Winter Yin Time

I've been feeling a bit out of sorts (as I know many of us do in the winter and around the holidays). All I want to do is snuggle up in my blankets and read, read, read. Or maybe watch some movies. But for some reason, I feel like this "introversion thing" is somehow wrong so I schedule up my time by signing up for classes, teaching more, and having or going to parties. None of these things are wrong, but I am definitely forcing myself to get out of the house.

Thankfully, I came across this article in Yoga Journal which makes me feel a little better about my hibernation tendencies. Maybe it is ok to slow down after all. Enjoy.

Winter Wonder Yin

An acupuncturist explains why the final month of the year, an inherently yin season, is not the time to indulge in yang activities like shopping, partying, and staying up late. ~ By Laurel Kallenbach

The final few months of the year often find us in a frantic state of shopping, decorating, traveling, and other high-energy activity. Yet instead of having fun, we often end up feeling ill, anxious, or depressed. The reason, according to Taoist philosophy and traditional Chinese medicine, is that the action-packed schedules we keep at this time of year fall out of sync with the earth's natural cycles.

"We naturally have less energy to burn during the winter," explains acupuncturist Carolyn Cohen, L.Ac., who teaches at Yo San University, a college of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in Santa Monica, California. "So when we engage in behaviors more appropriate for summer—staying up late and dashing around town—it's no wonder that the forced cheer of the holiday season can wear a bit thin."

Taoist philosophy conceptualizes universal balance in terms of yin and yang, complementary forces that govern the universe. Yin characteristics are cool, wet, slow, feminine, and quiet, whereas yang is the opposite: warm, dry, fast, masculine, extroverted. Winter, the yin season, is a time for storing and conserving energy in the way a bear retains fat by hibernating, or a farmer stores food for the cold months ahead.

In agrarian cultures, people spend the shortest, darkest days indoors by the fire, eating warm, slow-cooked, nourishing food and sharing stories with their families. The incongruity between winter's restful, introspective, yin nature and the frenetic way many Americans spend their holidays can contribute to seasonal affective disorder, depression, exhaustion, and other manifestations of what is known in TCM as shen (or spiritual) disharmony.

"Winter solstice, just three or four days before Christmas, is the darkest, most yin day of the year," says Cohen. "Instead of turning inward, we're celebrating with excess and yang activity. This artificiality creates stress, and many people dread the season as a result."

To stay balanced during winter, suggests Cohen, conserve your yang energy. Restorative yoga, tai chi, qigong, and walking are best suited for yin season, as they safeguard your energy reserves. "Think of these practices as an investment of your 'energy paycheck,'" says Cohen. "Don't use up what little winter energy you have with overactivity and added stress."

Eating cooked, spicy yang foods provides another good way to replenish energy. Prepare yang-strengthening soups, slow-simmered stews, beans, roasted root vegetables, and warm drinks. Add yang spices such as garlic, ginger, black pepper, cloves, and basil to increase the warming effect. Minimize your intake of yin foods such as raw vegetables, salad greens, and cold drinks.

If you find quiet, more modest ways to celebrate the holidays, you'll stay in tune with the season and feel less need to release tension by overeating or rampant spending. You'll also have more time and energy to connect with close friends and family. If you're out of sync with the mall mobs with maxed-out credit cards, chances are you'll find yourself in step with the quiet, nurturing yin nature of winter.

Article found here: http://www.yogajournal.com/health/101.

And to help us on our inward journey, a link to free guided meditations with Tara Brach: www.tarabrach.com.

The Forest Unseen ~ A Year's Watch in Nature: Part II

In my previous post I shared an insight from the author of The Forest Unseen ~ A Year's Watch in Nature which I felt was relevant to the 30 Day Meditation Challenge. But I liked the book so much that I want to share a few more passages.

