Welcome to this meditation for cultivating gratitude.
Go ahead and start by finding a comfortable position to sit down where you can relax and are free from external distractions.
Feel your spine elongating towards the sky,
Feel your shoulders fall away from your ears,
And when you are ready,
Close your eyes.
Begin by bringing your attention to the physical sensations around you.
See if you can sense the space outside of your body.
Feel the texture of whatever surface you are sitting on.
Start noticing any temperature in the room or on different areas of your body and slowly bring that awareness one layer deeper.
Notice the texture of your clothing against your skin.
Notice any areas where your skin is touching other parts of your body.
Perhaps your arms resting on your legs or your feet nestled underneath you.
Go one layer deeper and sink into the sensation of your bones.
See if you can sense or imagine the way your skin feels against your bones.
Feel the pulsing of your organs,
The breath of your lungs.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Inhale,
Exhale.
Feel the way the power of your breath moves through you.
Feel it move through each part of your body where you sense discomfort,
Tension,
Or pain.
Send a loving breath to that area.
When a disturbing,
Distracting,
Or worrisome thought enters your brain,
Send a loving breath to that thought and keep breathing.
In this meditation,
You are going to learn a somatic practice for cultivating gratitude at the cellular level.
Oftentimes,
When people think of gratitude,
They think of writing down or simply thinking about what they are thankful for.
While this is powerful in its own way,
It often keeps gratitude in your mental space Rather than allowing gratitude to embed itself into your body.
Learning how to imprint positive memories and experiences in your body will take your gratitude practice to the next level and will help you unlock new sensations of peace and joy.
To begin this meditation,
I want you to bring to mind a positive experience you had recently.
Who was there?
Where were you?
What were your surroundings?
What was happening?
What smells,
Tastes,
And sounds were involved?
As you bring this vivid memory to the surface,
See if you can notice what emotions come up for you.
Where do you feel these emotions in your body?
Allow yourself to feel this memory with your whole being.
Now,
Reach your right arm out as though you are reaching for this memory.
And pull that memory in with your hand back to your heart.
Embed this memory full of joy and peace into your heart and into your body.
Now,
Go ahead and bring to mind a positive experience you had as a teenager.
Who was there?
Where were you?
What were your surroundings?
What was happening?
What smells,
Tastes,
And sounds were involved?
As you bring this vivid memory to the surface,
See if you can notice what emotions come up for you.
Where do you feel these emotions in your body?
Allow yourself to feel this memory with your whole body.
Now,
Reach your right arm once more as though you are reaching for this memory.
And pull this memory back into your heart with your hand.
And place your palm firmly over your heart.
Embed this memory full of joy and peace into your heart and into your body.
Lastly,
Bring to mind a positive experience you had as a child.
Who was there?
Where were you?
What were your surroundings?
What was happening?
What smells,
Tastes,
And sounds were involved?
As you bring this vivid memory to the surface,
See if you can notice what emotions come up for you.
Where do you feel these emotions in your body?
Allow yourself to feel this memory with your whole being.
Now,
Reach your right arm out again as though you are reaching for this memory.
And pull it back into your heart.
And embed this memory full of joy and peace into your heart and into your body.
Allow all of these memories and experiences to settle into your body.
Allow their emotional qualities to travel through your bones,
Your organs,
Your cells.
Allow them to live in you.
You can draw upon them any time you need.
You can store as many positive memories in your heart and in your body as you desire.
Sit here for a moment.
Start bringing your attention to your breath.
Moving through your lungs.
Feel the beat of your heart.
Feel your bones beneath your skin.
Feel your skin against your clothes.
The surface and the space around you.
Bring your attention to the temperature outside of you.
Start coming back into the room.
Wiggle your fingers and toes.
And take any stretch that your body needs right now.
Go ahead and end with a great big self-hug.
Wrap your arms around your body tight,
Full of love and affection.
And when you are ready,
Open your eyes.
