dallas yoga center

welcome to day 7 of the yoga gratitude challenge!today we’re going to practice gratitude through satisfaction.it’s true that it’s not happy people who are thankful, but thankful people who arehappy. the word appreciate literally means to go up in value. when you appreciate whatyou have, its value increases and you feel content with less. you could have everythingyou’ve ever dreamed of but if you don’t appreciate it, it has no value, so you chaseafter more and more to fill the void, when the only thing that can make you feel contentis a change of attitude. the mantra meditation for today is: "i amsatisfied because i’m grateful." we’re going to reflect on this mantra inreclining bound angle yoga pose, which relieves

stress and anxiety and lets you center yourselfto tune into your feelings of gratitude. lie on your back and let your knees hang toeach side, or you can support your knees with blocks or pillows, and press the soles ofyour feet together. close your eyes and take deep breaths to sink into the yoga pose. think about the things you’ve gotten recentlyand the things you still want or need. reflect on why you feel you need these things. willyou be satisfied when you get them, or will you just want something else next? comparethe things on your list to what you already have. how will the new things really changeyour life? on the other hand, think about what you wouldreally miss if it suddenly disappeared tomorrow.

how would you feel if you lost your partneror children? what would you do if you lost your job? how would your life change if youdidn’t have electricity, or clothes, or clean water, or a bed, or a home at all?now think of people you know who have plenty but seem unhappy. why do you think they’reunhappy? where do they spend their time and energy?what about people you know who seem really happy? is it because they have things theother people don’t have? are their lives perfect? probably not. so what is it thatthe happy people focus their time and energy on? gently open your eyes. use your hands to pressyour thighs back up and slowly sit up. keeping

in mind today’s intention to practice gratitudeby feeling satisfied with what you have, the task for today is to find 10 of your belongingsto give away. going through your things, you'll definitely find things you don't need, orhave barely used in at least a few months, or maybe even forgot you had.at the end of the day, come back to the mantra: i am satisfied because i’m grateful. reflecton how it felt to look at the excess things that you don’t need or had forgotten about,and think about what a difference your donations will make for someone in need.