Thankfully, It's the Season of Thanks

Gratitude practices increase our mental and physical wellness. They can be simple, easily accessible and reflect who we are.

It is the season of thanks. That time when we pause to bring all that we are thankful for into our consciousness. It’s my favorite time of year and the gratitude I feel has little to do with holiday traditions. My gratitude grows exponentially in the fall, perhaps it is the cycle of the sun reminding me to appreciate this time that rests between long, warm summer days, with lingering twilight and the long, cold nights of winter when the sun reluctantly breaks the day. I find it a natural time to take a pause and deepen my thankfulness.

Taking time to not only count your blessings but to name them, describe them, and to feel them have notable physical and mental benefits.

Gratitude practices are very popular. I personally hope they take firm hold and spread like the warmth of the sun on a cold autumn day. Taking time to not only count your blessings but to name them, describe them, and to feel them have notable physical and mental benefits. Studies have indicated that practicing gratitude as little as once a week can enhance your mental well being and your physical energy. It takes only six weeks to make a measurable difference. Many believe that exercising gratitude more frequently can have rapid, pervasive, and widespread results on wellbeing.

Practicing gratitude is not hard. No difficult positions to get into, no mental exercises, no need to travel to a special place for the right equipment. You have all you need, where you are, just as you are. The first step is to simply recall those things - people, places, objects, animals, food, anything - that bring you joy, for which you are grateful, or that have brought ease to your life.

Give yourself time, and mental stillness in order to recall them vividly one at a time and evoke the feelings that they brought to you. That’s it. That is all that it takes. This whole process doesn’t have to take more than 10 minutes. But it can last as long as you’d like in order to revel in the feeling. Oh, and there is one final step — be sure to extend your gratitude to yourself for this practice.

Click here to for more tools and exercises to support your gratitude practice with The Soul Spot’s Gratitude Pack available here.