I am sure by now you have heard a lot about how to add more gratitude into your life and that it is important to do so because having a grateful mindset has so many benefits.  But what are those benefits?  In this blog we touch on 10 significant benefits of practicing gratitude both on and off your yoga mat.  But before we get to those 10 benefits, let’s take moment to talk about what it means to live a life of gratitude on and off your mat.

You may have heard your yoga teacher or other yogis talk about living your life on and off you mat.  This idea comes from the ancient Indian tradition of yoga.  It is a simple yet powerful concept.  In essence, the idea is that how you conduct yourself on your yoga mat is how you should conduct yourself in life.  Specifically, this means to follow the yamas and niyamas (2 limbs of the 8 limbs of yoga).  While detailing the yamas and niyamas is something for another blog at another time, for the purposes of this blog, if you aren’t familiar with the yamas and niyamas, know they are restraints and observances for how we should live our lives.  For now, in this blog we are focusing solely on the concept of gratitude and why we might want to live that on and off our mats.  

Now that we are a bit clearer as to how we can practice gratitude on and off our mats, let’s get to our list of 10 benefits of doing so:

1. Makes us happier and enhances our positive emotions
2. Increases our self-esteem
3. Increases our psychological well-being
4. Improves relationships
5. Increases our optimism
6. Increases patience
7. Improves decision-making
8. Helps us find meaning in our lives
9. Reduces blood pressure
10. Improves sleep

If you already have a gratitude practice of some sort, reflect on your practice, and notice if you have experienced any of these benefits for yourself.  And if you don’t have a gratitude practice yet, consider starting one – even if it is just to say thank you each morning when you open your eyes or each evening before your head hits your pillow, it is amazing how even the simplest of gratitude practices can benefit us.  Go forth and be grateful my friends. Namaste.