Welcome to this gratitude meditation to cultivate and nourish joy and positive energy.
We will begin and end the practice with a bell.
Let's begin by settling in,
Finding your comfortable seat,
Whether that's on the floor or a cushion or chair.
Most important is that your spine is tall.
We're upright but we're relaxed.
Chin tucked slightly.
Eyes may be closed or you may gaze down.
Hands can be resting on the knees or in your lap.
And first let's take five deep breaths.
Five deep breaths can change our brainwave pattern.
So as you breathe in through your nose,
Notice if your belly is expanding on your inhale.
And as you exhale through mouth or nose,
Allow the belly to deflate.
Inhaling.
Exhaling.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
Two more.
Now let's notice places of tension in the body.
Notice the space between the eyebrows.
Can you soften it?
Feel your teeth and jaw.
Notice if they're clenched.
Can you relax your jaw?
Check in with the shoulders,
Dropping them away from your ears.
So we're sitting upright,
Tall spine.
We're dignified but relaxed.
What is gratitude?
Reflect on that for a moment.
It is the acknowledgement or the recognition or giving thanks to what's going right to all that we have.
Gratitude is the quickest shift to a positive mindset.
Science shows we can't be grateful and negative in our brain at the same time.
Gratitude is a practice of mindfulness but it's also its own practice.
If you practice gratitude every day,
You will get similar benefits to mindfulness.
Your heart even sends a different beat to the brain when we practice gratitude.
It expands our well-being,
Our physical health,
Our immunity,
Our heart health.
There's so much science to the benefits and when we practice it helps us nourish joy,
Cultivate positivity,
Happiness.
So gratitude is part of my morning practice.
Gratitude is the willingness to expand our attention to all that is going right.
We acknowledge to the universe everything that's going right.
We give thanks and the universe gives us back more.
So let's begin our practice.
Tuning into the breath again.
Allow yourself to sink into this moment.
Gratitude for this moment,
This present moment.
It's the only thing we have.
Life doesn't happen outside of this moment.
Tuning your attention to your breath.
Feel the breath coming in through your nose.
Feel the breath as you breathe out.
We're not thinking about the breath.
We're noticing the breath.
We're feeling,
We're sensing.
Let's bring gratitude for our breath.
Our breath is our life force.
The first thing we do when we come into this world is we take an inhale and as we leave this world it is the last thing we do.
We leave on an exhale.
Are you paying attention to your breath?
Let's bring beginner's mind into this practice which is bringing new eyes,
Fresh perspective into the simplest thing.
We're taking 22,
000 breaths a day but how many are you noticing?
On your next breath as we cultivate gratitude for the breath,
Imagine this is your first breath you've ever taken.
What does it feel like to breathe?
What moves in your body as you breathe?
Feel the lungs,
The ribs,
The belly expanding,
Filling with air.
As we exhale notice how the body softens,
Relaxes.
Breathing in we expand,
We fill,
We focus the mind.
Breathing out we surrender,
We relax,
We soften.
Breathe in presence and vitality.
Breath is our nervous system's love language.
When we stop and notice our breath we restore our minds,
We reset.
What if this was your last breath?
Would you notice it?
Gratitude for the breath.
I start my day with gratitude.
Every day after my morning practice I begin to say out loud or I write it down or I just think it.
It doesn't matter.
Just bring the mind to all the good.
Let's practice as we breathe.
Breathing in gratitude for the simplest things.
Maybe it's that you woke up this morning.
Gratitude.
We're all alive.
As long as you're alive anything is possible.
Gratitude for our health.
Gratitude for nature.
For the Sun that warms the world,
Creates the life force of trees.
We breathe in what they breathe out.
We are connected.
Gratitude for the bees,
For the interconnectedness of all of life.
There is no separation.
Now reflect on a moment in time where you felt grateful.
Something good happened.
Connect to the feeling of what it felt like.
Who was there?
Why were you grateful?
We wouldn't be here in this moment without the help of others.
Maybe you're thinking of someone who helped you.
How did it change your life?
Now maybe shifting to gratitude for a person.
Is there someone who helped you?
Mentored you?
Loved you?
Who you connected with?
Who taught you something?
Who listened to you?
As you breathe in,
Bring to mind this person.
Fill yourself with gratitude for the impact they made.
What are you grateful for?
As you breathe,
Begin to reflect.
Can you find the simplest thing to be grateful for?
What are you grateful for?
Can you find something good that happened in the last 12 to 24 hours?
Something small.
Did someone bring you coffee?
Maybe you tasted or savored your favorite meal.
Let's take three more deep breaths in through your nose.
And as you breathe,
Begin to notice your energy.
Notice how you feel when you practice gratitude.
I'm grateful we all shared this moment together,
This stillness.
It may be the one time in your day that you had a moment to breathe,
To be grateful for all that is good.
There are so many people who don't have this opportunity to breathe in peace.
We breathe for them.
And as we close out this practice,
Maybe bring both hands to your heart.
And let's take three more deep breaths together.
Remember,
Joy doesn't make us grateful.
Gratitude brings us joy.
I'm grateful for all of you who showed up and listened.
Sending you so much love.
