Taking a long,
Slow,
Soothing breath in,
Lungs expand,
And a long,
Slow,
Releasing breath out,
Small breathing in,
And breathing out,
Long and slow,
Releasing that soothing rhythm.
And we're going to do a very short gratitude practice now,
Practicing noticing those little things in life,
The little beauties.
Noticing the hands right now,
And if you'd like to use the hands in this practice,
You can bend the elbows,
Bring the hands together,
And with your non-dominant hand,
Taking hold of the thumb of the dominant hand,
And holding that thumb,
Taking the weight,
That's giving it a little squeeze,
Letting it know you're there,
Like a hug for the thumb,
And thinking of something that you've seen today with your eyes that you're grateful for.
Perhaps a star,
A sunrise,
A smile,
Perhaps a freshly folded sheet,
Or whatever it is,
Something that you're grateful for,
Something you've seen that's brought you joy,
Bringing that to mind now,
And seeing if you can find something that's really small,
Nothing,
It doesn't have to be being given the Nobel Prize,
Something really little,
A smile of a loved one,
And something recent if possible,
Holding that in the mind's eye,
Feeling that support of the thumb,
And maybe you can connect with how this feels in the body,
Maybe there's a felt physical sense of gratitude,
Maybe a sense of warmth,
Or maybe there's a wish to fill that,
Or a wish for gratitude,
Connecting with that,
That sense of feeling grateful for that,
That little thing,
Breathing in,
And as you breathe out,
Letting go of that memory,
Let go of the thumb,
Perhaps stretching the hands,
Noticing this body on the earth once more,
Points that make connection with the ground,
And now taking hold of the next digit,
The first finger,
Holding that,
Giving that little hug,
Taking the weight,
Giving it some support,
And bringing to mind now something that you've smelt today that you're grateful for,
And again maybe choosing something really small,
Something you might not notice,
But maybe the smell of a tea,
Some food,
A flower,
Or maybe walking into a room that was full of wet clothes and is now not,
So the lack of a smell,
If it smells clear and free,
If it's possible not searching for too long,
There is no perfect memory,
How does it feel to bring that memory into the body?
Maybe you can see this in your mind's eye,
We're all different,
Some of us have these vivid imaginations,
Some of us don't see anything in the mind,
Some of us maybe feel things in the body,
Maybe it's just a word you'd like to say to yourself,
However you'd like to bring this to mind,
Holding this,
Maybe you can physically connect with a gratitude for this smell,
And when you're ready,
Releasing that finger,
Maybe stretching the hand,
Once more sensing this body on the earth,
And you're ready,
Taking hold of the next finger,
Holding that in your hand,
Feeling the warmth of the hand,
This will be the last finger,
The last gratitude we do,
And remembering a sound you've heard recently that you're grateful for,
This might be the laugh of a loved one,
The sound of a bird,
Music on the radio,
It could be anything,
Something you've heard recently you're grateful for,
Maybe the sound the kettle makes when it's ready to give you your first cup of tea or coffee in the morning,
Remembering whatever way serves you,
Maybe saying thank you or feeling gratitude,
Maybe you can feel this as a tingling or a warmth or something else in the body,
And when you're ready,
Letting go of this memory of this finger,
Moving the fingers,
We're letting the hands rest,
Maybe on the legs,
The abdomen,
Maybe the heart,
And as we come towards the end of this class together,
The end of this practice,
Towards the end of this time,
And you can come back to any part of this practice whenever you want,
And right now thanking yourself for carving out this time in the day to do something in your own deepest well-being,
And also in the well-being of all those around you,
We can't pour from an empty vase,
Look after ourselves before we can support those around us,
And there's a million and one other things we could be doing but we're here,
Thanking yourself for being here,
Namaste.
