A warm welcome to you.
In today's meditation we shall turn our awareness to the powerful practice of gratitude.
In particular we shall focus our sense of gratitude towards what is simple yet so real and enduring.
The steady rhythm of our breath and the beating of our hearts.
So let's begin by settling into a comfortable position.
And as you close down your eyes can you begin to be curious about your breath.
The way it moves in and out of your body.
The feel of the air as it enters your nose.
The feel of air as it leaves your mouth.
Noticing how perfectly your chest rises and falls as you breathe.
Noticing how perfectly your belly expands and contracts with the flow of air.
Noticing how so many parts of your body come together in this shared act of breath.
Your breath.
So complex yet so simple.
Resting here in the gentle ebb and flow of your breath.
If thoughts come that's perfectly okay.
Just offer them a smile and come back to the ebb and flow of your breath.
Just as the tide washes over the sand your breath washes over you.
Noticing now that your body breathes on its own.
That you are being breathed.
Surrendering into this idea of being breathed a little more now.
With each breath we are offered the gift of life.
Taking a nice deep breath into a felt sense of gratitude for your breath.
Your life force.
Your breath providing oxygen and nutrients to your body so that you can walk,
Move,
Eat,
Sleep,
See,
Hear,
Taste,
Smell,
Love and learn.
Feeling grateful also for your breath's ability to soothe and relax you.
Enjoying one deep intentional breath together now and relaxing.
Relaxing across your eyes,
Your cheeks,
Your jaw.
Relaxing across your shoulders,
Your stomach.
Letting your legs relax.
Your arms fall heavy by your sides.
And gently drawing your awareness now to your heart.
Offering your heart a few deep grateful breaths now.
You may even like to place your hand on or near your heart.
Can you feel your heart beating?
With each heartbeat you are being given the gift of life.
Connecting with your heart that loves,
That forgives.
Your heart that breaks and heals.
Resting here in the safety of your heartbeat.
In the infinite capacity of your heart to feel and enrich your life.
In your heart's capacity for pleasure,
For joy,
For happiness.
Noticing any sense of warmth,
Of relaxation or openness that may emerge as you connect with your heart in this way.
Breathing in gratitude.
Breathing out gratitude.
When you are ready,
Beginning to bring your awareness back into the space you are in.
There is no hurry.
When life is busy and stressful,
When we experience overwhelm,
We can always pause and take a moment to connect to our breath and to our beating hearts.
And to feel gratitude for them both.
May you move through your days with a sense of gratitude.
May you move through your days with a sense of gratitude.
