Do You Have A Gratitude Practice?

Dec 13

Did you know that practicing gratitude is good for your health?

Research studies have linked gratitude with a variety of positive effects on mental and physical well-being, including:

→ Increased immunity
→ Lower blood pressure
→ Improved heart rate variability
→ Lower inflammation
→ Improved sleep
→ Increased serotonin and dopamine levels

I personally find it astounding that something so seemingly simple as gratitude can have such a hugely positive impact on our health and well-being.

How can we harness these health benefits?

When you begin to practice gratitude, you may feel some positive effects on your mood immediately. Moreover, as you continue to practice you will build your “gratitude muscle,” training your brain to generate gratitude and enhancing the positive effects on your mind and body.

Gratitude Practice Guidelines

1) Be intentional.
While you may find that you naturally experience spontaneous sparks of gratitude in your daily life, creating a gratitude practice goes further. You will be intentionally generating feelings of gratitude.

2) Savor it.
Often, the little sparks of gratitude we experience day to day are fleeting and our minds quickly move on to new thoughts. However, neuroscience suggests that we need to savor the feeling of gratitude both mentally and physically for at least 5-10 seconds (and up to a minute or more) in order to strengthen the gratitude circuit in the brain. Essentially, by cultivating this feeling deeply in our minds and bodies, we are “rewiring” our brain to generate gratitude. So, when you practice, you will want to go beyond simply thinking grateful thoughts. Instead you will savor the feeling of gratitude and allow it to fill your body on a physical level.

Practice Ideas

Keep a gratitude journal: Write down three things you are grateful for.
Morning gratitude: Think about the day to come. Who will you see who sparks gratitude and warm feelings in your heart? What activities or circumstances of the day spark gratitude?
Bedtime gratitude: Before you fall asleep, review your day. What happened that you are grateful for?
Write a gratitude letter: Write a letter to someone—a friend, family member, teacher, inspirational figure—who has positively touched your life and thank them (whether you choose to send the letter or not).
Mealtime gratitude: Take a few moments before your meal to feel gratitude as you acknowledge everything that had to happen to bring this meal to your table.
Guided meditation: Search for a gratitude meditation online or try a meditation app, and try out a few until you find one that resonates.

I personally love the mealtime meditation. For a single carrot on our plate, we can have gratitude for the carrot seed, the farmer who planted and cared for it, the soil in which it grew, the sun and rain that nourished the growing carrot, the people who harvested and transported the it, the grocers who sold the carrot. We can also go further. We can tap into the miracle of carrots in general and the many generations of carrots that preceded this carrot and produced the seed from which it grew. And further to the miracle of the planet and the ecosystem of microbes, fungi, bugs, animals, and other plants that coevolved together and enabled carrots to become a nourishing, edible plant.

When Gratitude is Difficult

There are times when it is difficult to feel gratitude. This can be true when we are grieving, angry, depressed, anxious, reliving past trauma, or currently experiencing trauma. If gratitude feels out of reach for you, follow these steps:

First, just take note that feeling gratitude is challenging right now. (If this practice is challenging because you are in an unsafe situation or you are experiencing unrelenting feelings of anxiety, sadness, or depression, please seek professional help.)

Secondly, work on connecting with your body. There are many methods you can try. Here are a few simple ones:

Focus on your breath and feel your chest or belly move as your breath enters and exits your lungs.
Become aware of your five senses. Take note of something that you see, a sound that you hear, a taste in your mouth, something that you smell, and a sensation on your skin.
Give yourself a little wake-up massage. Use your fingertips to massage your scalp and ears and use your palms to give your arms and legs a quick massage from your shoulders to your hands and from your hips to your feet.
Get your blood moving. Take a quick jog around the block or do 30 seconds of jumping jacks.

Lastly, focus on something small. You might walk to a window and simply feel the sun warming your face. Or go outside and sit by a body of water or under a tree. Or slowly chew one small bite of food—an almond, a square of dark chocolate, a raspberry. You will try to stay present with what you are doing for a few minutes. Do what you can to generate a feeling of gratitude. If none comes, you can simply think to yourself, “I am grateful for ___ (the sun, this tree, this lake, this piece of chocolate).” And then you will practice again tomorrow.

Building the Gratitude Muscle

A gratitude practice is simply a practice. Regardless of how difficult or easy it feels, when you practice day after day, the practice will come more naturally and effortlessly. Slowly you will be strengthening the neural networks of gratitude and positivity in your brain, while also opening yourself to receiving the positive health benefits that accompany gratitude.