So in this meditation we're going to practice appreciation of the body,
Saying thank you to the body for its service to us,
How it helps us every day.
Let's begin by sitting with kindness,
So sitting first of all in a way that is relatively upright and open,
That conveys a sense of dignity and poise,
But also letting go of any unnecessary tensions in the body,
Letting there be a little softness,
Letting the eyes be soft and letting there be a sense of warmth in the eyes,
Even though your eyes are closed you can still have the kind of warmth that exists in the eyes,
That exists in your gaze when you're looking with fondness,
And letting those same qualities of warmth and appreciation find their way into the way you're regarding your own being right now,
So you're observing the body with warmth,
The rise and fall of the breathing,
And aware that this body has been breathing for us since the moment we were born,
And is going to keep breathing day and night,
Whether you're aware of it or not,
Until your last breath,
So as you are observing the breathing,
This breathing that the body does for you,
Just say thank you,
You can say them in your mind,
But really clearly articulate those words,
Thank you,
Seeing if you can notice the heartbeat,
Feel the warmth in the heart,
And the heart has been beating since even before you started breathing,
Day and night,
All through your life,
Sending life and warmth and nourishment into the entire body,
So just appreciating that your body does this for you,
And saying thank you to your heart,
And you can be aware of the feet and the legs that help you get around,
And they don't get a lot of appreciation,
We take them for granted,
And if the feet or the legs hurt,
Perhaps because you've been walking a lot or standing a lot,
You might not feel very appreciative of them,
You might even curse them,
But the feet or the legs hurting isn't exactly their fault,
Isn't exactly their fault,
All that pain or discomfort is just your body trying to heal itself,
So even if there's pain,
Tension,
Inflammation in any part of the body,
You can still say thank you,
You can say thank you to that part of the body for what it does for you,
And you can thank it for trying to heal itself,
You can do the same with the arms and the hands,
In fact you can just sit for the next few minutes until the bell rings,
And just thank whichever part of the body you happen to be taking your attention to,
So just continuing to express gratitude to the body until you hear the bell.
