Gratitude Meditation (Body Scan & Breathwork)

This is a 20-minute guided meditation starting off with a body scan followed by some breathwork and then leading into gratitude. I am no expert or guru but have been meditating for 2 years now and wanted to share my experiences.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to this 20 minute meditation with me,

Andrew Osborne.

So I'd like to start today by looking at posture before meditation.

So my personal preference is to sit on a nice comfy chair with my hands on my knees and have a straight upright back.

But also if you feel comfortable you can lie down with your knees up.

Also if you have some cushions you could kneel on the floor with a straight back.

There's many different ways and postures and it comes down to whichever is more comfortable and more suited towards you.

So it's completely up to you.

So today we're going to start with a body scan.

We'll go right through the top of our head,

Right down to the toes thinking about how our body is feeling and really try and get to grips with what each part of our body is saying to us.

And then we will go through some breath work,

Which I'll talk us through and then we'll head into a bit of gratitude and make us aware of what we are grateful for in this life at this current time.

OK,

So just in a second I'll be ringing the bell three times and after this moment we can close our eyes.

OK,

So if we can start by focusing all our thoughts onto the top of our head and really look at how our head is feeling.

Do we have any pain?

Do we have a headache today?

Are we quite clear?

Is it a pleasant sensation?

And then heading down to the forehead.

Are we frowning?

Are we quite calm?

Whatever you feel,

Go with it.

Next up we head to the eyes.

How is each eye feeling?

Start from the right and then slowly move to the left.

Going down to the nose.

Do we have any itches?

Do we have a cold?

However it feels for you.

And then we are going to move down to the mouth.

How is the mouth feeling today?

Slowly moving down to the chin.

Do we have any jaw rake?

Is anything hurting the right side of the jaw or the left side of the jaw?

We are going to come down to the throat.

How is that throat feeling?

And then head down on the right hand side to your right hand shoulder.

Is there any tightness in the joints?

Or is it feeling quite good?

Is it feeling quite relaxed?

Have you just done any yoga or exercise?

Or is there a pain there?

Or is it fluid?

And then we will head down the arm to the elbow.

How is that elbow feeling?

And then through the arm to the fingers.

Try and go through each finger starting from the smallest to the biggest.

And just see how the joints are feeling.

And then go over to the other hand and start looking through the other fingers.

Starting from your thumb going all the way through to your little finger.

And then noticing how each finger is aligned.

How it feels if it's hurting,

If it's struggling.

And then through to the wrists if they're hurting.

And then notice your elbow.

How is your left elbow feeling today?

And then through your biceps.

And then through to your left hand shoulder.

And then making way across the top of your back.

Noticing how that's feeling.

Are you tense?

Are you carrying a lot of stress or pressure there?

And then making way through your middle back.

Focusing on the middle of your back.

And then heading down to your lower spine area.

How does that feel today?

And then we're going to head to the hips.

How are your hips today?

Are they feeling tight?

Are they feeling loose?

Are they.

.

.

What are they?

And then head to your quads.

Have you been running today?

Are they quite painful?

Or are they relaxed?

Do they feel good?

Moving through the knees,

The knee joints.

Are they sore?

Or are they just okay?

What do they feel?

Moving down the shins.

And then into the ankles.

How are your ankles feeling today?

And then finally to the toes.

How are your toes feeling individually?

And now we're going to go to a little bit of breath work.

So if you just repeat after me.

So we're going to breathe in.

Breathe out.

Count one.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Count two.

Make sure you're not forcing the breath.

Just make sure it's completely natural to breathe in.

Breathe out.

Count one.

So I'd like you to do this up until twenty one.

You've counted twenty one.

And not to worry if you lose focus,

Which I think you will,

You might.

If that is the case,

Then just okay,

That's fine.

Accept it.

Carry on and just start back from one again.

So,

Yeah,

If you get lost or lost in the focus,

Just head back to one and start the process over again.

And it's okay if you lose focus.

And it's okay if you lose focus at any point.

Just if you do.

Just accept it.

We have lots of different thoughts happening in our heads.

We must accept them and just start back from one again.

So,

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Count one.

Breathe out.

You.

You.

You.

So next we're going to look at gratitude and what we are grateful for.

So I want you to think about everything that you're grateful for today.

Are you grateful for your house for giving you a roof over your head?

For running water?

Are you grateful for a comfy bed?

Are you grateful for a nice park or a nice field nearby where you live?

Anything that you're grateful for,

No matter how big or small,

Just calmly say it in your head and think about everything that you're grateful for.

It can be your phone,

Your laptop.

Think about why you're grateful for it as well.

Think about how it enriches your life.

You.

You.

You.

Now let's focus on our friends and family who we are grateful for,

For having them in our lives.

So our family members,

Our mum,

Our dad,

Our grandparents,

Our cousins,

Our uncles,

Our aunties,

Whoever it is who impacts your life and you are very grateful for,

Just lend them a thought and repeat,

I am grateful for my family member or I am grateful for my mum or my dad.

And think about your friends as well.

Which friend are you grateful for?

Which friends are you grateful for?

Who's made an impact on your life?

Who can you count on and who you should be grateful for?

So have a think about who you feel grateful to be in your life for.

Whether it be friends or family,

Both.

Just lend them a thought.

You.

Now think about all the people who impact your lives but who you don't know.

So,

For example,

The people who made your phone or the people who deliver your mail or the supermarket workers who stack the shelves or even create the produce and grow the food that you eat every night.

So,

Lend a thought for them in your thoughts who are constantly giving you service but you not always lend them a thought.

Lend them some gratitude.

And last of all,

Let us be grateful for having this day and having air in our lungs so that we can season it.

So we can seize the opportunities that this day has for us.

So in a second I'll be ringing the bell three times and just whenever you're ready,

Open your eyes.

Thank you very much for listening.

I hope you have a wonderful day and just remember to carry some gratitude in your life.

Thank you.