Gratitude

I can't possibly write my November Newsletter without mentioning gratitude!!!

Gratitude is hands down one of my all time favorite tools for living a happier, healthier life - even above chiropractic!

I love it because it is so simple yet so profound. It can shift your energy in an instant and turn any situation into a manageable, or better yet enjoyable, experience. Studies show that the most peaceful, abundant and joyful people on the planet are those that practice gratitude regularly. Clearly, there's something to it!

Gratitude is simply being appreciative for everything you are, everything you have and everything that is. Gratitude is recognizing that every day is a blessing and the fact that you even exist is a miracle. It sounds cheesy but it's true! Your heart is beating, your lungs are breathing, the cells of your body are dying and being replaced every second without you even having to think about it.

Just take a moment to acknowledge everything that is going right right now.

You probably had a comfy bed to sleep in last night with a roof over your head. You most likely have electricity and running water and clean drinking water. I bet you even have an abundance of food in your fridge and cabinets so that you never have to go hungry. You clearly have a computer or smart phone that you are reading this on, and hey, you are educated enough to know how to read!!

Recognizing how much you have to be grateful for can interrupt the negative or destructive thought patterns and reroute your mind towards joy. When you focus on what you are thankful for you change your perspective and what happens, naturally, is that you start to notice even more things to be thankful for.

"The more you praise and celebrate you life, the more there is to celebrate" -Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah always knows...


So let's talk about how to make gratitude a daily practice. Below are 3 ways to train yourself to be more grateful and therefore, more happy, joyful, peaceful and abundant.

1) Gratitude Journal Taking the time to sit down and write out things you are grateful for every day automatically changes your focus to all of the amazing things in your life and away from the stressful things.

I do this almost daily and some of my list includes:
- My amazing fiancé
- My super supportive family and friends
- My health
- The health of my loves ones
- My practice members
- Sunshine
- Music
- My bathtub
- The Sunday farmers market
- Yoga
- My plants

You get the idea! I challenge you for the month of November to start a gratitude list and add to it every single day. Start with 3-5 things you are grateful for and continue to write 3-5 things every day until the end of the month. By November 30th you will have a looooong list of things that you appreciate.

2) Simple Pleasures I like to play a game called "Simple Pleasures". All you have to do to play is notice the small, simple things that make your day a little sweeter. For example, you get a great parking spot. That's a simple pleasure! Or enjoying your morning cup of coffee, that's a simple pleasure. Fresh flowers, a cozy sweater, a hug from a friend, all of these are simple pleasures.

Start taking inventory of all the amazing little things that happen throughout your day. Bonus points if you share them with someone else to make their day a little sweeter too!

3) Gratitude Meditation Did you know that you can create any emotion that you want simply by thinking about it? If you want to feel mad just think about something that makes you mad. If you want to feel sad simply think about a situation that makes you sad. The same goes for gratitude, you can shift into a state of gratitude simply by turning you attention towards something that makes you feel grateful.

Often times I like to begin or end my meditations by flooding myself with gratitude. Bring to mind a person or situation that you are grateful for. As the gratitude starts to build really focus on how it feels in your body to be grateful. Then amplify that feeling using your awareness and let it wash all over you. Sitting in the energy of gratitude, even for just a minute, will help tune your system to feel more gratitude on a regular basis.