Hello beautiful one.
Go ahead and get yourself into a comfortable position where you won't be disturbed for a little while.
Where you can feel relaxed and easy.
Sitting with your legs crossed or in a chair with your head,
Neck and spine straight.
Or really in any position that you can feel comfortable yet alert.
And begin by bringing some attention to your breath.
Don't feel like you have to change it in any way.
Just notice it.
Notice where you find it in your body.
Perhaps you notice the coolness on the inhale in your nostrils and how it's a little warmer in your nostrils as you breathe out.
Or perhaps you can find it in the rise and the fall of your belly.
Maybe even placing a hand so that you can feel the rise and the fall of your belly as you breathe.
And as you bring this mindful awareness to your breath,
Focusing on the inhalation so that when you breathe in,
You're aware that you're breathing in.
And when you breathe out,
You're aware that you're breathing out.
And if you notice that your mind travels to thoughts or to-do lists,
That's okay.
Just with gentle curiosity,
Notice what your mind went on thinking about and bring it back to the awareness of your breath.
You might notice the quality of your breathing.
Is it deep and slow or shallow and quick?
Being curious about what it's like to breathe and bringing in some feelings of gratitude for the very act of breathing.
Most of the time we take it for granted.
And so sending some thanks to your lungs and your belly for this simple act of breathing.
And as you allow the awareness of your breath to fade into the background now,
Bring your awareness from the moment to the sounds around you.
The sound of my voice,
The sound of the music,
Any sounds in the environment around you,
Allowing the sounds to wash over you.
Many times our mind likes to be curious about the sounds that we're hearing.
And if you notice that your mind wants to do that,
Just thank it for being so curious.
And just allow the sounds to come and go,
To wash over you.
Perhaps thanking your ears for being able to process and hear the sounds.
Allowing the awareness of the sounds to fade into the background.
Bring some awareness to your body now.
Noticing any physical sensations that might be calling for your attention.
Maybe there's a part of you that would like to move or adjust.
Or maybe there's an itch that you'd like to scratch.
Just noticing the soles of your feet,
Your bottom as it rests in the chair or whatever you're sitting or lying upon.
Your fingers,
The palms of your hands,
The top of your head.
Getting a general idea about how your body is feeling physically today and without trying to change anything.
Just allowing whatever's coming up to be there.
Gentle curiosity,
Being that observer of your body and allowing the awareness now of your body to fade into the background.
And bringing your awareness to your mind.
The practice of gratitude when done correctly can really make a very big difference in our overall well-being.
It's not just enough to bring to mind or to write down or say things for which we are grateful.
We need to actually tap in to the warm feelings of gratitude.
So right now,
Bring someone or something for whom you are genuinely grateful.
Bringing that person or that being or that thing perhaps a pet or something material as well.
Bring it to mind and notice what sorts of physical sensations come up for you as well as emotions.
Sometimes it can help to put your hand on your heart or your cheek so that you can feel more deeply the gratitude,
The love,
The caring,
The warmth.
Sometimes people will tell me that this is difficult and that's okay.
It can also be to be helpful to look for times in your memory when you remember feeling grateful for something.
Perhaps it took you by surprise and you remember the warm feelings rushing over you.
So it's okay to go back into a memory and bring up that feeling of gratitude.
And then while that memory,
That thought is there,
Can bring in someone or something for whom you are grateful right now.
And if that is even difficult,
Finding a memory.
Another option is to remember a time that you witnessed another person feeling grateful.
Perhaps they were expressing gratitude to you for something that you had done.
Or perhaps you saw them expressing gratitude to someone else.
Seeing the expression on their face and seeing if you can soak some of that up.
Or maybe there's a time when you expressed gratitude to another person and you witnessed how they felt.
The expression on their face,
Their body language.
These particular strategies for discovering and then feeling gratitude can help you to be able to soak it up.
So right now,
If you can,
Think of either three memories or the other things that I mentioned.
Or three things that you know of right now for which you are grateful.
Imagine the space around your heart just opening up like a flower,
Receiving and soaking up these feelings of gratitude,
Much like the flower in the sunshine,
Allowing the warmth to spread throughout your body like ripples in a pond so that your whole body,
Heart,
And mind can feel the gratitude deep down into your muscles and your tissues and your bones.
Perhaps even allowing a gentle smile to come across your face.
The more we practice gratitude,
The more we become aware of the things to be thankful for.
We're more readily able to see the good and soak up the good in our lives.
Return your attention now to your breathing,
Taking a nice deep full breath in and letting it out,
Wiggling your fingers and your toes.
And whenever you're ready,
You may open your eyes and return to the room.
I'm Kelly Dennis.
I'm so glad that you spent this time here with me today,
Soaking up some gratitude.
Be well and have a wonderful day.
Namaste.