On the topic of declining wild forest health and the rise of the industrial (monoculture) forest David Haskell says,

The scale, the novelty, and the intensity of this change are unquestionable threats to the diversity of life in the forests. Whether or how we respond to this erosion is a moral question. Nature seemingly provides no moral guidance; mass extinction is another of her many flavors. Neither can moral questions be answered by our culture's obsession with policy think tanks, scientific reports, or legal contests. I believe that the answers, or their beginnings, are found in our quiet windows on the whole. Only by examining the fabric that holds and sustains us can we see our place and, therefore, our responsibilities. A direct experience of the forest gives us the humility to put our life and desires into that bigger context that inspires all the great moral traditions.

I was struck by this quote because I am so strongly in support of preserving our forests that to question the morality of it was surprising to me. Thankfully, the author, who is much better with words than I am, goes on to answer this riddle for me.

Can the flowers and bees answer my questions? Not directly, but two intuitions come to mind by contemplation of a multifarious forest whose existence transcends my own. First, to unravel life's cloth is to scorn a gift. Worse, it is to destroy a gift that even hardheaded science tells us is immeasurably valuable. We discard the gift in favor of a self-created world that we know is incoherent and cannot be sustained. Second, the attempt to turn a forest into an industrial process is improvident, profoundly so.

The problem with our modern forest economy lies in the unbalanced way that we extract wood from land. Our laws and economic rules place short term extractive gain over all other values. It does not have to be this way. We can find our way back to thoughtful management for the long-term well-being of both humans and forests. But finding this way will require some quiet and humility. Oases of contemplation can call us out of disorder, restoring a semblance of clarity to our moral vision. ~ David Haskell

The thoughtful and precise language in this book fed my soul. I couldn't tear through this book as I would a novel. This book is one which deserves a slow, mindful read. Many thanks to the author and to the publisher. Great book!

The Forest Unseen ~ 30 Day Meditation Wrap-up

Throughout the 30 Day Meditation Challenge I was reading a wonderful book, The Forest Unseen ~ A Year's Watch in Nature. This book is a cross between meditation and biology. It was not a book to hog down like The Hunger Games. Rather, it was to be taken in small sips, savored and let to bubble inside.

The author, David Haskell uses the idea of a Tibetan mandala, in this case a patch of old-growth Tennessee forest, as a window into the natural world. He committed to visiting this mandala, as often as he could, for one whole year. As I read, I was continually delighted with both the learning I was gaining through his knowledge of the natural world, and with his obvious connection to meditation / yogic philosophy. And, I am amazed at his perseverance; committing to sit every day for 30 days seemed like something - but committing to sit for a year? Wow.

I would like to pass on one of the author's insights, a summing up of his year, based on his idea of taking a meditative stance while sitting in nature:

The interior quality of our minds is itself a great teacher of natural history. It is here that we learn that "nature" is not a separate place. We too are animals, primates with a rich ecological and evolutionary context. By paying attention, this inner animal can be watched at any time: our keen interest in fruits, meats, sugar and salt; our obsession with social hierarchies, clans and networks; our fascination with the aesthetics of human skin, hair, and bodily shapes; our incessant intellectual curiosity and ambition. Each one of us inhabits a storied mandala with as much complexity and depth as an old-growth forest. Even better, watching ourselves and watching the world are not in opposition; by observing the forest, I have come to see myself more clearly.
~ David Haskell

Lovely perspective. Is that not what we are each trying to do as we sit? We are looking to know ourselves better; to know our light and our shadow; to know ourselves as one with all.

Day 30: 30 Day Meditation

Yea for us - we made it! I hope everyone enjoyed practicing the discipline of quiet. For me it was both a challenge and a pleasure. I like to think that I will continue my practice but I know myself and I doubt I will be as diligent now that the challenge is over. (And I'm ok with that.) I would love to hear your final thoughts as well.

As I said yesterday, I recorded my Yoga Nidra class from Thursday and for a special treat of leaving you with a longer practice, I am posting a link here. The practice includes gentle yoga in the beginning as a body warm-up and soother, then moves on to Yoga Nidra (guided deep relaxation and meditation). This includes a practice of healing and a short gratitude meditation.

