As you might have gathered from this blog I am quite a Louise Hay fan and the art of showing gratitude is something very simple that can have a huge impact on your life. What sort of person are you? Have you ever taken the time to think about this? Most people go through life noticing the things wrong in their lives and when things go wrong but ignore the great things.
How many times have your complained about the train being late and you find yourself saying that the train is always late when it fact it might only be late once a week. How often do you find yourself being grateful when the train is on time? Probably the answer to this is rarely or never. Being grateful is a wonderful way to start the day, especially if you are going to work. A fun exercise to do is think about all the good things about your journey to work on your way everyday. So be grateful for getting a seat, getting to work on time or picking up a free newspaper and see how you feel when you get to work and if there is any difference to normal.
If you find you are quite a negative person that is very critical of your life then a change in thinking is something you could really benefit from. Changing long held habits can be a difficult process but showing gratitude is the perfect place to start. Try writing a list of all the things you have in your life to be grateful for. When I first did this I found it difficult to get started but once I did I found my list was much longer than even I imagined it could be. Write this list on a piece of paper and put it up somewhere you can easily see it. You might want to write it our a few times (or type it and print it several times) then put it around in places where you can review it easily. Then whenever you are feel down and negative about your life go back to your list and read it through and put your attention here.
Showing gratitude is also a really important concept in yoga, it is always important to be grateful for where you are in your journey or just be grateful that you had the motivation to practise. During your practise I know you will have lots of things to think about like your breathing, how to get in the pose and what your body is up to but try focusing on gratitude as well. When doing a pose, whatever stage you are at or however difficult you find it think about how grateful you are for that rather than the fact you might not be quite as good at it as the person on the next mat. This is also a great technique to bring your attention internally during your practice and to block out external distractions.
