We will start by finding a seat and sitting up nice and tall,
Just tucking the spine on top of the sitting bones,
Head and neck resting on top of the spine.
Allow the shoulders to fall away from the ears,
Closing the eyes.
You can gently rest the hands on top of the knees,
Your choice facing the palms down in a gesture of grounding or maybe you would like to face the palms up in a gesture of receiving of surrender.
Start bringing our awareness,
Our attention towards our breath,
Taking a deep inhale and exhale all the way out.
Feel the gentle rise and fall of the belly and of the chest.
We now start to deepen the breath,
Noticing and observing as the breath flows throughout the body,
As it moves in and out of the lungs.
Think of creating more time and space between every inhalation and every exhalation.
As you breathe,
Feel how the heart rate slows down,
How you drop into this present moment and how the mind starts to settle,
Dropping into a tranquil physical,
Emotional and mental state.
Today's meditation is themed around the idea of gratitude.
So I'd like you now to present yourself with this gratitude.
Gratitude for the space you find yourself in.
Gratitude for the time you have created for yourself in this moment.
Gratitude for tapping into this present moment.
Gratitude for the phase of life and the cycle you find yourself in currently.
Maybe the cycle presents itself with challenges along the way.
Showing gratitude to those challenges that you face,
The obstacles you have to overcome.
As you know,
This serves a purpose of inner growth.
And gently,
I'd like you now to repeat these words in your mind.
I am so abundantly grateful for this journey of life.
Grateful for the highs,
Grateful for the lows,
The peaks,
The valleys,
The struggles and the triumphs.
Grateful for the joy and happiness I have cultivated and that flows through me.
Grateful for my body,
Grateful for my breath.
Grateful for the love I receive and the love I get to share.
Grateful for connection and those that surround me.
Grateful for all this world has offered me and for all that I have offered it.
Grateful for the lessons,
The teachings,
The trials,
The tribulations.
Grateful for the mornings as the sun rises and grateful for every sunset.
Grateful for every day that I get to experience in this life.
Grateful for this moment that life has brought me to and the moments that will follow.
I am grateful for it all.
That I get to live the fullest life I possibly can.
Grateful for myself as I have carried myself through.
Just letting those words settle.
Allow yourself once again to become aware of your breath.
Showing appreciation to this vital life force that flows through us.
The connection of breath and body.
The connection of body and mind.
And then just enjoying this moment to simply just be.
Wherever you are in your space,
Enjoying this moment of stillness.
This moment of turning inwards,
Of reflection.
This moment of gratitude.
Then we'll close our practice off by taking three deep breaths together.
Take an inhale through the nose.
And exhale out the nose.
Inhale through the nose.
Exhale out the nose.
One more inhale.
And exhale all the air out.
When you are ready to close your practice,
You can gently bring the palms to touch,
Thumbs towards the center of the chest.
And then just fold the forehead to the fingertips,
Showing appreciation for this practice today.