It All Starts with Gratitude

This time of the year, it’s natural to take a moment out of our busy lives and reflect on the many things that we’re thankful for. One of my favorite things to do in a yoga class is to set an intention to express gratitude for something that I’m thankful for.

It occurred to me as I was preparing to write this blog post that, while I regularly express gratitude for things outside of the yoga studio, I’ve never taken the time to express gratitude for the things that my own yoga practice has added to my life. 

I set my iPhone timer for five minutes and started writing a list as quickly as I could. Here are a few of the things that I’m grateful to yoga for:

• Experiencing the physical benefits of yoga when my body needed it most

• Finding the mental benefits of yoga when I expected it least

• Savasana assists. Enough said.

• Discovering the willpower I never knew existed through my Hot practice

• Developing greater flexibility - in my muscles and in life

• Learning that it’s OK to be quiet for sixty minutes

• Teachers that open the door at the hottest point of class

• Teachers that kick my butt

• Making lifelong friends through yoga

• The extra inch in height I gained from now having good posture

• The discipline I developed waking up for 6am classes

• Hot classes when it’s freezing outside

• Knowledgeable teachers who helped me learn the poses when I was first starting out

• Half-Pigeon after sitting in a chair all day long

• Extra-long Savasanas

I challenge you, next time you take a class, to start by expressing gratitude for something that your own yoga practice has given to you. It will add a whole new perspective to the time that you spend on your mat.