Yoga On & Off the Mat

Being Grateful for Thanksgiving

By Brooke Hewes, 11-15-07

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. A full day dedicated to gratitude — someone had their thinking cap on when they declared this emotion worthy of its own day! Twenty-four sweet hours to celebrate family, friends and food. Twenty-four hours to feel grateful for the blessings as well as the hardships that shape our lives and build our spirits. Twenty-four hours to notice how gratitude affects our bodies, minds and relationships.

Thanksgiving also lends an excellent excuse to begin (or revive) a gratitude ritual.

Defining Gratitude
Gratitude is about feeling grateful. It is about thankfulness and appreciation. Rather than motivated by guilt or indebtedness, gratitude is— to quote Gitendra Uswatte, a psychology professor at the University of Alabama, in a recent Chicago Tribune story —“an emotion that reflects thankfulness for benefits received from other individuals, nature or a higher being.”

Or, in the words of Frank Jude Boccio in Yoga Journal’s article “Grounded in Gratitude,” gratitude is “a heightened awareness of your connection to everything else.”

Indeed, gratitude for your house can easily include appreciation for those who designed and built it. Gratitude for your dinner can acknowledge the growers, the harvesters, and the transporters of that sustenance. As such, from gratitude springs mindfulness as you acknowledge and honor your dependence upon others. In time, gratitude widens the lens through which we perceive life, eventually sowing the seeds of compassion, empathy, and universal consciousness.

Much like our yoga practice, gratitude can be a spiritual practice that informs our connection with others—that reminds us that our actions, reactions, even our thoughts, affect the people around us. In the article “Yoga and Gratitude,” author Jennifer Jordon calls gratitude the first law of attraction (think “The Secret”), and as such, “the springboard from which a pathway towards moment to moment self awareness gains momentum.”

It makes sense, then, that the benefits of gratitude, much like the benefits of yoga, ripple into our physical, spiritual and intellectual selves.

Gratitude Affects Our Mind, Muscles
Dabblers, dedicatees and everyone in between can attest to yoga’s capacity to change lives. (Even if not your life, you can probably attest to the practice’s profound, transformative powers in others.) It changes your body. It shifts the nature and quality of your thoughts. In time, it affects the way you relate to others and yourself. Whether you practice asana, pranayama, meditation, or any one of yoga’s many threads, you are creating space in your mindbody to connect with the present moment and all energetic manifestations within.

Likewise, practicing gratitude affects your body, mind and spirit. Numerous recent studies support the health benefits of gratitude. Psychologically, grateful people are more positive, more satisfied with life, more vital and optimistic; these people tend to be less depressed and less stressed. Also, according to Dr. Phil House in the Billing’s Gazette article “Gratitude Can Improve Psychological Well-being,” grateful people are more empathetic and generous; less judgmental and materialistic; and generally more pleasant and joyful.

Physiologically, a less-stressed body is a healthier body with better immune function and healing capacity.

According to an article published this summer in Medical News Today, gratitude improves the well-being and quality of life of organ recipients. Patients who kept a journal noting medications, daily life and emotional well-being benefited from adding five things for which they were grateful. Relative to those patients who just kept a daily journal, the grateful patients had “higher mental health and general well-being scores.”

Cultivating Mindfulness
If you’ve ever meditated on gratitude, you probably trust these studies. Even the word itself seems to create more room for your breath to navigate and relax your body. Muscles loosen. Thoughts slow. Slight smiles form to replace furrowed brows.

Frank Jude Boccio, who in addition to contributing to Yoga Journal authored the book Mindfulness Yoga, offers some practical practices for giving thanks. One ritual involves assuming a centered, seated position. After connecting with your breath and calming your thoughts, ask yourself “what have I received today?” Take note of all gifts, small or big, and pay particular attention to those things that you did not acknowledge as they occurred. Like, Boccio suggests, your partner’s smile. The driver who let you merge onto the highway. The food that fills your fridge. More basically (and undeniably yogic), acknowledge the human form and consciousness that permits such actions and realizations.

Second, ask “what have I given today?” Reflect on your day. Reflect on your actions. Reflect on the benefits of your generosity and courteousness to others. (And include them all—feeding the dog counts!)

Finally, ask yourself if you have caused anyone or anything hardships or headaches today. As Boccio says, “seeing how you cause others difficulty can deflect your ego while reminding you again of the grace by which you live.”

There is also opportunity to be grateful when troubles plague you. Phillip Moffitt in Yoga Journal’s article “Selfless Gratitude” touts the benefits of being grateful even when “you are contracted physically or emotionally.” Like, for instance, when you are angry. Sure, you may not be thrilled about the anger quickening your pulse or reddening your face, but you can be grateful for the mind and body that recognize and process this emotion. 

Other, simpler practices include making a list of all that you are grateful for—today, yesterday, throughout your life.  Then extend thanks (out loud or to yourself) to all those who contributed to this list. 

You can remind yourself to be grateful throughout the day. As the stoplight turns green, be thankful. When your computer turns on, be grateful. With time, this practice will shift your attitude and capacity to handle hardship.

You can simply meditate on the word. As you breathe in, whisper “gratitude.” As you breathe out, smile. And repeat for as long as it feels comfortable. Alternatively, you can create your own easy-to-remember gratitude mantra.

You can keep a gratitude journal.

You can dedicate your asana practice to someone who made you laugh or smile today. And as you navigate through a challenging posture, you can thank yourself for making it to your mat and pushing through physical and emotional boundaries.

Thanksgiving Practices
Since next Thursday marks a full day for giving thanks, it is the perfect time to initiate a gratitude practice. Or, to simply enjoy the fact that others are. Below are a few ways that some local yogis celebrate Thanksgiving.

Tane Talalotu practices and teaches yoga at the Yoga Fitness Center and the University of Montana. “For thanksgiving I don’t do any asana!! NONE!! To me, Thanksgiving is all about family.....and FOOD. So the only yoga I do is trying to be mindful in the things I decide to do that day and not doing anything really but enjoying my day with my son....... spreading the love....... always....!

Harriet Alterowitz teaches yoga at the Women’s Club here in Missoula. “For Thanksgiving I begin the day with a morning meditation practice, offering gratitude for the blessing of sharing this day with my family.  As a group we always take a slow and gentle walk on one of Missoula’s open spaces and then return home to smell the delicious turkey and all the fixins.”

John Squillante, owner of and teacher at Missoula’s Down Dog studio, will lead a practice Thanksgiving morning called “Pre-Stuffing Stomach Stretch.” Although he usually doesn’t, he may add a gratitude ceremony for that class.

Margaret Burns Vap, yoga teacher in Bozeman and contributor to this column, offers: “Since I started teaching and opened my studio, I actually made it a point to not practice or teach on holidays … I love holidays and they are really special family time, and since they typically lend themselves to many things I wouldn’t otherwise do, I make those activities a priority and give myself the day “off” from asana practice or teaching. Otherwise it feels like I am cramming too much into a day I want to savor, and even though I love my day-to-day life, I want holidays to be markedly different from that.”

I will post practices as folks respond; in the meantime, I invite you to share your own Thanksgiving Day or any day practice of gratitude.

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