Morning Gratitude Practice

This Embodied Meditation invites you to move and breathe through a simple, energizing morning ritual that sets the tone for your day. Your blood will be moving, and you’ll be ready to head into what’s next with a sense of deep gratitude for how you’re supported, connected, and alive.

Transcript

Hi,

This is Paige.

At the risk of sounding a little cheesy,

I have truly found it so meaningful to start my day with a clear expression of gratitude.

This feels most profound and in fact most doable when I focus on concrete,

Practical ways that I'm supported.

The tug of the earth's gravity,

The rise and fall of my breath,

And the simple ways my body can respond to both with movement.

Today's embodied meditation weaves all of this together in a gently energizing morning practice that invites you to embody gratitude for the extraordinary experience of being alive.

We'll begin this practice seated and then we'll gently move toward more movement.

So spending some time on our bellies,

Working our way toward a gentle plunge shape.

And so you may want to have a yoga mat or just a supportive place to be.

It could be that you would like a blanket or two or a cushion as a prop and perhaps some yoga blocks or something like that.

And all of this you can completely tailor to where you are and how you're feeling.

If there are times that you want to just sit and imagine some of the movement,

That's of course just fine.

So let's all begin sitting right now.

You might prop up on a blanket or two.

If it feels comfortable to sit in a cross-legged seat,

You can do that.

Take a moment and allow yourself to get settled.

Sitting on whatever you need to feel steady and at ease.

Noticing your points of contact with the ground.

Maybe your feet are touching the ground,

Your hips and your legs.

And begin to let yourself settle into a sense of gratitude for support.

That support represented here by the ultimate support of being held by the earth and its steadfast hug of gravity.

Your body sitting here held by support.

Perhaps this represents a sense of belonging.

Of on some deep level being at home.

Grateful as you sit here for the support beneath you.

Support surrounding you.

Increasingly centered and grounded here.

And within this setting of support,

Allow yourself now also to experience gratitude for connection.

Connection here represented in the concrete example of your breath.

Your body sitting here is very naturally breathing.

That activity of breathing.

Your body exchanging gases with the universe.

Literally breathing in the exhales of trees.

Quintessential expression of relationship and connection.

Grateful for this example of connection.

As you continue to rest into support and breathe into connection.

You might very gently allow your breathing to lengthen.

Just a little bit more luxury in the length of your inhales.

A little bit more resting into the stretch of your exhales.

Nothing forced.

Allowing a natural gentle slowing down of your breath.

Supported and deeply connected.

Allow yourself from here to begin to experience a sense of gratitude for your aliveness.

Express through the vitality you can experience even if subtle by gently moving along your breath.

Start to move now.

You can stay right in the seat you're in.

If that still feels supported.

And as you begin to inhale next,

Just stretch your right arm up alongside your right ear.

Like your fingertips are reaching up toward the sky.

And as you exhale,

Just tip your way over to the left.

You can gently arc the right side of your body.

And then inhale all the way back up through center.

And exhale,

Relax your right arm back down.

And now just very simply the other side.

As you're ready to inhale stretch your left arm up alongside your left ear.

As you exhale a little lean,

A little tilt to the right.

Arcing up and over.

Inhale all the way back up.

Long tall spine.

Exhale your left arm can float down.

And we'll just do that a couple more times.

As you inhale,

Stretch your right arm up.

As you exhale,

Lean gently tip up and over to your left.

Inhale all the way back up.

Gently reaching.

Exhale,

Float your right arm back down.

Inhale,

Left arm up.

Exhale up and over to your right.

Inhale back up.

Exhale,

Float your left arm down.

Once more.

Inhale,

Right arm up.

Exhale up and over to your left.

Inhale full body breaths.

Exhale that right arm floats down.

Last time through right now.

Inhale,

Stretch your left arm up.

Exhale,

Lean gently tilt up and over to your right.

Inhale all the way back up.

Exhale,

Left arm floats down.

And if you're sitting in a cross legged shape,

It might feel nice to simply switch the cross of your legs.

Resettle yourself here.

Let's begin to move just a little bit more from this seated shape still.

Nice and easy.

Dip your right shoulder over towards your left knee and then swirl it over towards your right knee and your left shoulder will circle around and you can come all the way back up to sitting.

So you've just made a big circle with your torso.

Try that again.

Your right shoulder dips down towards your left knee.

Swirl your way over to the right.

Your left shoulder might touch towards your right knee all the way back up.

And you might start to make these little circles on your breath.

So you could inhale as you dip down and exhale as you circle your way back up.

Just drawing big circles with your spine.

Inhaling and exhaling head,

Neck and shoulders and just relax and move along with this.

And then when it just feels natural to you,

Simply reverse the direction of those circles.

So you'll start by dipping your left shoulder towards your right knee,

Your right shoulder circles over towards your left knee,

All the way back up,

Kind of stirring those full torso circles around the other direction.

Nice and slow,

Nice and relaxing.

Another couple of circles like that.

And let yourself just swirl through that gentle movement once more.

I'm feeling your whole body waking up and come back through center.

