Hello,
This is Anne Sussman,
Founder of Mindfulness Meeting Place and author of the Bliss Buddy Project,
How Sharing Gratitude Increases Joy.
Today we continue our focus on gratitude and will focus on gratitude for our bodies.
When was the last time you were grateful for your body?
I suspect it was a long,
Long time ago,
If ever.
It's prevalent in our culture to be hard on ourselves,
To be unhappy with our bodies,
To try and change them in small or major ways.
Diets,
Gym memberships,
And plastic surgery procedures are a billion dollar business.
I believe that our bodies hear everything we think.
Often we're not so kind to our bodies.
I know I'm really,
Really guilty of this and have been over the years.
We wish we were thinner,
Fitter,
Taller,
Whatever.
And acceptance for what our body is in this moment is hard to have.
Today we will practice a loving our body meditation.
Having gratitude for your body as it is,
Not wanting to love yourself once you lose weight or change your appearance in some way.
Often we are bombarded by images on television and in the movies and in print.
This is very challenging,
Especially for women,
But not exclusively for women.
We see ads constantly about diets and exercise offerings.
Many of the images we see have been photoshopped and altered and they're not even real.
But just as the brain has difficulty discerning optical illusions,
We perceive these images as real,
Even though we know that they have been enhanced and altered.
There's actually nothing we can do about that but maybe stop looking at them.
I was very moved by a documentary film I saw last year.
It was called Embrace by Taryn Brumfit.
Taryn is from Australia.
She traveled all over the world to interview women of all cultures,
Of all shapes and sizes.
What she found was so many women are not just dissatisfied but repelled by their own bodies.
The word most often used by women interviewed was disgusting.
That's how they felt about themselves.
This is shocking and tragic.
Maybe you have felt this way.
I know I have often in my life.
Now as I approach my 60th year on this planet,
I'm working on loving myself as I am in this moment,
Finding gratitude for all the remarkable and amazing things my body has done and can do.
I gave birth to two healthy boys.
I can carry heavy things.
I can do yoga.
I have stamina to walk.
This year on a high ropes adventure course,
I climbed a 35-foot telephone pole.
I stood on the top for a few minutes looking out at the vast Pacific Ocean in front of me and then I jumped off.
It's pretty amazing that my body could do that.
I never thought I could.
I now have a small tear in my hip causing me pain,
Not from the jump but just the wear and tear of being 60.
I notice things changing as I age in this body and yet this is the body that houses my soul,
Ever changing,
Ever aging,
And here it is still breathing.
After that,
I am eternally grateful.
So try to notice things that your body can accomplish even if you have some physical limitations.
Loving your body,
Becoming deeply grateful for it with all its imperfections,
Knowing and appreciating that you are perfect as you are,
This is the challenge.
Can we develop gratitude for ourselves the way we are right now?
This is a meditation to help us feel grateful for our bodies.
So before we begin,
Let's keep in mind these essentials for any meditation practice.
Remember it's okay to have thoughts in meditation.
The biggest misconception is that you need to clear your mind.
That's never going to happen.
Don't try too hard at this.
It's a gentle shifting of your attention from thought back to breath.
It doesn't matter how many times you return to the breath.
That is the practice.
You're doing it just right.
Let go of expectations.
Every time you sit in meditation,
You're new.
It's a new meditation.
Just be kind to yourself,
Letting go of judgments.
Stick with the practice.
Over days,
Weeks,
Months,
And years,
The changes that meditation will bring to your life are subtle yet profound.
Let's begin.
Come to find a comfortable seat,
Upright if that is comfortable for you and relaxed.
Minimize your distractions for our time together.
When you are ready,
Gently close your eyes.
Begin by taking a few long,
Slow,
Deep breaths in and out of your nose.
Controlling the breath right now.
We'll be meditating for about 20 minutes.
Notice that you are safe,
Grounded and present,
Making this choice to meditate.
Now,
As you listen to the sound of the chime,
You can let your breath return to its natural depth and rhythm.
You don't need to control your breath anymore.
You may notice your breath speeds up or slows down,
But your breath knows just how to take care of you,
So let it be soft and easy.
Notice the temperature on your skin,
The warmth or coolness of the air.
Notice the sounds around you,
Distant sounds outside the room.
Sounds need not be a barrier to your meditation.
Just welcome whatever you hear.
