Thank you for being in my life. Really, each of you who reads these words holds an important place in my life. For real real, as we say in my family. For real real.
Most recently, I’m thankful for those of you who have come to classes at my new home studio in Weaverville. Thank you for finding the new place. Thank you for showing up for yourself, the practice, and for me. I’m grateful for Iyengar Yoga Asheville, for the other Iyengar teachers, and for those of you who attend classes there.
I know it can take time to adjust to change; it has taken me a few weeks to get used to teaching in my new yoga studio in Weaverville, and I look forward to sharing it with you. And I know YOU know that we experience such deep benefits when we practice yoga. Your body and mind will thank you for showing up on the mat!
Overall, I feel like I’m a thankful person. I thank my husband for fixing delicious meals. I thank each kind person who opens a door for me. I thank my friend who comes to the house to tend to our dog, Jack, when I’m unavailable.
I have another friend who gets cranky when someone opens a door for her. She knows that she is strong and capable. She doesn’t need the help. As much as I love this woman, I feel like she’s missing out on the feeling of gratitude.
Numerous research papers expound on the benefits of feeling grateful. A few of the benefits I found listed in an article online at PositivePsychology.com are more satisfaction with life, less fatigue, greater resiliency, and lower levels of cellular inflammation. I find that I actually feel better when I’m grateful. When I’m stressed, my body and mind feel hard. When I’m grateful I feel lighter. Test this out for yourself if you’re doubtful.
Gratitude is a practice, like yoga. It’s kind of like a scavenger hunt: when I look for people, places, and things to be grateful for, I find them! I don’t deny that I get cranky sometimes (like when I’m packing and moving). Without dwelling on that, I take a moment to feel that emotion, and then move on, rather than focus on the crankiness and the external events that triggered it.
With all that being said, I’m thankful to have a national day of thanksgiving here in the US. I know that some people feel left out, lonely, or sad about missing loved ones. I don’t deny that. Can we reach out to each other and hold each other up? Open a door? Smile? For those of you who volunteer at a soup kitchen or a food bank over the holidays, thank you. Of course, every day of the year is an opportunity to be kind and generous. We never know how one kind word to a stranger or friend can lift that person’s spirit—and our own!
With tremendous gratitude for your place in my life and on the planet, I hold you in my thankful heart.
I wish you a joyous and peaceful Thanksgiving!