Let yourself just be still and supported.

And if you like,

Make your way onto your hands and your knees.

You can have your wrists right under your shoulders and your knees right under your hips and we'll move into a little flow moving from a cow stretch where we drop the belly and arch the spine and back into a child's pose where we sink our hips back toward our heels and I'll talk you through that.

So from that hands and knees tabletop shape,

When your body is ready to inhale,

You can let your heart tug forward and your collarbone spread,

Maybe put a little arch in your spine.

And then when you're ready to exhale,

Tuck and round,

Kind of through a little cat tuck,

Sink your hips back towards your heels,

Lengthen and spread through your low back and your entire spine.

And we'll just move like that as you inhale,

Peel your way back up all the way to tabletop and then drop your belly arch your spine.

As you exhale,

Tuck and round sink your hips back towards your heels,

Arms stretch spine lengthens head bows a few more like that.

Inhale to your hands and your knees,

Drop your belly arch your spine.

Exhale,

Tuck and round and sink your hips all the way back to your heels,

Your arms stretch long.

Once more just gliding along your breath,

Inhaling,

Dropping your belly arching your spine,

Letting your heart tug forward and exhale tucking and rounding all the way back to child's pose and just pause back in that sense of support,

Body breathing against the earth.

And we'll add a little bit to this now.

So draw yourself back up to your hands and your knees and then just nice and easy lower your weight all the way onto your belly.

So you might scoot your knees back a little bit,

Come all the way down to your belly.

Your hands can be right beside your chest on either side of your chest.

And then as you feel ready,

Peel up with your chest and your gaze.

So into a cobra pose,

Your hands can stay on the earth,

You just tug your heart forward,

Tailbone stretching back to your feet,

And then bow your head back down to the earth.

You come all the way back down to your belly,

Press back up to your hands and your knees.

And then back to that child's pose,

Sink your hips back towards your heels again.

And that's the sequence.

We'll move like that.

So as you inhale,

Peel back up to your hands and your knees.

As you exhale,

Glide your way all the way down to your belly.

You can scoot your knees back,

You can bow your head down to the earth.

When you're ready to inhale,

Peel up to cobra pose so your heart tugs forward,

Your shoulders can wrap around back and down.

And then exhale bow all the way back down to the ground,

Your forehead can touch your mat.

Inhale,

Press up to your hands and your knees.

Exhale,

Sink your hips back towards your heels,

Child's pose.

Two more times just like that.

Inhale,

Drawing up to your hands and your knees.

Exhale,

Slipping all the way down to your belly.

Inhale,

Cobra pose,

Tug your heart forward,

Roll your shoulders around back and down,

Lift up,

Exhale,

Bow all the way back down to the earth.

Inhale,

Press up through your hands and your knees.

Exhale,

Sink your hips back towards your heels as your arms stretch long child's pose.

One more time through.

Inhale,

Peeling up to your hands and your knees,

Body fully waking up now.

Exhale,

All the way down to your belly.

Inhale,

Peeling your heart forward,

Rolling your shoulders around back and down.

Exhale,

Bowing right back down to the earth,

Forehead to your mat.

Inhale,

Press up through your hands and your knees.

And exhale,

Sink your hips back towards your heels,

Child's pose.

Once again,

Just let your body breathe.

Grateful for the support beneath you.

Grateful for the rise and fall of your breath.

Grateful for your body's vitality and aliveness.

And as you're ready,

You can draw yourself back up to your hands and your knees.

One more bit of movement here to fully step into the day ahead.

So we'll come into a lunge with your right foot.

You can simply step your foot right up in between your hands,

Take your time kind of moving your foot right up there between your hands.

If it's more supportive for you to have your hands on some yoga blocks or on some cushions,

Even a little stack of books sometimes works.

You can just bring the floor a little bit higher that way,

Put your hands on some support.

So you're in this lunge.

If you like,

You can stretch your arms up to the sky or you can just leave your hands on whatever they're touching.

And then let's just gently begin to straighten that front right leg.

So your hips move up and back,

Your hands can move back along with the hips moving back.

So your right leg can straighten,

You might even flex your right foot and draw your toes back and then back into that lunge shape.

So you re-bend into your right knee,

Put your right foot back down on the ground.

And we're just going to toggle back and forth between those two movements of the legs.

So in your lunge shape,

You can inhale if you like,

You can stretch your arms up to the sky,

Kind of a full body awakening shape.

And then as you exhale,

Kind of a bowing in,

Your hands come back down.

If you lifted your arms,

You move your hips up and back as you gently only as much as you would like,

Straighten that front right leg,

Maybe drawing the toes back.

Inhale,

Re-bend into your right knee,

Foot plants,

Maybe arms stretch up to the sky.

Exhale,

If your arms lifted,

Your hands come back down,

Straightening your front right leg,

Moving your hips up and back,

Just bowing in.

And do that one more time.

Inhale back into your lunge,

Maybe stretching your arms up full morning awakening shape and exhale,

Hands come back down,

Hips move up and back,

Your right leg straightens,

Maybe your right foot flexes.

