Standing meditations can help us feel more connected to the body and to the earth below us, increasing our sense of stability and grounding in the present moment. We begin by tuning into the feet, then move our awareness through the body before resting our attention in the body or the breath. We don’t bring much movement into this practice, so if it feels good for you to roll your shoulders or shake out the limbs before starting, please do so!

In this talk, we explore the power of living with gratitude, what can get in the way of feeling gratitude, and how we can intentionally cultivate it in our lives, including recognizing the interconnected nature of life and the impermanence of all things. We’ll also discuss how it’s normal to have moments in life when it feels hard to access gratitude. Then, we’ll close with a brief meditation to help you get in touch with your own grateful heart.

We open this meditation with a body scan, taking our time to tune into and relax various parts of the body. Beginning in the body can help the mind to calm and the body to feel more grounded. We then take some time to be with the breath. Like the poem at the end speaks to, when we take time to be with ourselves and connect with the breath, it is like sowing clover for a world in need of so much care.

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This is a calming and grounding meditation that invites a softness into the body and a softness around the heart. Sometimes when we sense tension in the heart space, what we need is to pause and lean into the vulnerability of what we feel.

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This five minute meditation invites the body to calm down and drop into the moment. The practice "pause, relax, open" can be especially helpful in moments when we're caught in reactivity or notice the grip of familiar thought and behavioral patterns. By pausing, relaxing, and opening, we interrupt this habitual process.

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A full day of work can leave us feeling worn out and checked out. This can make it difficult to turn off from work and be present with our loved ones and ourselves. Often times, presence and stillness can be just a few deep breaths away. In this meditation we create space for deep breathing to help the nervous system relax. Let this meditation be a restful transition from work to the rest of your day.

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At any moment we can drop into presence. Our senses are a portal into present moment awareness. In this meditation, we move our focus from sight, sounds and bodily sensations before resting with the breath. The practice of tuning into our external and internal environments can be done at any moment to help ground us.

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We ease into this body scan meditation with a little movement, and then we take our time moving from the bottoms of the feet to the top of the head. Body scans can be grounding and especially supportive for people who spend a lot of time getting caught in the mind and repetitive thoughts. It’s normal to be able to sense into some parts of the body more than others. If there’s areas that feel numb or disconnected, just notice that.

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Begin your day spending time with the greatest gift we each have: the breath. We start by taking in the sights and sounds around us before tuning into the body. We end with a beautiful poem by Mary Oliver called “Why I Wake Early.” Have a lovely day, and thank you for practicing!

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This short-form essay uses the metaphor of "mind dust" to describe how overthinking and rumination cloud our clarity. Just as shaking a snow globe stirs up snowflakes, excessive thinking stirs mental dust, obscuring perception.

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