Gratitude - Contemplative Meditation

This peaceful contemplative meditation led by Dr. Sayiba Aiko is an exquisite mindfulness practice for expressing gratitude. In this contemplative meditation, we begin with a quote by Eckhart Tolle. Then, we engage in breathwork and are led on a guided meditation, where we express gratitude for our body and all its magnificent functions. Soothing music is incorporated to invoke peace, relieve stress, and aid anxiety.

Transcript

Hello, I am Dr. Sayibha Iko, And I will be your contemplative meditation guide for the next 15 minutes. During this time, I invite you to become comfortable, Still, And relaxed. We will begin with a quote to contemplate, Then we'll engage in breath work. I'll guide you on a meditation journey and send you on your way with an affirmation. So let's begin. I invite you to either close your eyes or lower your gaze as you contemplate today's quote by Eckhart Tolle. Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance. Really breathe those words in. Allow them to sit in your body, In your mind, And in your heart. I'll read that twice more. Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance. I'll read that once more. Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance. What arises for me is gratitude. It's a daily practice of mine and brings me so much joy and fulfillment. Being grateful for all the things that sometimes I may take for granted, The automatic functions in my body that I don't have to think about, Blood flow, Oxygen, Eyesight, All the beautiful things that my mother taught me, Strength, How to cook, Keeping a tidy home, Being adopted by my bonus dad at the age of two, Being able to delight in good food that I'm not allergic to. I really love food, And so being able to smell and taste all the things I love and have no aversions to them brings me so much joy. Being able to take small steps daily and accomplish small wins. I'm grateful for all the helpful friends and family in my life, And even for the people I meet that I maybe don't know, But they're willing to be kind, To extend help in some way, Offer directions, Whatever it may be, That perhaps sometimes we think of as little things. Those are the things that I'm very, Very grateful for. I know without them my life would be different, And so I express that gratitude and why I'm grateful for those things daily. So in this moment, I invite you to become a little more comfortable and close your eyes if they are not already closed. You'll engage in the Ujjayi breath, So your tongue will touch the roof of your mouth as you inhale and exhale. And as you're doing this, It will sound like the ocean, So we can also refer to this as ocean breath. And you will breathe slowly and deeply. I'll allow you to do this for a minute. Notice what shifted in your body as you engage in this Ujjayi breath, With the tongue touching the roof of your mouth, Inhaling and exhaling deeply and slowly through your nose, Hearing the sound of the ocean, Allowing your breath to wash over you. Notice how more relaxed perhaps your body feels. So today, We're simply going to express gratitude for our body, Each part of it, Every function, Even the parts that maybe you may not appreciate so much about yourself. Begin to notice as you express gratitude and love for those things, How you begin to see the beauty in yourself and in it all. So returning to a breath that feels good and normal for you, We'll begin at the soles of our feet and work our way all the way to our head, Expressing gratitude. In our mind's eye, You don't have to say these things aloud, But simply notice and send your love and attention to those areas of the body and saying thank you internally for them. We'll begin with a breath, Expressing gratitude for the very life force within us, Right? This breath that allows us to be, To exist. Thank you. And moving on to our toes, Expressing gratitude for each one and how they support in our standing, Our balancing, Our walking. Moving on to our feet, Thanking it for the work it does in supporting the weight of our bodies. And moving on to our ankles, The ability to bend and rotate our feet. Our calves, For the support muscles, The strength within them. Our knees, This bending ability. Allowing us to go from seated to standing. And thanking our thighs, The muscles that support us. Allow us to move, To walk, To run, To jog, To engage in many physical activities. Thank you. Thank you to our pelvis, For all that it allows us to do. Rotating, Dancing. Thank you to our womb space, The seat of creation. Whether we can birth children or not, This is where we create our very life. The things that we desire to see, We hold them in this womb space. Thank you. Thank you to our abdomen and every function within it. Our intestines, Microbiome, Allowing us to digest food. Thank you to every organ that functions within us. Allowing us to be well. Our liver, Our spleen. Thank you. Our gallbladder. Thank you. And perhaps you don't have some of these organs. However, Your body is still performing the functions and allowing you to live. And let's express gratitude for that. Our heart. Pumping oxygen. Allowing our blood to flow throughout our body. Thank you to our lungs. Our chest. Our arms, Elbows, Being able to bend those arms. Our wrists, Being able to rotate our hands. Each finger. Our nails that protect our nail beds. On our fingers and our toes. Our shoulders. Our neck. Throat. Thank you. Allowing us to swallow the very food that we taste. Our ears. Being able to delight in all sorts of wonderful sounds. Our music. Our chin. Our jaw. Our cheeks. Thank you. Our nose. Being able to smell all the wonderful food that we taste. Our tongue. Allowing us to taste said food. Our eyes. Allowing us to see so many beautiful colors. Landscapes. Our forehead. Our eyelashes that protect our eyes. Our brain. And all of the functions. Our right brain, Our left brain, Our amygdala, The neoglan. Our skull, Which protects our brain. Thank you to each and every bone in our body. Supporting us. Our ligaments. Our muscles. Our nerves. Thank you. And our hair throughout our body. Oh, How grateful it is to be able to have these functions, These tools, These abilities within our body. As you're appreciating your body and all of the functions that it performs for you, May you see the beauty in all that is within you. I invite you to take the deepest breath you've taken all day, And when you're ready, Coming back into this space, Opening your eyes. Today's affirmation. I enjoy and express deep appreciation for the beauty of our body. I enjoy and express deep appreciation for all that I have in my life. Let's repeat that three times. I enjoy and express deep appreciation for all that I have in my life. Twice more. I enjoy and express deep appreciation for all that I have in my life. One last time. I enjoy and express deep appreciation for all that I have in my life. I invite you to be mindful, Breathe deep often, And contemplate all the ways you can express gratitude for the abundance you have in your life. Thank you for meditating with me today.