Find Your Great-Fullness

Gratefulness is a word we use often, but how do we truly cultivate it in our hearts? As I began to think about it,  I took apart the word gratefulness and discovered that by playing with the spelling a bit it can be broken up into Great and Fullness. How do we cultivate Great-Fullness in our hearts, minds and bodies?

At the beginning of each year, as humans we tend to look back, look ahead and also look all around us. Perhaps we notice the good fortune of others and sometimes it’s in our nature to compare ourselves to them. We can have that “The Grass is Always Greener” mentality which causes anxiety and tension within ourselves. In order to find Great-Fullness inside and keep it with us as we move along our journey,  I offered my students a simple mantra for this week; “Your Grass is Green”.

We can always find people who have more, who seem happier in their lives (emphasis on SEEM as you never know!) When we compare ourselves to those others it does Not Serve Us. A Yoga practice teaches us there is always more and always less on our mats…and off our mats as well. Our practice on the mat is to be happy with where we are in each pose, not to look around at what others have available, but instead to find Great-Fullness in what is there for us. A reminder that no matter how green the grass looks for someone else, that in fact, our grass is green too.

We focused on an internal asana practice this week to allow us to find Great-Fullness in what was offered by our bodies. As I periodically reminded my students “Your grass is green” I noticed visible changes happening on the mat. Shoulders were lowered in Warrior 1, the breath was in sync with their movements but also with others in the class as we transitioned from Parsvokonasana to Vrksasana (Tree) pose. It was remarkable to see and experience and it filled me with honor and Great-Fullness.

As we transitioned into Savasana the real work began. I again repeated the mantra “Your grass is green”. I reminded them to bring this with them off their mats and into their lives as that is the true gift. When we find happiness and joy in what we have, we brim over with Great-Fullness. Then our Grass is the Greenest of all. Namaste.