Just like the Deep Relaxation with Gong practice, the audio from this live recording is fairly quiet and there are background noises too but maybe that will make you feel like you are in class, practicing with the group.

Here's the link to the free, guided, deep relaxation and meditation practice (1 hour, 13 minutes - 34.13MB): Yoga Nidra + Healing
Note: To  download, click or right-click the link and select "save file," "save link as," or "open with iTunes."

I would suggest resting in Supported Savasana for your Yoga Nidra practice. Like this:

Again, here is a list of links to support your home meditation practice as we finish up our 30 day community practice.

1) All posts from this challenge: 30 Day Meditation Challenge
2) Facebook Event page: 30 Days of Meditation
3) More on meditation on this blog: Meditation
4) More on guided relaxation: Yoga Nidra / Deep Relaxation
5) Audio files for breath work, meditation, and relaxation: Audio Files
6) "Like" Do Restorative on Facebook to continue to be part of the learning: www.facebook.com/DoRestorativeYoga.

I have enjoyed practicing with you all.

Namaste ~ Sara

Day 21: 30 Day Meditation

I had a hard time keeping my eyes closed today. My eyelids kept fluttering. I decided to let my eyes open and just sit. I kept awareness on my breath and let my eyes rest on the trees outside my window. This was actually very restful. I felt less mind-busy than I usually do with my eyes closed.

Also, Noah had asked the other day about how to sit to relieve back pain. Here's one idea:

Sitting with belt support. Use a yoga belt (or any belt which is big enough to go around you from lumbar to easy-seated-knees). Snug the belt up til you feel like your knees and back are mutually supported and see how it feels for your meditation. You may also notice that I am sitting on a wedge. This tilts the pelvis forward and relieves back strain.

Please Join me for 30 Days of Meditation

As a yoga teacher, I have some guilt that I do not meditate every day. I am also aware of yoga's first rule, Ahimsa (nonviolence), so I try to choose to not beat myself up for this "failing." Just the same, I remember how great my mind felt when I did meditate every day. I remember feeling like I was coming home every time I sat in Easy-seated pose or even Dandasana. I'd like to get that self-ease back and I'd like to invite other people to join me.

I've decided to do a 30 day "Meditation Challenge" in the month of June (pretty easy to keep track since June has 30 days). To keep myself accountable, I plan to blog about it here. I don't have a set amount of time per day that I will hold myself to. I am imagining anywhere from as little as 5 minutes to as much as 30 minutes per sit.

I'd like to invite anyone and everyone to join me in this challenge. You meditate in your house, I'll meditate in my house, and we'll meet up here and on Facebook to share our experiences and support each other.

I had a student ask me today if she could do this challenge since she had never meditated before. I said, "Yes, of course. All you have to do is sit down and do nothing." Ha ha ha - that makes it sound so easy. But as most of us know, doing nothing is just about impossible.

The lovely thing about meditation though, is that even if it is monumental to keep our minds quiet, we do build a certain calmness though this practice; an ability to sit through discomfort; a deep calm that comes from knowing ourselves. Here's a link to a few posts about meditation to get us all started. 

Looking forward to sitting with you. Namaste ~ Sara

A Practice of Noticing

Continuing on with our truth-seeking and self reflection....

I found an insightful article by Sally Kempton talking about how to delve into your own feelings and peel back the layers of emotions wrapping the heart. Here's the exercise she details:

Start with Yourself. If you want to practice with intense energies, a good way to start is with your own feelings and moods, and to start small. Stephen Levine once wrote that working with heavy emotional issues can be like getting into the ring with a 500-pound wrestler—if you haven't trained for it, the wrestler will throw you in the first clench. One of the best ways to train for working with energy is to practice during private moments of meltdown.

One of my favorite times for this kind of practice is the onset of road rage. Like many otherwise reasonable people, I have an inner road warrior who emerges only when I'm alone behind the wheel. He's mouthy, cynical, easily offended—a cross between a New York City cabbie and one of those eccentric hit men from a Quentin Tarantino film. There's a lot of energy in this persona, however. So when I notice myself having snarly private dialogues with a driver who has cut me off at an exit, I try to use the occasion for exploring the energy inside my anger.

