has many benefits.
Our brain tends to have a negative bias which evolved to keep us alive and by practicing gratitude we can shift the focus of the brain on the positive and then reinforce it with habit and practice.
Practicing gratitude also has other benefits.
Physical benefits.
It produces dopamine which is a natural high.
It alleviates physical pain.
It reduces blood pressure by as much as 10%.
It improves our resilience to trauma and stressful events.
So let's begin.
Just take a comfortable seat with your spine nice and straight but also soft so let your shoulders relax.
Let your muscles soften up.
Put your feet flat on the floor and just relax your hands on your lap or on the chair.
And you can close your eyes if you want to.
Now this is your time.
This is your treat.
There is nothing else you need to do.
There is nothing that you need to achieve.
There is nothing that you need to plan.
This is your time to just be.
Enjoy this time.
So let's become aware of the sensations of breathing.
The physical sensations.
Feeling the air around your nostrils going in and then coming out.
Going into your nose and down the back of your throat.
And feeling your body expanding and relaxing.
Your body rising and falling with the breath.
And see how much of this cycle of breathing you can follow with your mind.
The in-breath.
The little gap at the top and then the out-breath.
And another little gap at the bottom.
And the next in-breath.
And if it helps you,
You could count your breaths.
Counting one on the in-breath,
Two on the out-breath,
Three on the next in-breath and four on the next out-breath and so on all the way up to ten.
And then start again if you want.
And of course your mind will take you away at some point and it will take you to thoughts,
Ideas,
Images,
Words,
Plans or memories.
And this is absolutely fine.
Be compassionate with yourself,
Be gentle with yourself and actually be proud because if you have noticed then you have become aware.
And this is what it's all about.
And then come back to the practice.
Come back to yourself.
Come back to being with your experience.
This is all valuable practice.
This is how new habits are formed.
By repetition.
Time after time after time.
You are doing it right.
Keep at it.
So let's start this gratitude practice with something small,
Something simple.
It could be the sense of comfort from the chair that you're sitting on.
The fact that it is supporting you.
Can you feel that support?
And you can relax into that support.
There's no need to hold yourself together.
You can just let go and let your weight sink into it.
Or it could be the fact that you've made time in your busy life to just be,
To appreciate your experience,
To do this practice for your wellbeing.
Let that gratitude slowly fill you up,
Enter your mind,
Enter your body.
And then you could bring to mind someone who has enhanced your life in any way,
Any small way.
It could be a bus driver,
It could be a shopkeeper,
It could be the author of a book you're reading now,
It could be the host of a podcast.
Someone,
Anyone who has produced some work which had an impact on your life.
And again,
Allow yourself to feel that gratitude,
Feel that appreciation.
This is something that didn't need to happen,
But it did happen and it did enter your life.
How wonderful.
Allow yourself to feel that,
To enjoy that.
And then think about material things that make your life better.
Tools like your computer,
Like your phone.
It could be something that you use for work.
It could be something that you use at home.
A washing machine,
A dishwasher,
A hoover.
What do you use every day?
A kettle.
Again,
This is something that didn't need to be there,
But it is so why take it for granted?
Let's appreciate this and just allow yourself to feel that warmth.
And now let's think about someone that you care about.
Maybe someone close to you.
What do you love about them?
Why do you love them?
What do you share?
Which experiences have you shared?
What role do they play in your life?
And as you think about them,
What feelings are you experiencing?
And where do you feel them in the body?
Are they around your heart area?
Are they around your belly?
Are you aware of any warmth or maybe tingling?
Where do you feel these emotions in your body?
And again,
Allow them to fill you up and allow yourself to appreciate them.
And what has happened today which was good?
Did you have a nice breakfast or a nice lunch?
Maybe it was easy to drive to work.
Maybe the traffic lights were green.
Did you have a meaningful interaction with your cat or your dog?
Did they give you love?
Did they make you laugh?
Or are you just feeling okay today?
What is there that doesn't need to be there but it is and that you can celebrate?
What are you grateful for?
And allow yourself to rest in this experience,
To relax in this experience,
To soak it up.
Like a warm bath,
This is all for you.
And of course there might be challenges,
Big or small,
In your life.
But what are these challenges bringing you?
What are they doing for you?
What are you learning?
In what ways are you developing?
In what ways are you becoming aware of your strength and your potential through these challenges?
How are they changing you?
And can you be grateful for this?
The growth,
The challenges are producing for you.
And just consider how strong you are.
Throughout your whole life,
All you've been going through,
All the pain,
All the grief,
All the sorrow,
You have been so strong.
All of the tears and you're still going through each day,
Even when it's hard,
Even when it's difficult,
Even when you think that you can't,
You can and you do.
This is the strength you have.
Are you grateful for this strength?
And what about everything you have?
All this abundance of love around you.
Of people,
Of papers,
Of growth,
Of expansion,
Of learning.
The understanding that you are gaining.
The love that you feel.
The people that you talk to and the empathy that you feel for them.
All of this wonderful developing as a person.
Feel that.
Celebrate it.
Celebrate yourself.
Celebrate your life.
Allow yourself to feel the gratitude for who you are,
The wonderful person that you are.
And the relationships that you have in your life.
And the material things as well that you have.
Things that you might have worked hard to attain.
Or things that just happened to come your way as a surprise.
Gifts from people or gifts from life.
If we don't take these things for granted then we can really allow ourselves to feel the gratitude.
And where do you feel it in your body?
Is it around your heart?
Is it warmth in your face,
In your hands?
Is it warmth around your belly?
Where is the gratitude and what does it feel like?
And again allow yourself to soak it up.
Allow yourself to relax into it.
This is your boon.
This is your treat.
This is all for yourself.
Bask in it.
And then become aware of your breath again.
This breath which is always there,
Always giving your life,
Moment after moment after moment and which you can enjoy if you let yourself.
Become aware again of the sensations of breathing in,
Breathing out.
Your body sat on the chair,
Relaxed,
Breathing,
Present,
Full of life,
Full of so many sensations.
And the space around you,
The sounds around you,
The smells around you,
Anything that you can touch around you,
The clothes on your skin,
Your hands on your lap,
The contact with the chair,
The support from the chair,
The support from the floor,
This feeling of being grounded,
Safe,
Secure,
Being able to relax.
And when you are ready you can start wiggling your toes and wiggling your fingers and enjoying that.
You have toes to wiggle,
You have fingers to wiggle.
And then have a little stretch and enjoy that as well.
And when you are ready open your eyes and enjoy the view.
