Mind + Body : Intro + Practice 7

The most important practice to integrate as a daily ritual: how to internalize and feel gratitude. 

Many studies have researched how gratitude changes the brain. The University of Berkeley showed that those who wrote gratitude letters reported better mental health 4-12 weeks after their writing exercise ended as opposed to those that didn’t. They found that practicing gratitude disentangled participants from negative emotional states. When you are looking for the silver lining of an experience that seems awful at first, you are entraining the brain to focus on the benefits. Today, we are diving into the felt experience of gratitude. Gratitude is much more than a thought, it is a vibrational experience felt deep within your mind, body and heart.

Practice: 

Music Credit: Heart Alignment by Music of Wisdom

Now that you’ve completed the practice. Here are some optional journaling prompts to help you reflect and go a little deeper. In your journal, please contemplate and write about the following:

1) What was the experience of gratitude like in your body? Was it warm? cool? electrical? etc. Was it predominantly in one region of the body more than another? (It’s important to note it, so that you can practice duplicating this feeling over and over again).

2) Write down a list of what you were visualizing gratitude for.

3) What challenging situations were you able to find gratitude for?

4) Are there any situations that you are currently working on developing gratitude for? If so, write them down, and practice Day 7 again on a different day when you’re ready.