Please note exceptions to normal class schedule below.
"An attitude of gratitude brings opportunities."
~ Fortune cookie proverb ~
All spiritual traditions stress the importance of gratitude. Gratitude requires us to focus our attention on the present. Focusing on the present is the foundation for meditation. Being present, being aware, and being grateful are powerful tools that can calm our minds and heal our bodies.
"It doesn't matter if the glass is half full or half empty. Be grateful that you have a glass and that there is something in it."
~ Anonymous ~
Several recent studies have shown that people who keep "gratitude journals" experience some remarkable benefits.
In part they:
Sleep better,
Are more alert and energetic during the day,
Spend more time exercising,
Have stronger immune systems,
Experience fewer headaches, stomache aches and other pain.
Another study showed that having a grateful attitude is good for your heart! It found that, when people think of someone or something they appreciate, the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system is triggered. This has a beneficial effect on the electromagnetic patterns of the heart, the patterns become more ordered and coherent, in a word, happier!
It can be a challenge to be grateful when things don't seem to be going our way. The good news is that a grateful attitude is something we can cultivate, and it develops at an increasingly rapid rate in proportion to your active gratefulness. Small starts can have big payoffs!
"An attitude of gratitude is prayer in action!"
~ Cintra Brown ~
A few suggestions for exercising the gratitude muscle-
"An attitude of gratitude brings opportunities."
~ Fortune cookie proverb ~
All spiritual traditions stress the importance of gratitude. Gratitude requires us to focus our attention on the present. Focusing on the present is the foundation for meditation. Being present, being aware, and being grateful are powerful tools that can calm our minds and heal our bodies.
"It doesn't matter if the glass is half full or half empty. Be grateful that you have a glass and that there is something in it."
~ Anonymous ~
Several recent studies have shown that people who keep "gratitude journals" experience some remarkable benefits.
In part they:
Sleep better,
Are more alert and energetic during the day,
Spend more time exercising,
Have stronger immune systems,
Experience fewer headaches, stomache aches and other pain.
Another study showed that having a grateful attitude is good for your heart! It found that, when people think of someone or something they appreciate, the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system is triggered. This has a beneficial effect on the electromagnetic patterns of the heart, the patterns become more ordered and coherent, in a word, happier!
It can be a challenge to be grateful when things don't seem to be going our way. The good news is that a grateful attitude is something we can cultivate, and it develops at an increasingly rapid rate in proportion to your active gratefulness. Small starts can have big payoffs!
"An attitude of gratitude is prayer in action!"
~ Cintra Brown ~
A few suggestions for exercising the gratitude muscle-
- Make a list of the top 10 things for which you are grateful. Refer to it often!
- Keep a Gratitude Journal. Every day, write down three things that you appreciate that are different from the items on your top ten list. Share it with a friend.
- Recite the alphabet and name something you appreciate that starts with each of the letters. You might have eaten a very tasty "A"pple for breakfast. Be thankful for your "B"reath! Some items on your list might be more substantial than others but appreciating the small things in life is important work.
“There's no great loss without some small gain.”
~Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie~
The Yoga Sutras teach that suffering is caused by our attachment to polarities. Try not labeling things as either "good" or "bad". Judging a situation as "bad" prevents us from being objective and we lose our ability to see the positive aspects (and it doesn't change the situation at all). A friend was recently in an auto accident and her car was totaled. A single mother, and full time student, she was suddenly without transportation. We could call that "bad", right? However, no one was hurt in the accident, and, although she had to put a little effort into making it work she pieced together alternate transportation for the time she was without a car. The insurance company was very responsive and she was quickly able to purchase another car that actually suited her needs better than the old one did. The situation was both good and bad- or perhaps the situation was NEITHER good nor bad! The situation was simply what it was and our perception is the only thing that judges it. We have a choice in how we perceive things.
Smile- Our emotions are reflected on our faces but the opposite is also true. Our expressions can alter our moods. Try it!
Curious? If there is a particular topic in Yoga or Ayurveda that sparks your curiosity, let me know and I will enter it for a future article!