And then back into that lunge,

Hands stay down this time.

Simply step your right knee back to where it started.

So you're back in that tabletop shape.

Recalibrate here,

Let the breath come back into your body.

And we'll do that on the other side.

So step your left foot forward.

It can come right up between your hands and get your bearings there.

And then you can maybe explore stretching your arms up to the sky.

And then bring your arms back down.

If you lifted them,

Plant your hands on something,

The earth,

Some yoga blocks,

Some other support,

Begin to straighten your left leg,

Move your hips up and back.

You might even flex your left foot and draw your toes back.

And then inhale back into your lunge,

Maybe stretching your arms up to the sky,

Body feeling awake and alive.

Exhale as you begin to straighten that front leg,

Your hands come down,

Hips toggle up and back.

Maybe you draw your left toes back.

Inhale back into that lunge shape,

Maybe stretching your arms up,

Just opening up all of your energy.

Exhale,

If you lifted your arms,

Your hands come back down,

Hips move up and back,

Left leg straightening,

Toes maybe drawing back.

Move through that one more time.

Inhale back into that lunge shape,

Maybe your arms reaching up toward the sun.

And as you exhale,

Hands come down,

Left leg straightens,

Hips move up and back,

Maybe that left foot flexes bowing in.

And then back into your lunge,

Your hands stay down this time.

Step your front knee back to meet your back knee,

So you're back in a tabletop shape.

And once more,

Sink your hips back towards your heels for a child's pose.

You can have your big toes touching and your knees spreading a little bit wide,

Then your torso can just rest in between your thighs.

You could also have your thighs together if that feels like a better version of the shape for you this morning.

Arms stretching long,

Brain bowing toward the earth,

Feeling supported,

Feeling connected,

Feeling alive.

And as you're ready,

We'll make our way back to where we started,

Back to a comfortable seat.

So again,

That could be cross legged.

You could be sitting on your heels,

You can have some support beneath your hips.

Take in how your body's doing now.

Just another few breaths here,

Grateful for the earth supporting you.

Grateful for the full body connection of your breath moving in and out.

Grateful for the subtle sensation of vitality,

Of being alive.

I hope you can carry all of this with you into your day and out into the world.

Thank you so much for making this time to practice and I look forward to being with you again soon.

Reviews

Another gem !!! Thank you so much, Paige !!! Grateful 💫🙏🏻

feeling grateful and energized, thank you! 🌞

So grateful for Paige and Insight Timer. Wonderful practice. Namaste.

When I lived in Asheville, Paige’s classes were one of my favorite things. Starting the day is this way is such a delight; thank you Paige! ❤️✨🙏

☀️

Thank you for this fully guided poses and stretches and gentle music to wake fully to the day. Thank you for sharing! 😊🙏🏻

Thank you Paige.

Thank you for this easy movement into my day. With the cold weather returning, it’s been hard for me to get going out of my warm and comfortable bed, but this was the nice, gentle nudge I needed to get me going. I took time for affirmations with Jan Russell first and followed with this….a wonderful combination! Blessings 🙏

Lovely voice and excellent guidance into each pose🙏🏼

Lovely morning practice!

Good combination of meditation, movement, and gratitude. Great way to start the day.

Namaste!

That was lovely ♥️

Perfect morning wake up. Thank you!

As always so lovely and grounding! Thank you 🙏

How wonderful to begin my sleep to your new 7 minute sleep track, and begin the new day with this new gratitude track from you!

Since becoming "empty nesters," my husband and I take a winter trip to Asheville and the surrounding area for an extended weekend, sometimes a week. We opt for AirBnBs or similar, usually in or near the mountains (I'm a mountain/forest raised gal).

As I settled into this practice, tears of joy and gratitude pricked my eyes as I heard you say we are breathing in the exhalation of the trees. So very true! My mind had already taken me to the mountainside cabin where we stayed near Bryson City this past season, looking out of the log cabin at the sun rising with mists and clouds swirling between the peaks and trees, first rays of sunlight glinting on the frosted but still vibrant leaves soon to fall.

I have spoken with trees my entire life, but sometimes even I overlook them when life gets busy. As a child, I wanted to be an astronaut or astrophysicist and so my gaze rested firmly on the stars above - but the trees were always there to frame my view and provide that most necessary point of origin and connection to where I was in relation to the universe.

I have long told my clients, colleagues, friends, and family that we are all literally made up of the hearts of stars. The elements that form our bodies once radiated heat and light and warmth stretching light-years across the galaxy. How marvelous a thought, that the trees, too, are made up of the stuff of stars. Their breath is our breath. Their physical matter is our physical matter. In exchanging our breath, we are reuniting, perhaps for the first time since we were all radiant stars together.

Beautiful practice, Paige. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your practices and insight here on Insight Timer. I was in a less than optimal place this morning when I awoke, but after this, my heart is content, I am at peace, and I am smiling. (And I just made one of those images from our last trip into my phone wallpaper to remind me of this precious time as the day progresses.)

Thank you again. I see you and the light within you. Be well. 🤲🏻❤🤲🏻