Remembering in this practice,
You want to welcome everything,
Resist nothing.
Just bring some relaxation to the body,
Beginning at the top of the head,
Softening the scalp,
And unfurling the brow,
Allowing the face to be soft,
Easy,
No expression necessary.
Starting with the jaw,
Seeing if you might need to unclench just a little bit,
Allowing the tongue to rest comfortably in the mouth,
Inviting the shoulders to soften down the back,
Away from the ears.
Noticing the spine,
The base of the spine to the top of the head,
Reaching tall,
Holding the body in a posture that feels like dignity to you,
Relaxed and alert.
Softening the front body and the top of the chest on down through the diaphragm,
Just letting the belly be soft and easy,
Like a great big Buddha belly.
Shifting your attention to the right arm,
From the shoulder on down through the elbow,
All the way to the fingertips,
Just softening.
Shifting your attention to the left arm,
Letting go of any tension you might be holding there,
From the shoulder down through the elbow,
And all the way to the fingertips,
Just letting your hands rest comfortably in the lap or on the knees.
Tapping the pelvis,
Feeling it maybe sinking a little bit deeper into the cushions,
And see if you can notice the cushions behind you and beneath you,
Rising up in reciprocity to support you,
To hold you in your practice.
Shifting the right leg from the hip on down through the knee,
All the way to the toes,
Just softening.
And then the left leg,
Letting go of any tension you might be holding there,
From the hip on down through the knee,
All the way to the toes.
Tapping the body,
Seeing if there is any place that's asking for some ease or comfort that we might have missed.
Knowing in this practice you can always shift or move if you need to,
And trying to sit as still as you can.
Tearing your attention inward,
Coming to find the interior of you.
Can you notice any tingling or pulsing,
Any sensations in the body?
It's your aliveness.
You are alive in this body,
Although we may never notice.
And now come to find your breath,
Wherever it's most obvious for you.
Might be at the tip of the nose,
Noticing the cool air coming in through the nostrils,
Leaving a bit warmer just above the upper lip.
For you,
You might notice the breath most in the rise and fall of the chest or the belly.
So resting your attention on the sensations of breathing,
On the in-breath,
The expansion as you breathe in space,
And the out-breath and the contraction as you breathe out,
And the space between the next breath.
Begin to notice the breath and feel the gratitude rise for each inhale,
Each exhale.
Tearing your attention to your limbs,
To the structure of your body,
Your bones,
Your skin.
Acknowledge how your body supports you and allows you to move through this world.
Walking,
Carrying,
Moving through life.
Feel the gratitude for your sense of touch,
To be able to feel the warmth of the sun on your skin.
Be grateful for the ability to hug someone you love.
We're moving to an appreciation now for your vital organs,
Your heart,
Your lungs,
Digestion and reproduction.
This body is a miraculous creation.
Without any thinking about it,
With just the innate intelligence of the body,
All of these processes happen in your body,
Moment to moment to moment,
Cells reproducing on their own.
And you'll be grateful for that feeling this gratitude rising up in every cell of your body.
Appreciating now the magnificence of your brain,
Becoming grateful for your ability to think and discern,
To plan,
To create all the multitude of things you can control,
As well as all the functions in the body that work on their own.
Where would you be without your amazing brain?
Notice that sense of gratitude for your brain rising up,
Welling up inside you.
Can you be grateful for all your senses?
Your sight,
Hearing,
Taste,
Smell,
Touch,
This spectacular array of senses that allows you to experience the world.
And a loving attitude,
One of gratitude and appreciation to your whole body.
Scan your body,
Send a loving wave to each part.
If there is some part of you that is in pain or suffering from some sickness,
See if you can accept it as it is and be grateful for it right now.
Do not reject any part of yourself or your body.
You may notice as we practice,
You begin to wish that things were different or you may find yourself in a story.
When you notice this,
Bring your attention to the sensations at hand and gently return to an attitude of acceptance,
Love and gratitude for your body as it is inside and out in this moment.
So Feel your life force,
Your energy,
Pulsing through your body.
You may notice this most in the sensations in your fingertips or your toes.
Bring a feeling of gratefulness to this precious life force coursing through you.
This is the energy of your life.
Feel the gratitude pulsing through you as well.
Just now in the sensation of gratitude for a while,
We'll sit in silence until you hear the bell.
Align each other from anywhere you feel safe and safe.
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