Welcome to your practice.
I'm inviting you to sit quietly and at ease,
Allowing your back to be straight and relaxed.
If it's comfortable,
Gently closing the eyes or keeping them slightly open on something that is not moving in front of you.
And we will begin by taking a few full breaths at our own rhythm.
So whenever you feel ready,
Breathing in deeply,
Maybe pausing at the top and when you exhale,
Exhale slowly all the air from your lungs,
Allowing every bit of stagnant air to come out.
And repeating this two times.
And with each exhale,
Allowing the body to arrive a little more deeply in this present moment.
Your mind to gently settle down.
And once you completed a few full breaths,
Allowing your breathing to come back to its natural dense,
At ease,
Calm and free.
And taking this moment to become aware of your body in space.
Noticing your body sitting either on a chair,
On a cushion.
Noticing the point of contact of your body with the support beneath you.
The different pressure points.
Noticing your arms resting in your lap.
Noticing the touch of your clothes.
And noticing any sensation arising in the body.
You may notice some sensation of cold or warm.
Some ease or tension.
Some pressure.
And whatever you notice,
Simply notice them without judgment,
With an open heart.
And allowing your breathing to help you arrive a little more deeply here and now.
Noticing the movement of the breath.
The rising and the falling of the chest and the belly.
This gentle touch of the air through your nostrils,
Down your throat.
Each breath is here to help you anchor a little more deeply in this present moment.
If you notice your mind distracting you,
Simply notice the distraction without judging and come back to your breath,
To the sensation of your body and to the sound of my voice.
There's nothing else to do.
Allowing yourself to come back over and over again is the practice.
Now gently shift your attention to your heart space.
If it's easier,
You can also bring one hand or two in your chest.
Noticing the warmth in the center of your chest.
Maybe you're able to perceive the heartbeat,
The gentle pulsation throughout the body.
And taking this moment to notice how is your heart feeling right now.
Does it feel open?
Closed?
Constricted?
At ease?
You notice without judgment.
And with each breath,
Breathing in,
Ease,
Breathing out,
Constriction.
And I would like to invite you to scan your day or your week and see if you can find a few things that you can be grateful for.
It doesn't need to be anything big.
It can be as simple as I have a winter coat and it's cold outside.
It keeps me warm.
I'm grateful for that.
Can be the hug of a friend.
The kind words of a stranger.
Really take this moment to be thankful for the small blessings of your life.
How does that make you feel to be grateful,
Thankful for those little blessings which can also be big?
Maybe you have noticed a change in your mood,
In your body,
In your breath.
Maybe a smile bloomed onto your face.
The practice of gratitude is truly a miracle and a wonderful way to happiness.
We are here today not just because of us,
Just because of the family that we had,
But because there's this wonderful web of life supporting us every day.
So let's take this moment to remember,
To reconnect ourselves to this greater web of life and be grateful for it all.
We cannot do this alone.
We cannot be here alone and we are not even if sometimes we forget.
I will offer a few phrases and repeat each one of them twice slowly.
You can either repeat them silently for yourself or use them to reflect on what those words means for you.
You can either keep your hands at your heart or bring them down.
It's truly up to you.
With gratitude I remember the people,
Animals,
Plants,
Insects,
Creatures of the sky and sea,
Air and water,
Fire and earth,
All whose joyful exertions blesses my life every day.
With gratitude I remember the people,
Animals,
Plants,
Insects,
Creatures of the sky and sea,
Air and water,
Fire and earth,
All whose joyful exertion blesses my life every day.
With gratitude I remember the care and labor of a thousand generations of elders and ancestors who came before me.
With gratitude I remember the care and labor of a thousand generations of elders and ancestors who came before me.
I offer my gratitude for the safety and wellbeing I have been given.
I offer my gratitude for the safety and wellbeing I have been given.
I offer my gratitude for the blessings of this earth I have been given.
I offer my gratitude for the blessings of this earth I have been given.
I offer gratitude for the measure of health I have been given.
I offer gratitude for the measure of health I have been given.
I offer my gratitude for the family and friends I have been given.
I offer my gratitude for the community I have been given.
I offer my gratitude for the community I have been given.
I offer my gratitude for the teachings and the lessons I have been given.
I offer my gratitude for the teachings and lessons I have been given.
I offer my gratitude for the life I have been given.
I offer my gratitude for the life I have been given.
And gently resting in awareness of your breath,
Of your heart,
Of your body here and now.
And I'm inviting you now to bring into your mind-heart an image of yourself.
At any age here,
Younger,
It truly doesn't matter.
And take this moment to look at yourself for a moment in your heart-mind.
Notice the beautiful being that you are and if you notice judgment,
Allow those judgment to just take a break for a moment.
You are a beautiful being.
You have many gifts that nobody has because they are unique as you are.
You are a pure expression of life.
You are love.
Allow yourself to say thank you to your own heart.
Thank you to your gifts.
There might be something in particular that you would like to thank yourself for.
So please take this moment to do it so now with kindness,
Humility and generosity.
And allowing your attention to come back into your heart-space,
Feeling your breath in the heart-space.
Breathing in the heart,
Breathing out from the heart.
If your hands are still in the middle of your chest,
Gently releasing them down,
Breathing in.
Thank you.
Breathing out,
Grateful.
And taking this moment to connect back with your whole body,
The sounds surrounding you,
The earth supporting you.
On your next exhale,
Gently bringing your chin to the chest,
Blinking the eyes open when you are ready,
Taking in the colors and the shapes of the environment surrounding you.
And on your next inhale,
Gently bringing your head back straight.
And welcome back with gratitude always.
