At the end of my classes, I like to offer the opportunity to finish the practice with gratitude. I suggest reflecting through the day and finding three people or experiences that you are grateful for.
Most yoga instructors, when teaching from the heart, will tell you that they teach what they are working on themselves. Finding gratitude for the little things in my life, really keeps me grounded. I find it pretty easy to get caught up in the busyness of my day to day life and forget to notice the little things that create so much happiness for me.
For us spiritual people, gratitude has become a buzzword that a lot of us like to use. I want to dig a little deeper in to the word and the concept of gratitude.
While doing research for this topic, I came across an article by Robert Emmons, a gratitude researcher. He defines gratitude in two parts
“First, it’s an affirmation of goodness. We affirm that there are good thing in the world, gifts and benefits we’ve received. This doesn’t mean that life is perfect; it doesn’t ignore complaints, burdens, and hassles. But when we look at life as a whole, gratitude encourages us to identify some amount of goodness in our life.
The second part of gratitude is figuring out where that goodness comes from. We recognize the sources of this goodness as being outside of ourselves. It didn’t stem from anything we necessarily did ourselves in which we might take pride. We can appreciate positive traits in ourselves, but I think true gratitude involves a humble dependence on others: We acknowledge that other people—or even higher powers, if you’re of a spiritual mindset—gave us many gifts, big and small, to help us achieve the goodness in our lives.”
Now that sounds pretty amazing!
In a Psychology Today article, they discuss 7 Scientifically Proven Benefits of Gratitude. They are as follows-
Gratitude opens the door to more relationships.
Gratitude improves physical health.
Gratitude improves psychological health.
Gratitude enhances empathy and reduces aggression.
Grateful people sleep better.
Gratitude improves self-esteem.
Gratitude increases mental strength
I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t say they want at least one of these benefits!
Of course, it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t reference Nischala Joy Devi’s book The Secret Power of Yoga. She translates the Yama- Aparigraha as follows-
Sutra 2.39 Acknowledging Abundance (Aparigraha), we recognize the blessings in everything and gain insights into the purpose for our worldly existence.
She goes on to say, that by recognizing these blessings, we deepen our spiritual wealth. “Spiritual wealth is the only wealth that sustains us and when we venture deep within, we are all millionaires!”
For such a simple act of reflecting back through your day and looking for the good that was there, it sure is powerful technique. If gratitude isn’t already part of your day, why not give it a try??
Until next time,
Sandra
P.S. I was sent a link to this article by Katie Holmes, Why is Gratitude Important for Recovery, Success, Mental Health and More? This is a compiled list of responses to the question “why is gratitude important?”. Enjoy!