Hi,
I'm Ella Mills and welcome to this simple gratitude meditation.
So get yourself comfortable,
You can sit down,
You can lie down,
Whatever feels good.
And then when you find what feels good,
Just gently let your eyes begin to close.
And with our closed eyes start to notice the physical body.
Maybe the sitting bones on the chair.
The points of contact between the feet and the floor.
Maybe there's a rest behind your back and you can gently feel the breath moving in your back against the rest as though your body is being held,
Supported.
Let it sink,
Almost melt.
And as we become aware of the physical body,
Is there anywhere we can soften?
The jaw.
The area around the eyes and the eyebrows,
Can you let those muscles soften?
The whole face is soft.
And let that wash to the crown of the head.
Down the back of your neck into your shoulders.
Your shoulders drop.
As though every breath you take just invites a sense of quiet into the body.
And notice that breath now.
How does it feel?
Just gently let your awareness sit on this steady,
Calm rhythm of your breath.
Maybe you can hear it gently washing in and out your nose.
Feel your chest lift on every inhale.
And then softly fall away on the exhale.
Noticing how your ribs expand and move up and out.
And how they softly move back down on every exhale.
And as we start to invite a little peace,
A little calm into the body,
Can we breathe all the way down into our belly?
Letting the belly be soft.
And just noticing how the whole body moves as you breathe.
Can you let that breath just get a little softer?
And a little slower.
And a little more gentle.
And start to bring the awareness to the breath in your chest.
As though every breath you take there's this sense of opening across the heart space like you're broadening the heart space.
Just notice how that feels as we make a little bit more space around our heart.
And as we keep our awareness on our heart space and the gentle movement of our breath across the chest Can you bring to mind something you feel grateful for from today?
Just a little something?
Maybe a chat you had,
A lovely cup of tea,
Coffee.
Beautiful sun in the sky,
Just a little everyday something.
And let that just set in your mind and your body.
Breathing with a sense of openness.
And just visualizing that little something that you feel grateful for.
Notice how your chest gently rises and falls your heart beating.
This soft opening across the heart space.
And now bringing to mind something in your life.
You feel really grateful for,
Something really good.
Something you really appreciate.
Your home.
Something that's happened for you.
Your childhood,
A pet,
Could be anything.
Something that you really feel special for having.
And let that permeate into the body.
Maybe you can bring a memory involving this just to your mind's eye.
And with this soft,
Slow breath.
This open heart.
Just soak in that feeling of gratitude for whatever it is that means this to you.
Letting your breath be soft and slow.
Your body be soft.
Sense of being held.
Can you next bring to mind a person in your life,
A person you deeply appreciate?
Someone that has brought something special to you.
It could be someone close to you or just someone in your community that brightens up your day.
And as you slowly,
Gently breathe with this sense of openness across the heart Just visualize this person.
This sense of gratitude.
Maybe you notice a warmth in your body.
The softening and relaxing.
And letting that go as you gently shift your attention onto something you appreciate about yourself.
Equality.
Something about you that you do really appreciate.
It could be big,
It could be small.
Really bring it to your mind's eye.
Breathe into this sense of appreciation for you as you are right now.
And let that spread,
Breathing into every cell in your body.
This appreciation for your body,
Your mind.
You just as you are,
Perfectly imperfect.
And with every gentle inhale and every soft exhale.
Let this appreciation,
This acceptance for you just soak in.
Maybe you appreciate your kindness,
Your dependability,
Your sense of humor,
Just whatever it is,
Let yourself feel a total appreciation for you.
And let that feeling expand.
As we breathe with breathing this gratitude for ourselves,
For those around us,
Into every part of ourselves.
A soft opening across the chest.
Like a gentle warmth,
A gentle light of appreciation,
Of gratitude is washing over you This gratitude expands like it's a ripple,
Fills your whole chest,
Washes down your arms,
Your legs,
Your back.
Into the crown of your head.
That it permeate every part of you.
Just taking a moment to rest in this warmth.
This expanded sense of appreciation.
And bring your left hand to your chest and your right hand to your belly.
You may notice your heartbeat.
The subtle rise and fall of your belly.
Gentle lift of your chest.
Breathing into that appreciation.
Let it fill yourself.
And let's take a lovely deep breath together to close so you can drop your palms into your laps.
And take a lovely long inhale through the nose like you're really sinking in to this sense of gratitude,
You're letting it fill the body.
And when you get to the top,
Just pause and open your mouth and sigh it out,
Let it go,
Sink deeper.
Hmm.
And slowly wiggling your fingers and your toes.
Coming back to the room.
And as we close the practice,
Just seeing if you can take a little bit of that appreciation for the little things,
The big things in our lives,
But also for yourself.
Into the rest of the day we're much better often at appreciating things about other people than we are about ourselves and just knowing you can come back to this practice whenever it's helpful.
Have a lovely day and thanks for practicing with me.
