Fall Newsletter: Gratitude
I was confident I would be announcing all kinds of courses and workshops for the fall 2020. Not exactly, however, some virtual offerings that you can explore from the comfort of your own space at home!
Yes, I have paused and taken the time to renew my website La Vie Mindful and it’s now a bilingual site which is wonderful news. I have mindfully tried to take advantage of the last 4 months redesigning my website site and preparing some online videos to share with you.
Gratitude
In this newsletter I would like to focus on gratitude and how it can enrich our lives and mental health. When we offer our time and pay attention to how we can be of service to others the benefits that we reap are endless. It can even improve sleep and lower our stress and research is now demonstrating the impacts and benefits of cultivating gratitude in our life.
What is gratitude and how can it energize you? I feel gratitude when I am thankful for life’s blessings, for what I have been offered and for what I receive every single day. Noticing the good things in your life, that friend who just called, the gift card you received or that you gave, the beauty of your surroundings, something positive that just happened to you, all of these things that we so often take for granted. If we intentionally acknowledge and appreciate life's gifts we can feel more contentment and joy within ourself. With gratitude we seem to have more vitality, hopefulness and thoughtfulness towards others.
How do we start to practise more gratitude in our life? Sharing with a close friend what we are grateful for in our day, being able to express gratitude over a meal with others, keeping a gratitude journal, and pausing to appreciate all that we have instead of noticing and comparing how we could have more. Practising gratitude fosters resilience and optimism, noticing the good things that are happening in our lives, feeling thankful and noting it can increase our well-being.
We are surrounded with a lot of negativity in our daily life, however, we have choices to respond to those situations differently and focus more of our attention on what nourishes us. I know I practice before bed, bringing to mind 3 things that happened today that I am grateful for and you know I always seem to fall asleep better on the nights that I intentionally remember to do this.
Studies show that people who have a sustained daily practice of gratitude experience less anxiety, less stress and less loneliness. Gratitude helps us to savour what is good in our lives, and it has widespread ripple effects on others. As I reflect on this gratitude practice, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have believed in me and chosen to practice yoga or Mindfulness with me, you are a blessing in my life and have helped me grow to be the person who I am today.
I will be offering limited courses and workshops this fall and certainly hope to enhance the offerings in Spring 2021. During this pandemic, learning and growing are important for all of us. I hope you will consider participating and exploring some of the blogs, videos on Mindfulness and Yoga and attend some of the limited sessions this fall.
Just launched: my digital studio
I am happy to offer you a variety of Mindfulness and Yoga videos at a time when I am cancelling my in person classes due to the pandemic until further notice. At least this will give you an opportunity to continue your practice and offer you a variety of possibilities.
If you are bilingual you can access all of the English and en français videos that I developed just for you. The English and French Mindfulness videos are different except the Overview of Mindfulness. It is the exploration of the same practices in English and in French. In the Yoga videos I have tried to include a variety of poses so that you can experience 8 different yoga classes.
Mindfulness Silent Retreat
Saturday November 7th, 2020 from 9-4 pm with an investment of $100 for the day that includes lunch, the workshop, a guest speaker, and Mindfulness resources.
This session is held at Light of the Prairies, 20 minutes south of Winnipeg, 22115 Oak Grove Road and all the information is included on my website.
Registration is limited to 8 participants due to the pandemic and pre-registration is required by Friday October 20th, 2020.