Hi,
This is Michaela and I would like to share this meditation with you.
So if you could find yourself a comfortable place to sit,
Sitting upright,
Some say with dignity so your spine is straight,
Your feet are flat on the floor,
Legs are uncrossed,
And hands resting comfortably on your upper legs.
And I invite you to close your eyes if you like or you can simply lower your gaze towards your feet and begin to breathe intentionally.
In and out through your nose.
Maybe it's a little bit slower but not substantially.
It's just with intention.
So as you continue to breathe,
Just do a quick check in from your feet,
Up your legs,
Your body,
Your arms,
Your head,
Checking for any little bits of stress that may reside there.
And when you find them,
Acknowledge them and allow them to dissipate.
So continue to breathe in and out through your nose with intention,
Noticing anything that may come up.
Maybe you're noticing the coolness of the air as you breathe in or the warmth as you exhale.
Just noticing.
And as you continue to breathe,
Bring your attention to your heart center in your body and imagine breathing in through your heart.
I can almost imagine the breath coming in,
Circling around the heart and exhaling out.
So you're breathing life,
Breathing energy,
Breathing goodness into your heart.
And as you're doing that,
You may notice that just the act of focusing on your chest,
Your heart,
Brings a warmth.
You may even imagine it brings a color,
Maybe it's a light,
A blue or brilliant white light to the heart.
And as you continue to focus on your heart,
Imagine something in your life that you love very much.
Maybe it's some small item that was a gift or maybe it's a person or maybe it's an animal,
Another being,
Anything.
But something that you love.
Try to feel,
Embody that sense of appreciation for that person or that thing.
What does it really feel like to appreciate?
I think even on our worst days,
We can find something to appreciate.
So imagine bringing that sense of appreciation into your heart center and really expanding it.
Maybe it has a shape,
Maybe it has a color.
But as you breathe in appreciation for that person,
That thing,
Imagine as you exhale,
You're sending out that appreciation or that gratitude or love for that person,
That thing.
Whatever it is for you.
No right or wrong.
So with every exhale,
You're sending out appreciation.
You're sending out gratitude.
You're sending out love for that person,
That creature,
That item that has special meaning to you.
As you picture that person or item in your mind's eye,
Imagine as you're exhaling out this appreciation,
Gratitude or love,
That that person or being is able to receive it.
And maybe there's others,
Other people or other beings,
Other things in your life that you really feel grateful or grateful for or appreciation for.
Maybe it's as simple as the sunshine.
Bring that feeling into you,
Into your heart.
And then as you exhale,
Send that appreciation,
Gratitude,
Love out to whatever that is.
Thank you to the sun.
Thank you to the mountains.
Most of these things exist in our world and we see them but we don't really see them every day.
So as you continue to inhale,
Feel the gratitude,
Appreciation and love and exhale those good feelings out to that person,
That being,
That piece of nature,
Whatever that is.
And try,
As you will,
To remember tomorrow when you see the sun or you notice the mountains or whatever you notice that has incredible beauty that others may or may not even see but you do.
Remind yourself to notice and appreciate and cultivate that feeling of gratitude,
Appreciation and love.
So continuing to breathe in through your nose,
Exhale through your nose.
It's almost as though you can appreciate that gratitude,
That thing,
That person,
Whatever it is,
Here all by yourself.
No one,
You don't need to have anyone with you,
You don't need anything.
You can create this for yourself,
Which I think is super important to remember.
And imagine,
If you can,
Bringing that gratitude,
Appreciation,
Love into more places in your day.
And imagine,
When you remember to do that,
Smiling to yourself because you did.
Take one more breath in through your nose and when you're ready,
You can open your eyes,
Start moving around a little bit.
But take that feeling with you.
It's yours whenever you need it and even if you don't,
You still have it because it belongs to you.
Thank you.
