Gratitude

How do you express your gratidude?

There are so many little things that happen during the day that can bring us joy.

In the Yoga Stura, maditā is the term for joy, gladness and delight.  How much attention do you pay to joyful moments? Do you express gratitude towards the things that bring you joy?

We often focus on what’s wrong in our day, rather than the simple moments where things go well.  By practising gratitude it can draw our awareness to these moments and lead to us noticing the positive parts of our day.

Benefits of Gratitude Practice

There are loads of research articles that demonstrate the benefits of a regular gratitude practice including:-

• Improvements in relationships
• Improvements in mental health
• Enhancing empathy
• Improvements in sleep
• Improvements in self esteem
• Increase in mental resiliance

Suggestions for Practicing Gratitude

• Pause, look around your environment and find one item that brings you a feeling of joy and gratitude. Spend a few seconds appreciating it.
• Journal at the end of the day noting down 3 things you were grateful for that day.
• Acknowledge and be grateful for the effort that went into producing something that gives you joy.  E.g. offering thanks to the author who wrote a book you’re enjoying reading.
• Sense gratitude physically in your body.  When we tune in to our physical sensations we can deepen our emotional experience of joy and gladness. This helps us to embody the feeling of gratitude in a deeper way than just saying thank you.
• Thank yourself, sensing your gratitude, at the end of your yoga or meditation practice, for dedicating time to take care of yourself.