As we begin this gratitude practice,
Take a few moments to find your seat and also to close your eyes,
Embodying a sense of gratitude and appreciation for the practice ahead.
And if you would like to,
Bring the palms of your hands together and bring your hands close to your heart area or your chest.
And hold them there as an external gesture of gratitude and appreciation for what you're about to do,
For the opportunity to practice and for the opportunity to contemplate on gratitude itself.
Now take your time and whenever you're ready,
Gently and kindly lower your arms and your hands and place them on your lap,
On your thighs,
On your legs,
Whatever is comfortable for you.
And begin noticing your breath,
Just simply the awareness of breathing right now.
And as you breathe in and out,
Take some time to further relax your body,
Relieving itself of any tension and tightness,
Allowing the breath to flow very naturally in and out of your body.
And now with the tension on the breath,
Begin sensing,
Experiencing just the natural ease,
The ebb and flow of breath coming in and out of your body,
Moment to moment,
Without changing the breath in any way.
Just simply appreciating,
Appreciating the breath moving so naturally and spontaneously in and out of the body,
Providing life and sustenance to the body and to you.
As many things in life we take the breath and breathe in for granted.
This is an opportunity now to appreciate,
To reflect and contemplate on the fundamental essential value of each breath to your life and to life itself.
So as you notice your breath,
Aware of its movement in and out of the body,
Begin extending appreciation for this natural movement of air in and out of the body that happens thousands of times a day and that right now is the center of your appreciation,
Is the center of your awareness.
As the body receives the breath,
As the breath enters and exits the body,
Notice how much it happens just within one breath,
All of which supports your life moment to moment,
Whether you are aware of it or not,
Whether you are fully conscious that you are breathing or not.
Breathing itself is sustaining you in every single moment of your life.
Isn't that something to be deeply grateful for?
Each breath provides life.
Each breath is the direct link to life itself.
What more could be appreciated than what is sustaining us in every moment of our life?
This breath,
This body.
Breath and body,
As you may be noticing,
Are intimately interconnected.
One cannot exist without the other,
So it is natural to also begin to extend deep gratitude and appreciation for the body,
This body breathing in this moment,
This body alive in this moment,
The body that is constantly changing and yet constantly supporting you and I on our human journey moment to moment,
Day after day.
So let's take a moment,
An endless moment of appreciation and gratitude for all that this body provides to us,
For all that this body allows us to experience every single day,
No matter what happens in the course of a day or a lifetime.
It is because of this body and this breath that we are able to experience it.
All more could be more precious and valuable.
Extend and express experience,
Not only the connection to the breath and the body,
But the deep appreciation for what breath and body provide.
And no matter what the conditions of this body right now,
We still appreciate what the body is able to provide us.
Notice the breath,
Notice the movement of breath in and out of the body,
Notice how the body is inhabited by each and every single breath.
And let us be grateful for this almost miraculous activity of breathing that takes place so many times during the course of even just one day and appreciate all that it provides to the body and to our life.
And appreciation for this body that no matter how it is treated,
How it is cared for or sometimes even neglected,
Abused,
Mistreated,
Is still right here giving us the most fundamental sustenance for life itself,
The vehicle through which our consciousness,
Our being,
Is able to move through life and experience this human journey.
Again,
What else could be more valuable than this,
This body,
This breath that allows us to be right here,
Right now.
Deep gratitude for breath and body.
Deep appreciation for what breath and body are providing.
Let the next few moments allow you to really deepen the connection with breath and body and experience gratitude and appreciation for them.
Let the next few moments allow you to really deepen the connection with breath and body.
Let the next few moments allow you to really deepen the connection with breath and body.
