I welcome you to a grateful heart meditation.
Allow yourself to settle.
Maybe you're seated.
Maybe you're laying down.
Whatever feels comfortable for you.
Feel yourself rooted into a chair,
Ground,
Whatever you're resting,
Sitting on.
And notice your breath,
Your inhale and your exhale.
Allow yourself to breathe in fully.
Allowing for your lungs to fill,
Your inhale,
And your lungs to deflate as you exhale.
If it feels right for you,
I invite you to close your eyes and to bring your attention,
Your gaze within.
Bringing your attention to your breath.
Bringing the attention to you.
How are you feeling in this moment?
Deepen your breath.
Notice how the breath feels around your heart space.
Maybe even bringing your hands,
Folding your hands at your heart space.
Be feeling your heartbeat.
And check in with yourself.
How do you feel?
How does your heart feel in this moment?
As you continue to breathe in and out,
Breathe into that heart space.
Surround your heart with light and love and compassion.
Feel the warmth and the light growing as you breathe in and out.
If your heart feels heavy,
I invite you to take a nice deep breath in through the nose,
And then exhale through the mouth.
Do this a couple times.
As you exhale through the mouth,
Give yourself a nice sigh of relief.
Release.
Continue at your own pace.
Releasing,
Relieving anything that is not serving you right now.
Gratitude.
How does that word resonate?
How does that feel in your heart?
One of the ethical practices in yoga,
One of the Niyamas,
Santosha,
Meaning contentment,
Written by Deborah Adele.
She says,
Santosha invites us into contentment by taking refuge in a calm center,
Opening our hearts and gratitude for what we do have and practicing the paradox of not seeking.
How does that feel in your heart?
And breathe.
Continue to breathe.
Surround your heart with love.
Discontentment is the illusion that there can be something else in the moment.
There isn't,
And there can't be.
The moment is complete.
Being content in this moment,
Being grateful for what is right now,
Right here.
Practicing gratitude protects us from our own pettiness and smallness and keeps us centered in the joy and abundance of our own life.
Can you think of something in your life that brings you joy,
That you are grateful for?
Maybe a person in your life that you're grateful for.
It doesn't have to be anything big.
It is all the small things that we can be grateful for.
And hold this thought with you as you continue to breathe in and out,
And surrounding your heart with love,
Compassion,
And gratitude for what is.
Gratitude for yourself.
Release the idea that feeling grateful means never having negative thoughts,
Or that having negative thoughts means you're not grateful enough.
You can feel sad,
Down,
And heavy while still feeling grateful for all that you do have.
You can love your life and all of its beautiful messiness,
Even on the hard days.
Gratitude doesn't appear when you're happy and disappear when you're sad.
It doesn't exist only in a state of perfection.
Gratitude is found in all moments.
The sad,
The weary,
The tired,
The disappointed,
The hurt,
The mournful.
You are allowed to feel sad and grateful at the same time.
You are allowed to feel it all.
How does that feel in your heart?
Allow yourself to be just as you are in this moment.
And continue to stay settled,
Breathing in and out,
Filling your heart with love and gratitude.
Gratitude for this moment that you're taking for yourself,
The ability to be here right now.
Slowly moving outward,
Still focusing on your heart space.
And this feeling that you have right now,
Gratitude,
Contentment,
Centosha.
Keep this feeling with you and maybe keep your heart open to whatever comes your way today or in the coming days and allowing yourself to feel and receive each moment and to be grateful for the experience.
Start to wiggle your fingers and toes,
Breathing more actively.
Maybe even exhaling through the mouth once again.
Deep breath in through the nose,
Exhale through the mouth.
Slowly opening your eyes and allowing yourself to come back fully,
Being aware of the space that you're in.
Still feeling that gratitude within your heart.
And I wish you well as you move into your day.
