Yoga directs our awareness to the rise and fall of our breath in our body. On our mat we focus in on what’s happening in the present moment. Pause get present and give gratitude to what we have here and now. Simply feeling thankful for the body that supports you and this breath that gives you life is something to be thankful for.

Thanksgiving can be a challenging holiday for many people. An empty place at the table where a loved one used to sit. People with dietary restrictions can feel like a burden or excluded completely. For some the tradition itself is difficult. We can struggle to feel grateful in the throes of grief, sadness, and loss but research shows gratitude is a practice we can strengthen over time like a muscle. It’s an attitude of have rather than want.

Three key components of gratitude are joy, acceptance, and appreciation. Gratitude makes us joyful. Who doesn’t want to be happier? Research shows when practiced together gratitude and acceptance increase resiliency and reduce burnout. Accepting where you are in the present moment is knowing whatever is right here right now belongs, is ok and you can be at peace. On our mats we practice acceptance without forcing our way through and it shows us how to extend that practice off the mat as well. Accepting when we feel sad, angry, lonely, etc and simultaneously being grateful for something, anything, and the reason why you are thankful for it. Gratitude is not allowing the things you want make you forget the things you have.

A few years back I went all Quartermaine style (if you know you know 🙃) for Thanksgiving and started teaching a yoga class in the morning. Empty places at the table where loved ones used to sit was difficult for me. Feeling sad AND feeling gratitude is a little like making a U-Turn. Gratitude is a practice we can strengthen and develop over time like a muscle. It’s an attitude of have rather than want and it helps us to not let the things we want overshadow the things we have. Every year there is a specific word, and each student receives a rock with that word, as a way to take a piece of the energy and intention we create back into their festivities, day and life. Over the years students collect the rocks and keep them on their desks, or counters and some even use them on their tables as centerpieces and reminders Gratitude Rocks. Starting the day in an incredible community I’m grateful and blessed to be a part of is always my AND. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.