“Good Thoughts. Good Words. Good Deeds.” – Zarathustra

Let’s start this blog in the same way as the last one - with a question. “What do you spend the most time doing during a twenty-four-hour day?” (No, this is not a trick question and there is no right answer. Everyone will have different answers and maybe more than one.)

So, while you are pondering that, let’s talk about yoga. I love yoga. I discovered it in 2012 when I was still trying to decompress from my fifteen-year consulting career and I really needed to practice the art of being “mindful” and “present”. I am still, and will continue to be a “work in progress”. I love the idea that your entire world during yoga class is only that which is happening on your mat. You focus on your breathing, your movement, how your body is feeling, your poses, etc. The instructor will occasionally remind you that if your mind is wandering – to the making of a mental food shopping list, or wondering what the weather will be over the weekend, or trying to remember if you turned off the lights at home – that you need to let those thoughts go until the end of class and re-center yourself to your mat. After ten years of yoga practice, I am getting better at doing this – but, I am far from good at it. It is hard work to “remain present on your mat”. Last week’s class was an epic fail for me...let me explain.

Each month at my studio there is a theme of some sort that overarches our practice. It could be inversion poses, twists, breathing techniques, etc. For November, and to coincide with the impending holiday season, my instructor announced that the theme is approaching our practice with gratitude. We focus on being grateful for what our bodies are able to do and not what we can’t master. We are grateful for our breath, our strength, our flexibility – whatever we possess of each of those things. This, too, is hard work. I am a competitive person. When I look over at my friend on the mat next to me who is wrapped up like a pretzel because they have the flexibility of Gumby and I am struggling to do a simple bind, I don’t feel very grateful. I feel old and stiff. (and slightly pissed-off...see the learning to be “mindful” and “present” part above.) This is why it is called the “practice” of yoga – because it is hard work. My mind immediately started going...commence epic fail...

I could not stop thinking all class about this concept of being grateful and centering on it because it was “the most wonderful time of the year” aka “the holiday season”. For November and December, there is a strong focus on being thankful, grateful, and perhaps kinder to our fellow humans. We look more to give than receive. Donations to those in need are at an all-time high during these two months of the year. In general, the linchpin during this two-month period is goodwill to all. In many ways, the holiday season brings out some of the best of our human qualities.

But, what about the other ten months of the year? This gets us back to my question that I posed at the beginning of this blog entry. I posed this question to a group of friends who came over last weekend and their responses included: sleeping, working, breathing, blinking, talking, etc. My answer to this question? Thinking. While some people think more than others (a point made by my husband while he was ribbing me about how my brain never stops), our brains are always “on” to some degree. Arguably, during our waking hours, we are thinking in some way or another. It may be about something as automatic as which foot to put forward while we are walking, or it may be about a decision that could change the course of your life.  Regardless, in the same way that we can practice being present and mindful on a yoga mat so that we can put it to use in our daily lives, why can’t we practice thinking with our thankful and grateful holiday season minds, each and every day of the year? Why just save it up for two months?

I recently saw the movie Bohemian Rhapsody about the band Queen and their lead singer, Freddie Mercury. (Loved it) In the movie, Freddie and his father often did not get along because they both had different thoughts about what Freddie should pursue as a career. At several points, Freddie’s father tells Freddie, “Good Thoughts. Good Words. Good Deeds.” – the words which are the basic principles of the family’s Zoroastrian religion. I love this. What a simple but deeply meaningful mantra for each one of us to consider on a daily basis. Perhaps if we each practice living this phrase, we can approach our entire year with a holiday mindset of thanks and gratitude.

Here's to Christmas in March!