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Gratitude
Namaste Dear Teachers,
First of all, as we move towards the 20 Year Celebration of Sonic, I want to say how grateful I am for each and every one of you and the beautiful contribution you have all made to the Sonic Yoga community.
As our team works to rebuild the studio post pandemic, it’s easy to fall into the space of worry, fear and disillusionment.
I was having a conversation with a friend of mine the other day, and I shared the challenges the Pandemic has had on the studio. I was going down the road of negative thinking when this friend said to me… “Congratulations, that’s amazing, you are back at square one building your community, but you are still open, you are still holding that sacred space for your students, you survived the worst of things, and they can only get better.”
It was a powerful reminder how “perspective” can shift our reality. At that moment I felt a huge surge of gratitude for the tenacity of Sonic Yoga and our ability to stay steady amidst this time of uncertainty and to persevere.
I feel so blessed to be opening our doors on Dec. 4th to all of you in celebration of 20 years of Sonic Yoga. Thank you for being a part of this amazing community. I invite you to celebrate Sonic with both love and joy in your hearts.
So many of us suffer from a myriad of life challenges, financial, career, health, relationship etc.
How do our problems compare to the world’s problems? Are they that intolerable and should they really be an obstacle to feeling our joy?
Making a simple shift in perspective allows us to continue to have the same problems but rather than suffering from them, we can embrace them and accept them. Creating a sacred container around them so they do not interfere with our everyday happiness.
The reality is that it could always be worse. No matter how bad things seem in the moment, there is probably more good than bad.
So why not enjoy the present the freedom and joy of the moment and allow yourself to be happy and carefree even with your problems?
Here are two wonderful practices to keep things in perspective and to allow for a deep pause and acknowledgement of all the good in your life!
You will begin with a traditional Gratitude Practice that can be done at your altar or while you are lying in bed at night and then you will take the Thank You practice and carry it into your day!
This practice is so simple but so amazingly powerful. It truly works to shift your perspective from empty to full. It allows you to appreciate your blessings and to begin your day in celebration of the fullness and abundance of your life.
GRATITUDE PRACTICE
You can do this practice at your sacred altar. It becomes more powerful when you take a pen to paper and write down your thoughts. You can also review your gratitude practice when you are lying in bed before you sleep.
1. Get a small notebook and pen.
2. Keep it in a special place in your bedroom at your altar or by your bedside.
3. Upon rising or after meditating, take your notebook and write 5 things that you are grateful for in your life.
4. The key is that you really must feel authentic gratitude in your heart as you write them.
5. They can be super simple things.
6. Make sure you write out the full sentence: I am grateful for each time. Don’t do it in list form.
7. You can also practice adding things that you wish will happened add them to your gratitude list as if they have already happened and experience the gratitude you will feel when they come to be.
8. After you write it, read it and take a few moments to breath and contemplate what you wrote.
9. Meditate on the feeling of abundance and fullness in your heart.
THANK YOU PRACTICE
One of my favorite practices from my Shaman Rene Dust Walker, is the simple practice of saying Thank You.
I have been engaging in this practice for the past year and I feel a significant difference in my inner joy. My natural set point has gone from just feeling a small flicker of joy to a raging fire of joy that is overflowing and abundant.
Sometimes my heart feels like it will burst from feeling so full of joy!
The first thing I want you to do is to say THANK YOU to yourself for committing yourself to this journey of cultivating a sacred mindset, opening to your joy and creating a life you love!
The practice is simple.
As you move through your day, take the opportunity to say Thank You to all that you encounter through the experience of the senses.
Everything you see with your eyes, the beauty of nature, the trees, rocks, hillsides, sky, sun, moon, stars, art, architecture, designed objects. Watch, pause and say, Thank You.
All the sounds that you hear, music, your TV, your friends chatting, sounds of nature, birds, your kitty cat, conversations. Listen, pause and say Thank You.
Everything that you touch, your body, your mat, your products, your clothing, your bed, your loved ones, your phone. Feel, pause and say, Thank You.
All the tastes that you experience, the spices, the flavors, the delicacies, the drinks, your latte, the sweets, the savories. Taste, pause, and say Thank You.
Every scent that you inhale, your perfume, fresh air, essential oils, delicious food, your morning coffee. Inhale, pause and say Thank You.
Even take time to thank the things that you might not like, the dirt, the crowds, certain people, the noise pollution, bad music, the cold, the heat, the pain, the bitter, the sour.
For even these impressions that you judge as bad, create an aspect of your experience that you learn something from. They become your teachers as you learn to tolerate and overcome them. They also create a contrast to make the things you love even more special.
So, say Thank You to the things you don’t like and see how it helps to cultivate your Joy.
I promise you even if you do this practice for one hour a day, you will begin to feel a shift in your joy level. Your inner joy will glow brighter, and you will vibrate at a higher frequency which will allow you to exude joy wherever you go!
Let me know how it goes!
Many Blessings,
Lauren
