The Power of Gratitude

Gratitude changes our way of thinking and moves us away from unhealthy emotions.

Gratitude is a powerful form of healing: in Ayurveda, our mind, body, spiritual, and emotional states are inextricably linked. When we feel gratitude and contentment, our energies flow naturally and help to keep our physiologic states in balance. When we feel negative emotions like frustration, anger, or ‘want’, these are ‘hot’ elements that increase pitta and can manifest inflammation and illness in the body. Reframing our thinking and feeling gratitude for what we already have keeps our doshas balanced and is valuable in helping to heal everything from mental stress to physical disorders to even reducing the effects of ageing.

Gratitude balances our vata dosha, which helps keep us focused, calms our emotions, and enhances our energy. When our vata is imbalanced, we feel depleted, as if our mind and body are ‘running on empty’. When we experience a state of gratitude, our vata is full and abundant.

Gratitude enriches our soul and spirit: everything is impermanent. That’s why pursuing what we don’t truly need, like a magpie distracted by bright shiny objects, is ultimately pointless. It prevents us from living consciously and wholeheartedly in the present and blocks us from connecting to a greater presence or our higher self. Nothing is forever – our life, our health, our possessions, the people we love, our successes and failures – and gratitude reminds us to enjoy what we have while we can. It helps us to stay fully present, which in turn nurtures our spiritual growth.

Gratitude attracts more: you’ve probably heard the expressions, “Like attracts like ”and “Birds of a feather flock together.” In other words, the emotions, attitudes and behaviours we send out into the universe are ultimately what comes back to us. When you follow a healthy lifestyle, like Ayurveda, your mind and body respond by staying healthy too. When you approach a task you don’t want to do with a ‘can do’ attitude, the task will usually seem more manageable, and you’ll probably accomplish it faster and more effectively. Have you ever noticed how, if you’re ever in a bad mood, the people around you will seem to be in a bad mood too? Or if you complain about something – your work, your relationships, your finances -the person you’re with will start complaining as well, and before you know it you’ve made yourselves feel ten times worse because “misery loves company”?

It’s the same with gratitude. The more you are grateful for and the more positives you look for in any given situation, the more you’ll realise how much you’ve got to be grateful for, and the more opportunities to be grateful will present themselves to you.

The practise of Santosha

We often fill our head with negative thoughts. We tell ourselves “I can’t do it”, “I’m not good enough”, “I don’t have this” or “I don’t have that.”

On the eightfold path of yoga, which I’ve talked about in previous blogs, there’s an invaluable practice of acceptance and contentment called ‘santosha’.

Santosha reminds us, “I have enough.” It guides us to see the goodness in ourselves and others and asks us to be at peace with whatever is available to us at this moment.

When we see that we already have enough and stop chasing for more of what we think will make us happier, we find peace, calmness, and clarity. We become part of the flow of life, and we enjoy the security of knowing that the universe will always provide what we truly need at the perfect moment we need it.

When we resist the flow, we build up anxiety and frustration. Like trying to force a square peg into a round hole, we’re pursuing an ideal that can’t be. Maybe it will be, at another time, further ahead of us. But, right now, resisting what is and not appreciating “I already have enough” is what makes us unhappy. In excess, it can even make us severely ill.

When you reflect on santosha and being truly content in the present moment, you’ll find many more things to be grateful for.