Count Your Blessings

In the months since my mother’s passing, I have spent a lot of time looking for ways to manage my grief.  Small things often do make a big difference, and the reality is that grief simply takes time.  You have to be with it and go through it in order to get past it.

However, in the meantime, as life is going on, as life is want to do, it is necessary to find ways to stay chin up in order to keep moving forward.  In both the best and worst of times it is often recommended by nearly every spiritual teacher out there to keep a gratitude journal.  I’ve highly recommended this method myself.  Gratitude keeps the heart light, even a broken grieving heart, if you can make the shift.  But I found that the more I wrestled with my feelings of loss and grief the harder it was to connect to the feelings of gratitude even as I was in the process of writing about things that I know I am grateful for.

One day, I decided to just count my blessings.  Literally.  Ever one of them, as they happened.  “I woke up this morning.  That means I’m still alive.  It’s a blessing.”  That’s one.  “I have a roof over my head.  A good one.  And I like this house.  It’s a blessing.”  That’s 2…maybe 3 if you want to be technical about it.  “There’s one banana left, just what I need for breakfast.  It’s a blessing.”  So I did this all day, any time I thought about it, and do you know what?  72 blessings in one day!  Now, even if you’re feeling low and only come up with 10 or 12 things all day long, that’s a seriously blessed day.  Did you know that you were that blessed every day?  It’s one thing to think about all the little things we take for granted, or even big things we quickly forget about, but if you write them down, one at a time, and then give them a number and actually count them, you may be totally astonished at how blessed you truly are.  Often I did not actually appreciate that something was a blessing until I wrote it down and counted it as such.  “Five of my clients thanked me, with genuine gratitude for the class I taught today.  Wow, that is a blessing!”

 It’s a very simple practice.  You might even try alternating between gratitude journaling and counting blessings.  I’ve been able to change my perspective on bad, sad, and lonely days many times just by realizing that in the midst of all the pain, hurt, loss, confusion, and dissatisfaction, there are still a wealth of blessings even on the worst of days.  The pain may still be there, but at least when you have a list of blessings to review at the end of the day, your last thought will be light and filled with gratitude regardless of whatever else you’ve been feeling.  Ending on a positive note is always a good way to begin a little better in the morning.

End of August

August has been a very busy month.  For me, it has been a roller coaster: the good, the bad, and the weird all rolled into one. I would like to take this moment to remind everyone to notice and be thankful for the small joys in your life.  Even when things don't go your way or when troubles overwhelm you, there is always something, no matter how small, to be thankful for.  Just take a moment to figure out what that is or what those things are and hold on to those thoughts.  Create a joyful space in your heart and mind.  Give yourself permission to touch that reserve of inner peace.  Remind yourself that it is always there.

I've got one last class that I'm offering before Labor Day.  I'll be taking the Labor Day weekend off, but I'll be back to teach All Levels Yoga Flow on Tuesday.  I've got an All Levels Mat Pilates class in Canyon Park (Bothell, WA) at 5:30pm today.  It's my last class to offer in August, and I promise it will be super fun and an awesome work out!  Peace, Love, Light, and Happy Labor Day!

An Attitude of Gratitude

I am seeing more and more people embrace gratitude and thankfulness as a way of life.  I feel that this principle should be integral to our Yoga journey toward balance and unity.  In the spirit of gratitude, I would like to take a moment to say “thank you.”  Thank you for visiting my blog, most especially if you also happen to read it.  Thank you for your comments and feedback both publicly and privately.  I value them greatly.  Thank you to all of my students: those who have been, those who are, and those who will be.  I learn from you as much as I teach you.  Thank you to all the other teachers out there for spreading enlightenment in our communities.  Of course, I mean teachers of all kinds when I say this.  Thank you to all those who have read, bought, and supported my book, Kundlini Rising. I wrote every word for YOU!  I hope my words inspire, comfort, lead, teach, heal, and up lift each of you.  Thank you to Kitsune Books for publishing my little book and believing it worthy of a second edition.

I cannot imagine a more perfect time to fill your soul with the attitude of gratitude than this lovely Summer Solstice.  What are you feeling grateful for today?  Whom would you like to thank?  I hope that you will take a moment to reflect on this.  If you should feel compelled to write it down or speak it out loud, I would consider that even better.  Maybe it will feel so good that you will do it again tomorrow and then each day that follows.  Share that feeling with those around you until we all live our lives filled with the joy of gratitude.  Namaste.