Gratitude is simple,
It's the act of noticing.
Welcome to Coached by Nikki Dyer.
So we begin by easing your body into a neutral position that feels right for you.
Gently close your eyes if they aren't already.
As you start to feel yourself in the empty space around you,
Take a deep inhale through the nose,
And exhale as you let the breath go.
In this moment,
I'd like to invite you to take your hands and place one over your heart and one on your belly,
And just take a pause to feel and experience this moment in time.
Feel the warmth of your own touch.
Feel the gentle pressure of your hands resting.
Feel the support your body provides for your hands.
Taking a few deep breath cycles,
In and out,
With your eyes still gently closed.
Noticing how the breath anchors you deeper into this moment with every exhale.
Breathing in through the nose,
And hold the breath here at the top,
As your anchor digs in a little deeper still with your next exhale.
Continuing to breathe gently in waves,
Imagine the lungs as two bubbles of air,
Stretching and expanding with your inward breath.
And as you hold your breath at the top,
Focus on the pause.
Can you feel how everything stops for just a second,
Creating more space around your heart with every exhale,
Releasing thoughts or pressures along with the out-breath,
Feeling your body becoming heavier and sinking deeper into relaxation.
And with your hands still gently resting,
With one over your heart and one on your belly,
As you hold yourself in this moment,
Showing up powerfully and purposefully in this way,
I want you to begin to bring to your mind something that you are grateful for today.
It doesn't have to be grand,
Really,
Or anything significant.
Maybe you are grateful for this quiet moment,
To just be.
Or an earlier time,
When someone showed you kindness.
Or maybe you are just feeling gratitude for existing,
For having two hands to place on a healthy body.
Take whatever you are grateful for and hold that feeling deep in your chest as you hold yourself and really allow yourself to savor it.
To feel safety within gratitude.
Allowing a smile to come across your face if it feels natural.
Staying present in this feeling as you pause.
Can you feel the energy you just created?
Quiet minds are full of answers.
Purposeful moments placed within your day,
So silent,
That you can hear yourself living.
Being with gratitude in this way sends a signal.
A beacon of light shining from your soul out into the world around you,
That you know the things you desire are on their way.
It's always almost when you least expect it,
That things begin to fall into place.
Those moments when you look around,
You pause and realize that whatever leaves is making space for what is about to arrive.
The moments of unhappiness and complacency force your hand into making a move.
How the moments of silence allow you to hear the gentle whispers of guidance.
The feeling of being unsettled keeps you seeking.
The end always ushers in a new beginning.
The doors that close turn you toward the ones that open.
The lessons are always leading the way.
I invite you to consider that perhaps happiness is never about a job,
A relationship,
Or the way your life looks.
It's never about being like the others,
Or fitting into the mold.
One day you are going to see that true happiness has always been about the breadcrumbs of gratitude hidden in the ordinary.
The ability to listen to your heart and follow it wherever it chooses to go.
To be kinder and more loving to yourself.
To understand that the things surrounding you are the same things you choose for yourself to be surrounded by.
To experience.
Happiness doesn't lie in the hands of others.
It is always in the hands of you.
Expressing gratitude is an important part of finding true happiness.
In being grateful for the smallest,
Most mundane moments of life.
And how you almost don't even notice them,
Until you do.
Choosing to be present enough to see them is a choice.
Gratitude is simple.
It's the act of noticing.
Take a deep breath in.
Feeling how everything stops for just a second.
And exhale,
Releasing anything that you no longer feel the need to carry.
Feeling how it created more space around your heart.
Feel the inner peace that lives inside of you.
Begin to bring some gentle movement back into your body.
Roll your shoulders.
And when you feel ready,
Open your eyes.
