Yogea Thanksgiving Mudra & Meditation Practice: Bathe in Gratitude
While studying to become a performing artist, I remember being stricken by stage fright during opening nights. My pulse -racing, my hands and feet – moist from cold perspiration; the butterflies in my stomach made me dizzy – I lost grip over my emotions. Perhaps, we all had our moments of intense anticipation – whether before a recital, a test, an interview or a significant event, when our bodies released huge amounts of adrenaline to fuel the fight or flight response.
I struggled with this awkward tension for years, until one day an Indian woman approached me after a show. She congratulated me on a great performance: “You are a fabulous dancer, but there is something missing in the way you approach the stage. You need to offer a prayer of gratitude every time you set your foot in a performance space.” She then showed me a couple of reverent gestures made by temple dancers in India and left. I never met this woman again, I don’t even know her name, but her voice is still reverberating through my body today. After the serendipitous encounter, the first thing I did as I entered any performance or rehearsal space was to offer thanks. This almost insignificant 1 minute gratitude practice integrating “Mudra” (devotional hand gesture) infused with conscious breath changed my whole career forever. My dance theatre work still kept its poignancy, but became more devotional. I never experienced those awful stage fright attacks again, but instead luxuriated in the moment of communing with the audience. The devotional prayer steeped into my life and made me recognize the many things I had forgotten to be grateful for.
A few years later, when I discovered Yoga and began practicing religiously I still kept my pledge of appreciation every time I’d roll the mat out. I infected my students with the same sense of ampleness as our bodies bowed together in reverence and brimmed with gratefulness, surrendering to the flow. My creative path in Yoga took me on an unchartered journey where I came up with the style of Yogea – an innovative artful Yoga approach that I have been developing ever since. It was fascinating that another Indian woman – a former temple dancer came into my life again to reveal the sacred meaning of the name that I had intuitively picked to describe the new Yoga Style. She said that “Yog” “aya” meant “In the name of Yoga” or simply put “In honor and gratitude of Yoga”. It was so gratifying to learn that this new way of conversing with the personal and the universal was rooted in deep gratitude and sprung directly from the heart.
Each time we say “Namaste” at the opening or closing of a class we honor our divine nature and recognize the divinity inherent in all. We revere humbly and offer appreciation for our shared presence. It is an act of cherishing each other, a ritual of radiating loving kindness and spreading light across the planet. Every spiritual tradition thrives on gratitude and acceptance. Because of our left-brain, result-oriented culture it is sometimes hard to cultivate gratitude, as the mind and the ego often come in the way. But if you hone it day by day, refueling your heart with love and re-affirming your role as a light bearer, you will feel gratitude pouring out spontaneously and continuously. You will no longer need to remind yourself to be thankful, but instead will harness the benevolent energy of appreciation and encourage others to do the same. Once we realize how fortunate we actually are, we notice the energy of reciprocity naturally arising in our heart and imbibing our whole being with a sense of fullness and abundance. From a healing perspective, gratitude is the best remedy against any ailments, disease or chronic psychological or physiological conditions. When practiced daily it dispels negativity on the spot and floods your life with purpose and joy.
I believe “Thanksgiving” is the best holiday in America – a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. It gives us the opportunity to reflect on the seeds we have sown and the fruits we have reaped, it allows us to harvest our lessons and recognize the blessings of inner guidance and friendship. Instead of calling it “Turkey Day” and slaughtering tons of poultry in a single week, let us turn it into a day of remembrance and reunion with our Earthly family – our loved ones and our fellow men, and our cosmic family – all the sentient beings that share the air, the soil, the water, the atmosphere and the ether with us.
This Yogea practice offers specific mudras (devotional gestures) as a prelude to a thanksgiving affirmation. Structured in a creative visualization flow this meditation will guide you through a process of observing how gratitude arises and unfurls from the heart. It will cultivate faith in your own resources and coach you into realizing how lucky you are. Upon completion of the practice you will feel centered and empowered to clothe yourself and others in trust and reverence.
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