Thanks for the Yoga … and Everything Else!
By Mehtab, Founder YOGA YOGA

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Take away high stress family dramas and sweet potato casseroles with those scary miniature marshmallows, all you have left is a very important yogic principle: Gratitude.

Being thankful, being grateful, is the fundamental foundation of a yoga practice and indeed a happy life.

When you are grateful for each yoga class, each posture, each relaxation, and each breath you take, you create a powerful healing attitude that carries over into your life so that every day becomes a gift.

My teacher Yogi Bhajan always said, "If you want to be great, be grateful." Here is what will happen to you if you use your yoga practice to cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude.

The University of California at Davis conducted an extensive Research Project on Gratitude and Thankfulness. Here is what they discovered:

• Grateful people report higher levels of positive emotions, life satisfaction, vitality, optimism and lower levels of depression and stress.
• People with a strong disposition toward gratitude have the capacity to be empathic and to be more helpful in their social networks
• Grateful people are more likely to acknowledge a belief in the interconnectedness of all life and a commitment to and responsibility to others.
• Grateful individuals are less likely to judge success in terms of possessions accumulated and are more likely to share their possessions with others