{"id":4201,"date":"2020-11-24T07:35:34","date_gmt":"2020-11-24T13:35:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/?p=4201"},"modified":"2020-11-24T07:35:35","modified_gmt":"2020-11-24T13:35:35","slug":"gratitude-workout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/gratitude-workout\/","title":{"rendered":"Gratitude Workout"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s Thanksgiving week, let\u2019s breathe our way through a gratitude workout. A study of the effects of the pandemic showed that 90% of us have been emotionally affected by it. That\u2019s really not surprising. But for 25% of us, this has resulted in depression<\/a>. While a temporary state of depression is a natural response to change, it\u2019s possible some will experience<\/a> long-term or clinical depression as time goes on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many Americans are facing trauma and hardship they\u2019ve never\nseen before \u2013 job loss, hunger, severe illness, loss of family, lack of\nphysical contact, unsafe working conditions, and more. This takes a toll even\non the strongest and healthiest of us. Yet some will rise to the occasion, feel\nthe effects, find a way to cope, and thrive in the future. Others will become\nstuck. Genetics, personality, support, and choices all play a role in how we fare.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Even when outside support is lacking, we can become our own\nsupport system by building the emotional resilience that will facilitate processing\nthrough difficulty and coming out the other side better than before. This can\nbe accomplished through deliberate practices. One tool to build an emotional\ntoolkit is a gratitude practice. I\u2019ve written about this before because it\u2019s\nalways a wonderfully useful tool, but it seems especially important right now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So much of our cultural conversation is focused on what we\ndon\u2019t have, can\u2019t do, can\u2019t buy, can\u2019t see, can\u2019t experience that we\u2019re at risk\nof losing sight of the good that surrounds us. A gratitude workout may be just\nthe shift in focus that revitalizes us when we\u2019re dining alone this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve used many techniques for practicing gratitude. I\nstarted with a series of journals. In those books, I made a list every day of\n10 things for which I was grateful. On days when most everything had gone\nwrong, I had to sit for a very long time to think of that first item. But I\u2019m\nsure you\u2019ll find as I did that once you think of one thing, you\u2019ll think of\nmore because your focus has finally shifted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One year, I used a series of neon colored post-its that I\ncollected in a brightly colored plastic box with a pull-out drawer. At the end\nof each month, I\u2019d go back and read all of the notes. It was a great way to\ngain perspective on the events of the month. If I gleaned an insight that\nseemed particularly significant, I\u2019d record it somewhere to ponder later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The specifics of how you record your lists are not as\nimportant as the discipline of doing it. In fact, it\u2019s the discipline that will\npave the way for the greatest insight. Those moments when you really don\u2019t feel\ngrateful for anything will get you to dig deeper. But you won\u2019t dig deeper\nunless disciplined commitment to the process requires that you record\nsomething. It\u2019s a lot easier to eat ice cream and pout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week of Thanksgiving, you may not be with family. That\nbrings the temptation to only see what\u2019s missing. That\u2019s why I\u2019m planning to combine\ntwo practices and breathe my way through a gratitude workout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How? Before I prepare my Cornish hen, I\u2019m spending some time\non my yoga mat. I\u2019m going to sit in easy pose (Sukhasana)\nor stand in mountain pose (Tadasana) and slow my breath bringing my focus to my\nsit bones or the four corners of my feet, my thighs, my shoulders, my neck, my\nface. Once I\u2019ve found the balance between effort and ease, I\u2019ll begin to\nbreathe my gratitude. A long breath in through the nose and a slow breath out\nfor each item on my list. I may add a twist in between and a series of warrior\nposes before I rest in corpse pose (Savasana).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll express gratitude for\ngrocery delivery, Zoom & FaceTime, the warm weather that made fresh\ntomatoes and spinach from the garden possible for Thanksgiving, the flavor of\nthose tomatoes, my grandchildren\u2019s laughter, the internet, the heart of\nhealthcare workers, brilliant maple leaves, and strong oak trees with rough\nbark. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

None of those are equal to\nsitting around the table with my family, but grocery delivery means I have\ngroceries without virus exposure. Zoom and the internet mean I\u2019ll can see my family\nin a way that wouldn\u2019t have been possible a few decades ago. Fresh vegetables\nfrom my garden mean both healthy and tasty food. And cooking for one rather\nthan a large group means I have time to sit still. Things don\u2019t have to be\nperfect to enrich my life or make things better than they would be otherwise. I\ncan be grateful for things that are just okay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, I am grateful for things that are just okay as well as things that are magnificent. But it\u2019s easy to miss the magnificent if I only focus on what is wrong. In this year when it feels like so much has gone awry, a gratitude workout is just what the doctor ordered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Never Surrender!<\/a><\/blockquote>