Gratitude practice is now taught in many different classes and context at any age.  Originally inherited from the Buddhist Zen tradition, many authors, coaches, and happiness podcasters incite us to practice gratitude first thing when you wake up or last thing before you go to bed. There are many ways to do so, whether written in a diary or done as a mental bullet point list in your mind.

Gratitude is an emotion that goes beyond just saying thank you. It's a feeling that can lift your spirits and make you feel better about yourself and others. Essentially, gratitude involves recognizing and appreciating the good things that happen to you. It's not just about being grateful for big things like receiving a bike on your birthday; it's also about appreciating the little things, such as seeing the sun come out or finding a lost item.

A psychology professor who studies gratitude, believes that it is an important emotion that can bring positivity and happiness into your life. It can also strengthen your relationships and improve your overall health. Expressing gratitude to others can bring people closer together and create a greater sense of connection.

Gratitude practice can be done at any age and is the perfect practice to teach children as part of their relaxation practice, either at home or at their yoga class.

Gratitude Day, which took place on July 4th, 2022, was organized to recognize the support that people provided to each other during the pandemic. Organizations such as the Football Association, the NHS, and the Guides and Scouts participated in the event to express their appreciation for delivery drivers, volunteers, and neighbors. Emmons suggests that practicing gratitude can make you happier by helping you appreciate what you have rather than focusing on what you're missing. It can also boost your self-esteem by making you feel grateful for the people in your life.

There are several ways to practice gratitude, such as keeping a gratitude journal or doing kind things for others. imagine what your life would be like without the things or people you value in it. During the lockdown, many people learned to appreciate and be thankful for the people and things they love.

If you want to practice gratitude, you can try measuring how grateful you feel on a scale of one to five. You might find that you feel more grateful when something unexpected happens. Additionally, writing in your gratitude journal once or twice a week may be more effective than doing it every day.

A good tip which I practice myself and teach my yoga students in class is to carry a gratitude rose Quartz or stone in your pocket. Touch the stone every time you find reasons to feel grateful then practise feeling it as a pleasant sensation, a pause in the moment. This practice soon prompts you to look for the good all around you, thus contributing to a positive bias rewiring and building awareness of positivity. It is really practical and effective and makes you feel good, whilst multiplying opportunity for practising Heartfulness, at the very core of this ancient buddhist zen practice.