Trainers’ Toolkit – Practice gratitude

	Exercise nr 13: Practice gratitude
Duration	10-15 min
Type of activity	Social / Body / Emotional / Cognitive
The goal of the exercise	Grounding, calming, getting into deeper contact with oneself and others
Group size	1-100+ participants
Hashtags	#guidedmeditation #mindfulness
Materials and tools necessary for the activities	No additional materials are needed.
Exercise agenda	The exercise is an excellent introduction to meeting as practising gratitude and appreciating oneself can contribute to feeling calm and happy. The practice helps to tune in and calm the mind positively and can be a great way to end your session or close off a problematic topic. Ask participants to sit down comfortably, as you will guide them through this gratitude practice. Encourage them to switch off their cameras to get as comfortable and relaxed as possible. Mute your phone Sit down comfortably Take a deep breath in and on the exhale close your eyes Take a long deep breath in and a long calm breath out. Straighten your spine If your thoughts flow in another direction, notice it and return to watching your breathing Allow yourself to be here and now Now is the moment that counts Long inhale And exhale slowly Focus all your attention on the place where your beating heart is And ask yourself – how do I feel right now? No judgement, you have the right to feel how you feel Focus on your breath, observe how it affects you when you breathe in and out You can count to 4 when inhaling and to 4 when exhaling Once your breathing is even, gentle, balanced Then recall 3 things in your life that you are grateful for Appreciate whatever comes up Think about what you have that makes your life easier What are you grateful for? Find joy in the little things too, Of which our lives are made up Turn your attention to the area of your heart Ask yourself – what am I thankful for today? Appreciate the fact that you are at this meeting Recall the effort you made to be here (e.g. sending the registration form, booking a time) Feel your energy. How does this make you feel? Repeat in silence after me I feel gratitude for my living body I feel gratitude for my mind that is attentive and curious I feel gratitude for being here, in this moment With your next breath turn your attention outwards, Hear the sounds, feel the air you breathe in,  And when you are ready, ready Open your eyes
Possible modifications	The exercise can be also used as a good closure for the meeting. You can include in the meditation to think of the participants in this meeting and appreciate them. Ask participants to think about what they would like to thank others for and to write it down in the chat room.
Credits	Compiled by Fundacja Culture Shock for TRENDSS – Transnational Roadmap for Educators in Digital Soft Skills (https://trendss.eu/)Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Co-funded by the Erasmus+Programme of the European Union