You can do this too, anytime. First, take a moment to remember one of your characteristic heavy emotions or the last time you were very angry, grief-stricken, or scared. When you've found the feeling you want to work with, here's what to do:

Acknowledge your feeling. Notice and identify the fact that your inner world has been rocked by an intense, primitive feeling. This is especially important when you've been ambushed by an emotion. It helps to say clearly to yourself, "I'm feeling angry," or, "I'm sad," or, "I'm upset." You don't have to analyze the feeling or even think about where it's coming from.

Pause. Stop yourself from acting on the feeling. To do this, focus on your breathing, following your breath as it moves in and out through your nostrils.

Get grounded. When we're experiencing strong emotions, we often lose touch with our physical body. To get grounded inside your body, bring your attention to the sensation of your feet on the ground; if you're sitting, feel the contact between your buttocks and the cushion or floor.

Bring your awareness into your heart. Once you're grounded, find your center in your heart—not your physical heart but your inner heart, the subtle energy space in the center of your body. If you touch your finger to the spot on your breastbone right between your nipples, you will probably find that there's a slight hollow there and even an achy feeling. Behind this little hollow lies your inner heart. Drop your attention into this center, using your breath as an anchor. Breathe in and out as if you were breathing in and out of your heart. Do this for a few minutes.

Explore the energy in the feeling. Once you have found your center like this, focus again on the feeling you are working with. Where is it in your body? How does it feel? This is not an analytical process; it is more of an exploration. You are giving yourself permission to fully feel and explore the inner sensations created by anger, sadness, injured pride, or fear. Feel whether the emotion is hard or prickly in your body. Notice if there's a color field around your mood. Someone told me that his depressed feelings actually feel grayish.

Let go of the story line. At this point, you'll notice that certain thoughts are attached to your particular emotion, thoughts that frequently begin "How could he?" or "I always..." Acknowledge these thoughts and then let them go, keeping your attention on the feeling rather than getting caught up in your personal story line.

Some people ask, "Suppose there is content in my feeling that needs to be dealt with psychologically or practically? Am I supposed to just let it go?" For the moment, yes. For this particular process, it's important to let go of believing the story that your thoughts and feelings are telling you. If you sense that something in these feelings or in the situation that provoked them needs specific action or attention, take note of it! You'll come back to it later on.

Hold the feeling inside your heart until it dissolves into awareness. Consciously bring the feeling-sense of your emotion into your heart. Hold the feeling inside the energy space in your heart. As you do, let your heart space expand, gently and slowly, until you have the sensation that there is real space around your feeling. Now notice what happens inside you, how the energy inside your anger or grief shifts. It might become sharper and more intense for a while, or it might begin to soften around the edges, to become less specific, less prickly or swampy.

It's important to realize that you aren't just trying to make yourself feel better. You are in a process of shifting your perspective about this feeling. Your intention is to explore its energy and to let that energy resolve itself back into its root, into the core energy of every feeling.

When we bring our heavy emotions into our heart space, it is as if we are bringing them into a place where they can be safely cradled. Psychologist Rudy Bauer has a great way of describing this. He says that holding our intense feelings in our consciousness is like holding hot coals in a basket. The basket contains the coals and allows heat to build up so that we can warm ourselves by their fire, but it also keeps the coals from burning us.

In this way, we can harness the energy inside our intense emotions and use it as a vehicle to move beyond our ordinary mind and toward the source, the Self, where we are powered and supported by something much larger than ourselves—something impersonal and yet loving, something that has no content and yet is full of wisdom. Abiding in this place, we understand what Rumi really meant when he said that fighting and peacefulness both take place within God. Whatever the quality of the times we live in, when we know how to enter the energy of intensity, we have discovered a doorway to the infinite.

