IT is early in the morning, traffic is terrible, and I am racing across town to make it to my 7:30 yoga class on time. As I run breathlessly into the room, I smile at the irony of entering a space where mindfulness of breath is at the heart of the practice. I sit on my mat, close my eyes and chant the OM with the others in my class. My breathing becomes noticeably slower although my mind is still bouncing around, wondering if I locked my car and turned off my cell phone.
My teacher reads a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson and asks us to dedicate our yoga practice today to something that is important to us. I drink in a long breath, feeling the air circulate up through my nose, spreading deep into my lungs. I release a long, slow exhale, aware that less than a year ago I was unable to do this. The sinus surgery I had dreaded made it possible for me to now breathe fully. The word gratitude enters my mind.
GRATITUDE is appreciation for what we have that is good in our lives.
From the moment we wake up in the morning, we have things to be grateful for. A good nights rest in a warm bed, waking up in a safe place, a job to go to or a family to feed. Simple things that we often overlook and take for granted.
In Hebrew, the word for gratitude is hakarat ha-tov, which means recognition of the good, especially of the good things that others have done for us. Hakarat ha-tov is meant to make us feel good about ourselves.
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