Welcome! I’m thrilled to have you here for this very first podcast episode!
I’m Michelle Crider, founder of Elk Mountain Wellness, LLC - a yoga teacher, author, artist, and most importantly, a wife and mother!
School is back in session here in Florida, and I’m so grateful to have the quiet time to create this exciting project, the Moving into Spirit Podcast, for you!
Recorded Thursday, August 10, 2023
In this episode I’ll walk you through a practice on gratitude, allowing you first to center and align your body, from the top of your head to the bottom of your sit bones. From this aligned, quiet space we will find thanks in a breath practice where we inhale with the word “thank” and exhale with the word “you.”
I look forward to taking you through many practices on this beautiful journey to stillness, silence, gratitude, all this and more in the Moving into Spirit Podcast!
Join me & enjoy!
Lots of love,
xo Michelle
This practice is based on my morning practice, coming together this morning from a beautiful, quiet meditation.
Let’s begin…
the invitation for this practice on gratitude and finding a way to center the body, become aligned in body and mind, will begin comfortably sitting or you are welcome to lay down (and if you fall asleep no worries - that’s what you needed in this moment!)
finding your way to be comfortable, sitting or laying down, begin this practice by allowing your eyes to feel rested, soft, perhaps they are closed or softly opened
finding comfort here with your eyes and your quiet resting position
as you soften here, with your eyes and body, you might begin to notice your breath, your breathing
you aren’t changing the breath in this moment, just noticing…the inhale and exhale…your natural breathing rhythm
you may also notice where your legs are in relation to your torso, where your hands and arms are in relation to your torso
allow yourself to, visually, find the top, center of your head
visually, trace a line from the top of your head all the way down your face, through your chin, neck, through your chest, the area of your diaphragm, the center or core of your torso, all the way down to your sitting bones
as you find this line, this imaginary line, allow yourself to clear a path from the top of your head to your sitting bones
your hands and arms are along the sides of the body, there is nothing blocking this imaginary center line
come back to your breath, noticing if anything has changed in your breathing, in the way you may be holding your body, your shoulders, your jaw
noticing your upper back, the middle of your back, your lower back
breathing
imagining this center line, running from the top of your head all the way down your body to your sit bones
here we allow some alignment, bring awareness to your physical aliggnment
perhaps you needed to feel a little more straightening in the back or spine or perhaps not
perhaps you are just enjoying the awareness of this imaginary line
from here we step into aligning ourselves through body, this imaginary line, our breath, and a practice of gratitude, of thanks
when you feel ready, you may like to allow yourself to take a deep breath in through the nose…and when you feel ready, exhale slowly and gently through the nose or mouth
and again
a nice, slow, gentle inhale through the nose… and a slow, gentle, full exhale
next, let’s begin breathing with an intention or mantra
allow yourself, on your inhale to imagine the word “thank”
and on your exhale imagine the word “you”
practice this a few times, gently, quietly, pairing the words “thank you” with your inhale and exhale
to find yourself even more comfortable, you may like to place your palms face up, resting in your lap or on your side if you are laying down
inhaling with the word “thank”
exhaling with the word “you”
as you practice this intention, “thank you” with breath, if you feel you need to give your mind an additional step, you may like to allow images to softly appear and float away
perhaps faces of loved ones float in and out
perhaps the sun, the moon, the sky, anything that delights you and you’d like to give thanks for
perhaps these images float in with your inhale and out with your exhale
continue breathing here, with your intention of “thank you,” with softly appearing and disappearing images, for as long as you like
practice this anytime during your day when you may feel tense or tight or under stress
allowing this practice of gratitude, aligning with your imaginary line from the top of your head to the bottom of your sit bones…
thank you, thank you, thank you
Thank you for being here! Thank you for practicing!
Until next time…peace be with you!
Practice: On Gratitude - Episode 1