Sally Kempton is the author of The Heart of Meditation. She also teaches Awakened Heart Meditation workshops. (For a schedule, visit www.sallykempton.com.) 

If you want to read the entire article click here.

Many forms of Meditation

Defining meditation is an elusive thing. I think it's hard to define because there are so many styles. There is not just one way to meditate. Frank Jude Boccio does a good job giving a brief explanation of a few types of meditation in his article Meditation for Everybody. I love how he explains meditation here:

A good deal of mystique has grown around meditation, yet it is one of the most natural of our human capacities. You've no doubt had moments in your life when you were not thinking or analyzing your experience, but simply "going with the flow." In these moments, there was no past or future, no separation between you and what was happening. That is the essence of meditation.

Contrary to a common misunderstanding, meditation is not a limiting or narrowing of our attention so much as it is a focusing on what is relevant. Our attention can be narrow, as in observing our breath, or broad, as in cooking a five-course dinner. When the mind is able to focus on what is relevant to what is happening now, we experience ourselves as being at one with what we perceive. This experience is deeply joyful, as we become freed from the illusion that we are separate from everything else in the universe. In fact, meditation isn't a withdrawal from life but a deeper, fuller presence in life.

Read his article in Yoga Journal to understand a bit more about a multitude of meditation styles.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

The meaning of Om Shanti Shanti Shanti as found at amritapuri.org.

The mantras chanted in Amma's ashrams at the end of arati and archana are called shanti mantras1. Therefore to conclude each one, "shanti," which means "peace," is chanted three times. As a spiritual aspirant, one chants shanti in desire for the occurrence of circumstances conducive to a spiritual education. But these mantras can be chanted for peace in a general sense as well. Shanti is chanted thrice not for emphasis but because disturbances are of three distinct categories. In Sanskrit, these are referred to as adhi-daivikam, adhi-bhautikam and adhyatmikam.

Adhi-daivikam literally means "mental disturbances that come from God"—i.e. things that are utterly beyond our control: hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, tsunamis, etc. We have no control over these types of disturbances. So when we say the first shanti, we are praying, "O God, may we be protected from these obstacles that are beyond our control."

Adhi-bhautikam literally means "disturbances that come from the world." That means anything stemming from the world around us—mosquitoes, noisy neighbors, barking dogs, the phone ringing, family arguments. As opposed to the first category, we have some control over this second category of disturbances. We can use mosquito repellent, we can call the police on our neighbors, we can turn off the phone, we can leave the place altogether, etc. So this shanti means, "O God, may we be protected from the people and surroundings."

The third type of disturbance is the most powerful and, at the same time, the only one over which we have total control. Adhyatmikam means "disturbances stemming from the self." For one who is still identified with the ego, the people, places and things of this world stimulate one of two reactions in the mind—attachment or aversion. Whether we physically see someone we consider our enemy as we walk down the street or remember him during meditation, the mental turbulence that results is the same. Lust, jealousy, anger, sorrow, and hatred destroy our peace. During meditation, pleasant memories also distract us. Hearing the sound of a jet plane flying overhead may mentally carry us off to a fabulous holiday we once took. Only after 10 minutes of daydreaming do we realize we have lost focus on our object of meditation.

In fact, Amma says that the ego is the only true obstacle to mental peace. This third shanti is therefore the most important one, because even if we are free from outside disturbances, if the inner realm is not calm we will never know peace. Conversely, once we have found inner peace, no external force can ever disturb us. So chanting this third shanti is akin to praying, "O God, please remove all the inner obstacles."

There is one more element to the three-fold chanting of "shanti," and that is the silence that follows each repetition. If chanted properly, this silence is the emphasis: shanti... shanti.... shanti....

This silence is representative of true peace, the peace of an Enlightened One like Amma. For the spiritual seeker, peace is the goal. For an Enlightened One peace has been realized as his very nature. To have be have equipoise in every situation in life verily is realization.

