Daily Intention of Gratitude

Setting an intention is like drawing a map of where you wish to go it becomes the driving force behind your goals and visions. Without an intention, there is no map, and you’re just driving down a road with no destination in mind.

Below we unpack the Intention of Gratitude and how it can support you during your yoga or meditation practice and throughout your day-to-day life. When you set this intention and bring it into practice you will experience life with more balance and ease. Allow your meditation to be led by this intention or use it as a gentle prompt throughout your day to reflect on and come back to the present moment.

Gratitude

The word ‘gratitude’ is derived from the Latin word ‘gratia’ which can be translated to graciousness or gratefulness. In many ways gratitude is reflective of both of these. By being thankful and appreciative for what we have in our lives rather than focusing on what is missing, helps us to learn and grow from life’s journey.

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”― Epicurus

The Myall Wellbeing Team have shared some of their favourite resources on Gratitude below. As you listen, read and watch, our hope is that you will feel inspired. Pay it forward to a loved one, share with us what resonated with you or share with us your own resources in return!

Hugh Van Cuylenburg on Gratitude

Author Hugh Van Cuylenburg has written a nationwide best selling book that speaks highly about three principles that can allow for better resilience and overall happiness, GEM (gratitude, empathy and mindfulness).

• Gratitude: Practising Gratitude is about noticing and paying attention to the positives that people, things and feelings bring to our lives.
• Empathy: The more we stop and think about the people around us the more we connect with them. Empathy is a great way to model kindness, by putting ourselves in the shoes of others, and by practising being kind towards each other.
• Mindfulness: Mindfulness activities help us slow down at the moment and can often create a feeling of calm. We practice this by slowing down and focusing on one thing at a time.

― Hugh Van Cuylenburg , The Resilience Project: Finding Happiness through Gratefulness, Empathy and Mindfulness

Melody Beattie on Gratitude

Below is an illuminating quote about gratitude by Melody Beattie, a self-help book writer who lost her 12-year old son tragically on a family ski trip. Melody speaks of the secret of being grateful for what you do have, rather than resentful of what you don’t have.

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow”
– Melody Beattie – The Language of Letting Go: Hazelden Meditation Series

Ways to Cultivate Gratitude

Cultivating gratitude with a simple prompt is a simple gratitude practice that can be performed by both adults and children. The best thing about this exercise is that it can be performed anywhere at any time – you can even use it to write a gratitude journal!

These prompts are ‘fill in the blank’ sentences to reignite a sense of gratitude in. your life. They encourage you to dive a little deeper into your senses, colours, people and observations for a full-body gratitude experience.

Here are a few prompts you can practice now:

I am grateful for three things I see:
I am grateful for three things I smell:
I am grateful for these three things I can feel:
I am grateful for my family because..
In the last week, I am grateful for..
I appreciate that my colleague…
Read the full article and download the resources here.

Gratitude’s Impact on the Brain

It sounds cliché but practising gratitude every day can make you happier. By understanding the physiology of gratitude, it can help pinpoint strategies for harnessing its health benefits.

This article delves into the science behind how practising gratitude can help establish a stronger mind-body connection.
Read the full article here.

The Business Impacts of Gratitude

Gratitude is something that can become lost in the busyness of the corporate world. By bringing a sense of gratitude with us each day, we address our psychological need to belong to something larger than ourselves. When our work has meaning, we feel satisfied and this brings purpose to our lives.

This article talks about the power of gratitude in the workplace and how the secret lies in consistency and sincerity.
Read the full article here.

Continue setting an intention of gratitude at our classes in-studio or virtually. Download the Myall App on Google Play (Android) or the App Store (Apple) and view our Studio Timetable.