Bikram Tysons Blog

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Change That Attitude to Gratitude...

The holidays are a stressful time of year, without doubt.  You have more demands on your time; family get-togethers mean that you have to admit that you are, in fact, related to your eccentric cousin; the mall is packed with people who think that walking 6 abreast at the speed of your average turtle is somehow acceptable; you're overwhelmed with to do lists; overwhelmed with gifts to buy; sleeping less; and eating more.  It's easy for all of those stressors to build up to the point that you break down.

How do you stay grounded during this busy time of year?  Making the time for yourself to do the things you enjoy (like practicing yoga) clearly helps.  But beyond that, try to be open to the simple joys in daily life.  Most of us seem to be hardwired to notice what goes wrong instead of all the things that are going right.  So, take a moment to step back, and not just notice the good, but to be thankful for it too.  When you do that, you are so much more likely to notice the countless ways you are supported in your daily life (and you're a lot less likely to be irritated by the crazy family and overzealous holiday shoppers who grab the last sweater even though you clearly had your hand on it).  Try saying a simple thank you today.  As the thirteenth century philosopher Meister Eckhart once said, "If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough."

In that spirit, we want to say thank you to each and every one of our yoga students.  You guys mean so much to us, and you're the reason why we have the best job in the world.  So, to those of you who have been practicing for years, thank you - your dedication and hard work inspire us to get back on our mats every day too.  To those of you who just started practicing in the past year or so, thank you - we hope you see the changes in your postures, your bodies, your outlooks.  They may seem like little things, but we know there is so much hard work behind each one.  To those of you who have had a rough class but still come back to try again, thank you - your courage inspires us to do the same.  And to those of you first timers, thank you - you are so brave to take that first step on your mat and try something new.

We wish you all a holiday season filled with lots of love, yoga, and gratitude!

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