Meditation 101

I thought I had already re-posted this meditation overview article from Yoga Journal but I can't find it on my blog so here it is (again?). One of my favorites is to listen to the sounds of life. I was introduced to this concept first though Elesa Commerse and The Deep Calm. She has a nice meditation CD called Sit Comfortably Meditation Timer CD (pictured right). The funny thing about the below article is that I feel like deep listening is a combination of the 1st four ideas: just sit, listen to the sounds of life, practice bare attention and follow the breath. Really, this is being acutely aware of the present moment. Anyway, I recommend the CD and here's the article from Yoga Journal too.

Meditation 101

In the classical yoga tradition, hatha yoga is practiced as preparation for seated meditation. So over time, you might naturally find yourself drawn inward toward more contemplative practices.

By Claudia Cummins

To give meditation a try, sit comfortably, set a timer for 10 minutes, and explore one of the following strategies. And consider yourself forewarned: Meditation is a delightfully simple practice, but that doesn't mean it's easy!

Just sit. Commit to doing nothing more than sitting quietly and watching what happens. Don't pick up the phone, don't answer the doorbell, don't add another item to your to-do list. Just sit and observe the thoughts that arise and pass through your mind. You will likely be surprised by how difficult it is to sit quietly for 10 minutes. In the process, though, you may learn something important about the qualities of the restless mind and the ever-changing nature of life.

Listen to the sounds of life. Close your eyes and tune in to the sounds percolating both within and around you. Open your ears and adopt a receptive attitude. At first, you'll likely hear only the most obvious noises, but over time, you'll discover new layers of sounds that you had previously tuned out. Challenge yourself to observe what you hear without clinging to it or resisting it. Notice how the world feels more alive as your awareness of the present deepens.

Practice bare attention. Notice the raw sensations of the present moment—feelings of warmth and coolness, hardness and softness, pressure and ease. Which parts of your body are in contact with the earth? How does the shape of the body shift with each inhalation and exhalation? How does your experience change over time? Cultivating an awareness of the present moment will foster a more serene and attentive mind, one that is able to settle into the here and now.

Follow the breath. Attach your mind to the breath. While you're breathing in, note that you're breathing in, and while you're breathing out, focus on the exhalation. Don't manipulate the breath in any way; simply watch it with your mind's eye, just as you would follow a tennis ball bouncing from one side of the court to the other during a particularly engrossing match. When you find that your mind has strayed, as it inevitably will, gently refocus it on the breath and begin again.

Use a mantra. Choose a favorite word, phrase, prayer, or fragment of a poem, and repeat it slowly and softly. Let its rhythm and meaning lull you into a quiet, contemplative state of ease. When you notice that your mind has wandered off to other thoughts, simply redirect it back toward the words you've chosen as your touchstone and rededicate your awareness to them.

Practice kindness. As you sit quietly, focus your inner attention on someone you know who might benefit from an extra dose of kindness and care. In your mind's eye, send this person love, happiness, and well-being. Soften your skin, open the floodgates of your heart, and let gentle goodwill pour forth.

Claudia Cummins practices happiness and teaches yoga in central Ohio. A selection of her essays can be found at www.claudiacummins.com.

Relaxation vs. Meditation

I'm often wondering how to describe the difference is between meditation and relaxation. In this short article (below) from Yoga Journal, Frank Jude Boccio gives a few key points in defining what is the same and what is different between relaxation and meditation.

Relaxation vs. Meditation

by  Frank Jude Boccio

We often think of watching TV, sitting down with a cocktail or a good book, or simply vegging out as relaxing. But true relaxation is something that is practiced and cultivated; it is defined by the stimulation of the relaxation response. Some forms of conscious relaxation may become meditation, and many meditators find that their practice benefits from using a relaxation technique to access an inner stillness helpful for meditating. But while relaxation is a secondary effect of some meditation, other forms of meditation are anything but relaxing. Ultimately, it all comes down to the intention and purpose of the technique.

