Studies show that when we focus on gratitude every day it benefits our health on a mental and physical level.In yoga philosophy we learn about Santosha (contentment) and how practicing thanks and giving is part of this.
Angeles Arrien, author of Living in Gratitude: Mastering the Art of Giving Thanks Every Day, A Month-by-Month Guide,
1. Write in a gratitude journal
2. Call, visit or send notes to people that you are grateful for
3. Anticipate the unexpected blessings that are already on their way
4. Participate in or organizes a monthly gratitude circle
5. Remember where you have been deeply challenged or in a place of hardship and to be grateful to have moved beyond those afflictions
To honour the tradition of Thanksgiving (which is on the 2nd Monday in October in Canada), our Tone staff have come up with their own gratitude lists. We asked them to share 3-5 things they are grateful for.
Please feel free to add your own list in the comments below.
Happy Thanks and Giving to you and yours!
I am grateful for:
Frances
- I am grateful for all the students I have taught, they have been a Blessing in my life
- I am grateful for my friends an family, they keep me grounded
- I am grateful for my life, to be here, in this world doing what I love
Stephanie
- The beauty of my garden, which I can see out my window
- The long lunch break I get on long days at work
- The delicious curried squash soup I made with squash from my garden, which I am about to enjoy any minute!
- The coziness of my house on this chilly and damp Fall day
- The love of my family and friends
- My little family, and our healthy and abundant life
- Clean safe drinking water
- Scampering squirrels in the garden
- My curiosity and sense of humour
- Waffles the dog
- all the wonderful family, friends and cats in my life
- doing yoga before the sun comes up
- words … on a page … on a screen … from others … from my own mind
- helping others find their own yoga
- long walks in the forest
- Family nearby and available
- My smartphone that keeps me connected and communicating
- Tone staff who care for our building and keep me from isolation
- Harvest colours and scents
- The VW diesel fiasco that challenges me to rethink everything about green energy
- Love from family, friends and 3 cats
- Our postal service (just walking to my mailbox to get mail!)
- Watching the birds, sipping warm tea in my office
- My flexible work schedule
- Sharing yoga with others and seeing them “light up”
Kathy H.
- Yoga and being able to share it with others
- My special friends in my life and being able share experiences and laugh
- My daughters and their beauty and warmth that makes me proud to be their mom!!
Maxine
- ovens & stoves
- the warm earth amidst the drizzle (makes planting garlic easier on the fingers!)
- my sense of self-appreciation
- my amazing, hospitable, cute heart-on-the-sleeves family
- hearing stories from my grandpa about how gran ‘used to dance like a butterfly’… followed with a ‘now she just yells at me and then buys me shirts’
Amanda
- I am grateful for the fact that I am grateful for WAY more than 5 things and am trying to choose what I am most grateful for.
- I am grateful for my family and friends
- I am grateful for myself
- I am grateful for the abundance all around me
- I am grateful for the “flexible for family” attitude of my co-workers, bosses and company
- (I couldn’t help it – see #1) I am grateful for my yoga practice for opening me up to all the “teachers” all around me (including myself) and keeping me grounded to explore and learn
Cathy B.
- I am grateful for the love of my friends and family
- I am grateful for breath
- I am grateful to all my AMAZING teachers!
- I am grateful for life
- I am grateful to students who continue to teach me the wonders of teaching
Esther
- the students who come and share Nia with me
- the healing space at Tone Studio
- time spent with my children and grandchildren
- the brilliant colours all around us this year
- my music room
Anne
- My family and friends
- The many teachers I have in my life that gently nudge (some not so gently!) me to grow
- The abundance in my life
- My blossoming awareness of self which leads me to explore old patterns and ways of being
- The beauty that surrounds me in nature
Diane
- an abundance of fresh, delicious food
- my loving friends and family
- a dog who always greets me with a smile
- that I am blessed with a job that allows me to help others
- and that I am alive and healthy
My family
My beautiful children
A vehical to drive when its to far to walk
Our house
Food in our home
And good friends
I am grateful for overcoming hardships in the past with the loyalty of family and friends. I now enjoy health and happiness thanks in part to the practices of yoga and meditation.
I really appreciate that hardships have made you grateful Karen and that yoga and meditation are on your list.
I am thankful for the healing I have experienced in my life. Thankful for the grace of the Divine. I am thankful for my two beautiful grown children and my beautiful granddaughter. I am thankful for my parents and the lessons I’ve learned from them – thankful they thought to leave my sister and I some assets for financial support. I am thankful for the breath i breathe every day. I am thankful for this precious gift of life and the opportunity to change, learn and grow. I am thankful for the love I feel for and from others…. I am thankful to just be – in this moment. I am thankful. And it is wonderful to feel such deep gratitude for life itself. I am thankful to be so grateful in this moment and to feel the Divine at work in my life. I am deeply grateful for the mercy and patience of the Divine as I take my time healing, trusting the Divine has a plan for my life. I am grateful for this opportunity to express this appreciation publicly. I have everything to be thankful for…. and i offer up that gratitude to the Divine knowing that whatever comes is the Divine will of the One consciousness that permeates all of life. I am thankful most of all for being given the awesome opportunity to be transformed by the Divine Will of God….. I am transformed…. I am a new person…. and I am deeply grateful for the bounty of this great internal harvest of my very own soul…. I have everything to be thankful for and nothing to regret….. What a great blessing! Today too, I am reminded to be thankful for the peace I feel in my own heart that has come from the many years of hard inner work on my healing path…. thankful too for the inner realization I have achieved… these are true gifts for which I am deeply thankful for. In the end, ALL comes from the grace of the Divine and I am most thankful for this beneficent and awesome grace……
Bonnie
* I am grateful to have the freedom of choice(s)
* I am grateful to be Canadian
* I am grateful to have yoga to embrace
* I am grateful for family and friends with big hearts and warm hugs
* I am grateful for my creative outlets
I loved reading all of your “mini” gratitude journals xo
– I am so very grateful for my loving and supportive family and friends
– Grateful for my kind, compassionate, considerate and loving partner
– I am soooooo grateful for the country in which we live – and the freedoms we experience because of this.
– I am forever grateful for the practice of yoga, what I have learned through this practice, the AMAZING teachers who have lead me down this path and each and every member of the community that works hard to honour themselves each and every day.
– I am grateful for and in awe of the beauty of nature (everyday!)
Becky – I too am grateful for clean/safe drinking water and the bounty of fresh food which is lovingly grown by all of the dedicated farmers in our area.
Love you all xoxoxo and thanks for being a very special part of my life and practice
My family, of course. I’m grateful for music, and I’m grateful for everything yoga has taught me. The patience, perseverance, creating space, asana practise and the whole study of yoga.
Lovin’ all of these! So much thanks for all of your thanks! My heart is filled with joy and abundance reading these!
Wow it is like a gratitude boost to read all of these amazing posts!
I love our Country. Not perfect but I am thankful to have the freedom to suggest improvements at any time.
I am thankful for my health. A true blessing.
I am blessed with love and support by family and friends on this Thanksgiving.
I am so thankful for all my yoga instructors and co-yoga participants. You all have helped me develop in mind, body and soul. Yoga classes allow one to hang out with others around the fountain of youth.
Thank-you for sharing everyone, it is so great to read this!