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This Valentine’s Day take a moment for gratitude
| Health tips: Gratitude | | | Dear Reader,
Today is Valentine’s Day and a perfect time to take a moment for gratitude. Gratitude is acknowledging and appreciating your blessings. All roads to happiness touch the gratitude milestone.
You can be grateful for things, experiences or people. I believe gratitude is most powerful when you apply it to specific people in your life. Let’s start by making your gratitude inventory — a list of people in your life you’re grateful for. |
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People in your life you’re grateful for: Loved ones Friends Colleagues Neighbors Others (for example, inspiring people, strangers who have been kind to me, pets) Do you realize your support network — the people for whom you are grateful — is much bigger than you earlier thought? You’re not alone. A whole world out there supports you. On a day when you feel lonely, try to connect with someone in your support network.
Now it’s time for the exercise: gratitude meditation. Select five people from your list who you want to remember today and follow the instructions below.
Sit in a quiet, comfortable and safe place. Close your eyes. Practice deep, slow breathing. Think about the first person you want to be grateful for while taking a deep breath in. Bring this person’s smiling face in front of your closed eyes. Make sure you see the face and the smile as distinctly as possible. Now send your silent gratitude (like a mental email) while breathing out. Repeat this exercise with five people. Relax for a few seconds. When you’re ready, open your eyes.
How did this brief meditation feel? I feel calm, refreshed and happier when I’m able to decrease my mind’s load and think about gratitude. I hope you had a similar experience. |
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Yours in good health,
Amit Sood, M.D., M.Sc. Author of Mayo Clinic Handbook for Happiness |
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Find greater happiness in life!
| | Discover 4 steps that can go far beyond boosting your emotional health to positively influencing your physical health and overall well-being. | | Get this resource |
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