The Unbreakable Habits
Day 1 Practice of Gratitude
Gratitude is one of the most energizing qualities that we can feel. Given that purification is no easy task on its own, it is literally the un-earthing of our emotions, thoughts, feelings that sometimes, we intentionally exert energy to hide and suppress down - when released they are bound to burst and flow, and lose it’s energetic hold on us (yes we want this!), it’s just pure physics! Any purification process will require energy and thus deplete our energy power banks, gratitude is our habit of restoring our energy fields back. We will be needing gratitude to fortify us, make us feel grounded, and bring us back to balance.
That is why it is our FIRST topic, henceforth an unbreakable habit that we will continue to practice daily for our purification series.
Think of gratitude as the ‘cushion’ virtue when all feelings and thoughts become unbearable to handle, BE grateful!
We fall back on gratitude, the virtue that reminds us all of the abundance we have in our life, instead of the lack. Since we can only focus on one thing at a time, when something overwhelming surfaces, caress it with gratitude!
e.g 1#- You’re feeling sorry for your self because you didn't get accepted to your dream school - be grateful that you have food and shelter!
e.g 2# - The love of your life doesn’t love you back in return - be grateful for the earth time that you shared together and be excited for what is to come!
e.g 3#- You loath the life circumstances that you are in right now - be grateful for the abundance of lessons you are learning from this period that you know you will need later!
Everything that is experienced can be seen as light or darkness, and for todays topic of Gratitude, we are striving to cultivate the habit of seeing the light rather than the dark - cause it is legit like a muscle that needs to be flexed and trained!
“Thankfulness is of various kinds. There is a verbal thanksgiving which is confined to a mere utterance of gratitude. This is of no importance because perchance the tongue may give thanks while the heart is unaware of it. ….But real thankfulness is a cordial giving of thanks from the heart. When man in response to the favors of God manifests susceptibilities of conscience, the heart is happy, the spirit is exhilarated. These spiritual susceptibilities are ideal thanksgiving.”
- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
We want to cultivate to feeling gratitude to our very bones, rather than it just being a verbal exercise.
Feel it, don’t think it.
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Nahal Haghbin is an Integrative Yoga Therapist in training from the Kripalu School of Integrative Yoga Therapy and a globally certified Yoga Alliance Yoga Teacher based in China. She conducts lectures, private and group asana and consultations on Yoga & Integrative Yoga Therapy in person and online. She works with menstrual disorders and with female health and wellbeing. Book an online yoga session with her.