The Power of Gratitude


My mood took a steep nose dive recently and it was intense.  Found myself shuffling round my flat head down, heart sinking unable to find appreciation for anything. Despite the gorgeous sunshine outside, a dark cloud was gathering over me threatening to burst all over my floor.

Lockdown isn’t a breeze for any of us and just like ‘normal’ life we’re all experiencing it differently - each with our own challenges. Being in solo lock-down can cause extreme feelings of loneliness and a distinct yearning for human touch, yet on the opposite end of the spectrum there are probably people losing their sanity in a tiny space with a moody unsupportive partner.  These are just two examples of the infinite human experiences happening all over the globe right now. It is testing us to our max socially, politically, emotionally, economically on and on in every way, individually and collectively. What a time to be alive eh? So it’s never been more important to look after, nurture and support ourselves on every level.
Gabrielle Henderson - Unsplash
Once I realised I had  a sustained low mood on my hands that was deepening, I turned to one selfcare practice I know creates instant results (and I wasn’t wrong) - gratitude. I also knew that to shift the despair I was experiencing, I had to make it a regular thing. Gratitude every single day. A regular gratitude practice has to the power to lift your mood, increase your energy, and create a feeling of contentment which gives rise to peace which in turn helps you to sleep - no small thing when you know how important sleep is for the immune system. I knew if I was feeling like this other people would be too, so I started an Everyday Gratitude project on my IG stories. It’s so simple, each morning choose 5 things you’re grateful for, anything at all. Write them down or just breathe each one into your body. Mine is usually something like coffee, this day, my health, friends, love – boom, instant warmth and feelings of relief. I am safe. I have everything I need. No, things are not perfect, there is so much suffering and fear in the world and it’s hard to shield yourself from that, but breathing into it and opening to what is good in your world can tip the scales and bring you back into balance, a place of strength and ease. It’s a conscious process of choosing to the see the light in the darkness, and if ever we needed that it is now.

You deserve to feel safe, you deserve to feel peace and the endless well-being that is in your heart. It is your birth right. Choose to focus on the positive, the good, the vitality of life. This doesn’t mean turning your head and not engaging with the darkness, whether that’s yours or the worlds, but it means balancing your perspective with the light too. The Yin & Yang, the light & dark. Life is both and being able to zoom out and see the bigger picture is a practise, a skill to be honed. Practise self compassion during this time. This is a time of great challenge, and a time to honour yourself and give yourself what you need.. The more you can support, nourish and uplift yourself right now the more you can be a source of strength and support to others. You cannot pour from an empty cup.

I’ll be exploring themes of gratitude and self compassion in my online classes this month, working with the Root and Heart Chakras to ground and stabilise ourselves whilst opening into our centre of love and joy.

You can book your space here:

https://www.magnapass.co.uk/partner/holistic-love-yoga

Have a beautiful week x

Comments

  1. Ags12 May 2020 at 07:57

    What a beautiful post. Full of wisdom thanks for sharing x

    ReplyDelete

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