All conscious relaxation techniques offer the practitioner a method for slowly relaxing all the major muscle groups in the body, with the goal being the stimulation of the relaxation response; deeper, slower breathing and other physiological changes help the practitioner to experience the whole body as relaxed. Techniques include autogenic training, the use of words suggesting heaviness and warmth in the limbs; progressive muscle relaxation, systematically bringing attention to various parts of the body to consciously release tension, then noticing the feelings of softness and ease that arise; body scanning, moving attention slowly through the body; and breathing, gradually extending the exhalations.

Meditation—generally presented in the three broad categories of concentration, mindfulness, and contemplation—are forms of mind training, operating on the fundamental premise that the mind determines the quality of your life. Meditation is about making friends with yourself, learning to see what is just as it is, and freeing yourself from reactive conditioning. This liberating aspect of meditation is conceptualized in varied ways, from purely psychological and secular to deeply spiritual and religious. For further information, you might want to check out Meditation and Relaxation in Plain English by Bob Sharples.

Frank Jude Boccio is a yoga teacher, Ayurveda practitioner, hypnotherapist, and the author of Mindfulness Yoga: The Awakened Union of Breath, Body, and Mind.

30 Day Challenge - Week 4 Homework

Hello Relaxation Practitioners -

I wanted to remind you of your homework for this week and give you a few links to learn more. This week we are voicing our sankalpa. First step, we voice our sankalpa out loud to ourselves. Second step, we voice our sankalpa out loud to someone else. Third step, we voice our sankalpa out loud to many someone elses. (Is that a word?) Step one may be the only step you take and that is just fine. Only go as far as you are comfortable going.

At any rate, we give voice to our deepest desire and notice 1) how does it make you feel to think about saying your sankalpa out loud? 2) how does it feel to say your sankalpa out loud? and 3) how does it feel to share with another person?

The second part of our homework is to do a gratitude meditation every day. It doesn't have to be long. Just take a few minutes to settle in and give thanks for anything in your life that you can think of (thank you for the house I live in, thank you for my family, thank you for the challenges I face that help me grow into a better person, etc.).

Here's an article from Yoga Journal which talks about the health benefits you will receive by practicing gratitude. Also, look to the bottom of the page for links to more gratitude articles.

Give Thanks

Cultivating gratitude can boost well-being—and may help you sleep better.

By Jill Duman

Gratitude is a fundamental component of most spiritual paths, and a growing body of research suggests that it has important health implications, too, including better sleep, fewer physical ailments, and a greater ability to cope with stressful situations.

"Gratitude elevates, it energizes, it inspires, it transforms," says Robert Emmons, a University of California, Davis, psychology professor who has helped champion the study of gratitude as a factor in mental and physical health.

A series of studies he conducted in 2003 found that people who kept weekly written records of gratitude slept longer, exercised more frequently, had fewer health complaints, and generally felt better about their lives when compared with those who were asked to record only their complaints. In another study, he found that students who wrote in gratitude journals felt more satisfied with their lives and their school experience.

Practicing conscious gratitude has also been linked with positive mental health. Todd Kashdan, associate professor of psychology at Virginia's George Mason University, found that when veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder kept gratitude journals, they experienced a greater sense of overall well-being in their lives.

"There are two parts of being grateful," Kashdan says. "One is recognizing that someone benefited in some way, then mindfully seeing the connection to yourself. You have to really be in the present to see what's happening in your life, what's causing things to happen, and how you fit into things bigger than yourself."

A gratitude practice is a natural companion to yoga, which "offers numerous opportunities to reflect on all there is in one's life to be grateful for," says Emmons. To begin consciously cultivating gratitude, try considering what life would be like without a pleasure you now enjoy, or think about who you are grateful for.

A daily gratitude journal can help you be more mindful of these things in your life. But your gratitude practice doesn't have to be scripted: Simply taking time on a regular basis to mentally note your blessings is a big step in the right direction.

Two more articles from Yoga Journal on gratitude: Grounded in Gratitude  and Just Say Thanks, both by Frank Jude Boccio.

Have a wonderful holiday. May we all act and react with loving kindness.