Showing Gratitude

Hi, and welcome to today's meditation. So today, we're going to focus on feeling appreciation, not only for ourselves and for our health, for our body, for our ability to move, but also appreciation for the people around us in our life. And it's really tempting, whether we think about physical movement, whether we think about training the mind in this way, to focus on the changes that we're trying to make for ourself. And those are really important. We shouldn't lose sight of those but it's also really important to bring in a flavor of we're not the only people that get to benefit from this. It also benefits the people around us as well. So having a really healthy sense of appreciation for, firstly having the opportunity to do something for the people around us, but also appreciating how they show up in our lives as well. But we're going to begin today's exercise with the eyes open, a soft focus, and when you're ready two or three, nice, big, deep breaths, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. So breathing in feeling the lungs expand, breathing out. Just allowing the muscles to soften and with the next out breath, closing the eyes, feeling the weight of the body sink down, into the seat on the floor beneath you. And just taking a moment to be grateful for the rare opportunity to pause, to stop, to be still. Have nothing you need to do in the next few minutes, just enjoying that feeling. Checking in with the body today. Noticing how the body feels. So the temptation is to perhaps go to those areas where we have niggles of discomfort or pain. Instead, try to notice the body in a broader way. Just where there's a general sense of heaviness in the body or lightness. Whether there's any obvious sense of restlessness, agitation, or whether there's a sense of stillness. And just gently scanning down through the body and not only noticing the areas that perhaps feel out of balance in some way, but also noticing the parts of the body that feel relaxed, at ease. Just scanning down from head to toe. And in your own time, just beginning to notice how the breath feels today. For that rising and falling sensation, just noticing where in the body you feel that movement. As always, if you can't feel anything, just gently placing your hand on the stomach, just to feel that sensation. And as you become more aware of each breath, just notice, the breaths are long or short. If they are deep or shallow, knowing that each and every breath will be a little different from the last. Now are we going to stay with this sensation just for the next minute or so. Remember, no need to breathe in any special way. Just observing, appreciating that movement in the body. And if at any stage, the mind wanders off, just realizing it,...