Greetings and welcome to the Why Struggle Podcast.
I'm your host,
Barbara J.
Faison,
And my intention with this podcast is to offer ideas,
Insights,
And inspirations so you can live life better.
Greetings and welcome to 2024,
Week 45,
Still Grateful.
This is an episode about,
Guess what?
Gratitude.
If you're new to the podcast,
Welcome.
And if you listen regularly,
Thank you.
Yes,
I am still grateful.
Several times this year,
And just as recent as a few weeks ago,
I was sharing scientific proof of how gratitude impacts our lives,
And I'm still talking about that.
Last week,
I mentioned that my regular colonoscopy was scheduled for September 26,
And it got canceled due to the hurricane passing through the area.
I completed the scheduled procedure on Friday,
And everything looks good.
So,
I am still grateful.
Allowing myself to find gratitude in all things,
Even what may feel unpleasant,
Really helps me maintain an even,
Steady state of mind.
So,
You know what that means if you've been listening to me for any length of time.
We will do something to practice being in that state of mind.
I'm calling this a thank you practice.
If you'd like to join me,
Please allow yourself to be uninterrupted for the duration of the practice,
Which is about five to six minutes.
If you're driving,
You may listen.
Just keep your eyes open.
Okay,
Let's begin.
Greetings and thank you for joining me for this brief thank you practice.
In this thank you practice,
We're going to allow ourselves to repeat the words thank you over and over,
Like a mantra.
You can keep your eyes open or closed.
It's up to you.
We will begin by taking three deep breaths,
Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Are you ready?
I invite you to place your hands on your body somewhere to remind you of your connection to your body.
Remember,
Our body gets us around and is our mode of transportation while we are here on planet Earth.
Place your hands wherever you'd like on your body.
I ask you to take a deep breath in through the nose with a long exhale out your mouth.
Breathe in and out.
Once again,
A deep breath in through the nose and a long exhale out your mouth.
One final deep breath.
Breathe in and out.
Now begin breathing at your own pace,
Rate,
And rhythm.
Relax your shoulders by taking them up to your ears on the breath in and letting them drop down on the breath out.
Now,
As you breathe at your own pace,
Begin saying thank you out loud.
And after a few times of saying thank you out loud,
Begin repeating the words silently in your mind.
I'll start you off and then I will drift into silence and return shortly to bring you back into the present moment.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
It's time to bring your attention back to the present moment.
You may release saying thank you silently.
Let's take a deep breath in through the nose with a long exhale out the mouth.
Breathe in and out.
Open your arms wide in a stretch and bring them around your body in a big hug.
Begin to move your upper body in a circle from front,
Side,
Back,
Side,
A few times in one direction.
And now in the other direction,
Front,
Side,
Back,
Side.
And let's end by saying thank you body for getting me around planet Earth.
I thank you for joining me for this thank you practice.
Please feel free to leave a comment,
Observation,
Or reflection wherever you're listening.
As you move through the rest of your day,
I hope you will continue using this thank you practice or just saying thank you to stay grounded and grateful.
Until next time,
Be kind to yourself and as my mom would say,
Be sweet.
Thank you and be well.
I notice I feel much lighter in my body when I focus on gratitude.
What about you?
What did you notice?
Leave a comment,
Observation,
Or reflection where you're listening to this podcast.
