INNER CONNECTIONS YOGA & WELLNESS – PAWLEYS ISLAND
We wish you a very happy Thanksgiving!
Wherever you are, celebrate your holiday with gratitude!
Creating a practice of gratitude generates innumerable benefits that have lasting effects. It helps you adopt a healthier view of life and creates a connection to positive thinking that leads to a healthier lifestyle and way of living.
Each of us can be an ambassador of gratitude. We can embody the true meaning of gratitude by breathing in love and exhaling gratitude and living in a state of gratitude. Magic happens when we are grateful!
REASONS TO INCORPORATE GRATITUDE IN YOUR YOGA PRACTICE:
Gratitude reduces stress, calms the mind, and creates a healthy emotional state. The physical body releases tension and allows yoga poses to be expressed more fully in the body. New awareness and connections are created when we connect asana (poses) to gratitude.
People who practice gratitude tend to be more present and open to feeling good through exercise and a healthy lifestyle. This can translate to better interactions at work and home and may inspire others around you.
Gratitude detoxifies! Gratitude helps people be less toxic in their thoughts by removing anger, violence, resentment, and even depression. Combining your yoga practice with an intention that includes kindness, compassion, happiness, empathy, joy, or generosity fortifies your life and practice with gratitude, thus helps strengthen the mind and emotional states to keep you balanced.
Gratitude increases happiness! In my last post, I quoted Psychologist Robert Emmons, and here is more from his research: “Gratitude makes us nicer, more trusting, more social, and more appreciative. As a result, it helps us make more friends, deepen our existing relationships, and improve our marriage.” He also mentions other psychological effects of gratitude like higher levels of positive emotions and being more alert, alive, and awake.
Gratitude helps us focus (dharana) and strengthens our ability to meditate (dhyana). It works like this: Intention - I am grateful for friendship (this is my focus point and by choosing a focus point I strengthen my ability to stay steady during fluctuations of the mind during practice). Meditation is strengthened because I quiet and still the mind from mental fluctuations by using the thread of my intention thereby sitting in meditation (dhyana). At some point, I drop the thread and am connected to my unadulterated Self.
WHEN YOU PRACTICE YOGA:
Remember to set your intention for each practice… and it can easily be an intention of appreciation for your body, your breath, the yoga class, etc.
Count your blessings as you breathe during certain portions of a class (visualize the things/people you are grateful for).
Focus on the positive… when those negative thoughts creep in, allow yourself to mentally respond with, “isn’t it interesting I am thinking about this now” and release the thought
Smile through the challenging poses… remember you grow when there are challenges.
Express gratitude at the end of the practice as well.
HOW TO SHOW, SHARE AND PRACTICE GRATITUDE:
Ponder the things for which you are most grateful. The things that first come to mind might be family, close friends, a stable career, fulfilling activities, a comfortable home, or good health. Feeling grateful for these things brings about a sense of happiness and fulfillment. When cultivating gratitude, this is a great place to start.
Expand your gratitude to those things you might not consider as deserving much thanks. You might be grateful that your car is dependable, that the grocery store is close to your home, or that school is a place to learn and grow in challenging and enlightening ways. Giving thanks for these everyday events will help you to notice the small things you might usually take for granted.
Share a smile wherever you go.
Write a handwritten thank you or gratitude note.
Say thank you and I am grateful for you.
Practice random acts of kindness.
Volunteer formally (Habitat for Humanity, Soup Kitchen) or informally (hold a door, help unload groceries, mow a lawn, bake and give it away).
Maintain a gratitude journal where you record things you are grateful for every day.
Create a family gratitude jar and share the messages monthly.
Share with your family the things you are are grateful for each night at dinner and honor this tradition at Thanksgiving and other holiday gatherings.
Don’t forget you!
Make a list of ways you’ve impressed yourself lately.
Treat yourself to something you enjoy, like a pedicure, a massage, or a cup of tea.
Give yourself time to enjoy a passion you’re sometimes too busy to fit in.
Share the beauty that is you with the people around you, knowing they’re fortunate to have you in their lives.
Cultivating gratitude for the little things, the big things, and the difficult things has the potential to change your perspective in a very positive way. Integrate gratitude as a Thanksgiving tradition (#9) and into each day of every year.
Have a blessed holiday!
Jeanne & John Adams
