Happy Thanksgiving One and All!

Yoga Nidra for Gratitude

The Thanksgiving holiday can be a day of joy and gratitude. It is my favorite holiday because it doesn't matter who you are or your beliefs. To me, that makes Thanksgiving the most inclusive of holidays. (Admittedly, there is a darker mythology on which it is based. Celebrating Thanksgiving is celebrated by most Americans as a time of friends and family gathering.

On the other hand, Thanksgiving can also mark the beginning of a stressful season with holiday pressures, sad anniversaries, seasonal affective disorder or just because our hours of sunlight are limited at this time of year. Tonight at 7:30, our Yoga Nidra will focus on gratitude and healing. Please join me online for a practice that can nourish the soul.

Gratitude

In this week of Thanksgiving the topic of Gratitude is foremost on my mind. We can express gratitude in so many ways. Gratitude for individuals, gratitude for our society, gratitude for our planet, gratitude for our families and ultimately resulting in gratitude for ourselves. The concept of gratitude in yoga can be found in the Sanskrit word kritajna which translates to cultivated consciousness or enlightened awareness. Finding gratitude for ourselves and others changes our perceptions and thus enriches our lives merely by making ourselves aware of gratitude (Asheville Yoga Community, 2021).

Using gratitude helps us to heal relationships. Dr. Brené Brown (2018) found in her research that "practicing gratitude invites joy into our lives." There are times where we do not feel gratitude in our relationships. Like forgiveness, gratitude can open your life in ways that you never expected.

Yoga is also nourishment. As we sit down at whatever you choose as your Thanksgiving table, take in the nourishment of what this feast represents. It is not just about the food, it is about accepting nourishment from those around you whether physical, spiritual or emotional. It is gratitude to that which surrounds us, our society, our planet. Having gratitude and recognizing the nourishment that these things provided for you are what makes this such a meaningful holiday.

Expressing gratitude brings us to a higher plane of existence. As the Swiss philosopher Henri Frederic Amiel “Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist not merely of words. Gratitude is shown in act[ion]s.”

At your Thanksgiving Day meal you may want to do this short meditation with yourself or others. Say it to yourself silently or as a group activity with family and friends.

"I have gratitude for myself.

I have gratitude for my family.

I have gratitude for others.

I have gratitude for the earth."

Resources:

Asheville Yoga Community. (2021). Kritajna – The Practice of Gratitude.

Brown, B. (2018). Brené Brown on Joy and Gratitude.