How to Teach Meditation Online

Meditation is one of the most powerful tools to improve mental health, boost overall wellness, and enhance both your physical and emotional state. If you regularly practice meditation, the benefits of your practice already clear. For many people, seeing those benefits is the first step to becoming a teacher.

Meditation is quickly becoming one of the fastest-growing health and wellness segments which makes teaching a great way to earn income doing what you love (and helping others in the process). But how exactly do you get started?

Here are a few steps to help you learn how to teach meditation online:

Join a Certified Meditation Training Program

The fastest way to learn the ins-and-outs of meditation training is to join a program. Facilitator training is designed to go over every aspect of crafting a successful business. From learning how to hone your practice with improved techniques and guides to teaching you how to help others learn and grow in their own journey.

Unplug Meditation Training is a 6-week program with a world-renowned instructor to give you the base you need to become a great instructor. Not only will you enhance your practice, but you will also learn how to lead others, power their success, and gain recognized certification.

Separate Yourself With A Niche

There are a lot of people searching for answers with meditation—all of which could potentially become your students—but there are also a lot of teachers out there. To find success, you have to differentiate yourself from others by focusing on a particular niche or field. By separating yourself from others, you gain the ability to hyper-focus on their particular needs. Your niche may be a particular style of teaching, a particular student demographic, or just about anything to separate yourself from others out there.

Decide How You Want to Teach

There are many different methods of delivery for teaching meditation, even if you stay completely virtual and teach online. Deciding your delivery method will allow you to craft a roadmap to help you deliver your content as effectively as possible. Some options that you can choose include:

·         Digital Workshops or Events – Doing workshops and group coaching is a great way to create a large base quickly.

·         1-on-1 Live Coaching – Individual coaching is a great way to grow your business if you have a very specific niche. It allows you to hyper-focus on specific, individual problems and techniques which can be very profitable.

·         Digital Courses – Creating a set of courses and adding automation is a way to deliver as much content as you have to offer to as many people as possible. This is typically not something you want to start doing at first, but eventually creating your course system can be a great way to take your business to the next level.

Create a Website and Advertise

Once you have all the training and planning in place, the next step is to create your own business. The first thing you want to do is create a website or have one created for you. Focus on individual branding that helps describe who you are, what problems you solve, and how your service helps.

After you have a website, focus on advertising and marketing. Blog posts and content marketing are a great way to drive organic traffic, but the process takes a while. Social media is an excellent source for new clients, but make sure you’re prepared to deal with a lot of competition (which ties into creating a niche for yourself).

2 Keys To Boosting Your Inner Confidence

Unplug Coach - Suze Yalof Schwartz

I've been coaching for a decade now, and the biggest thing I've learnt - both for me and for my clients - is that inner confidence is the key to it all.

There are all kinds of strategies, ways of thinking, patterns of behavior and practical tips for improving your life and feeling better about yourself, but they're all redundant if the foundation isn't there. That foundation is the real you, the you that you know deep down you are. The trick is that it takes confidence to find that and to bring out who you are – here are the two keys to real inner confidence.

1. Get To Know Your Values

Personal values are a big passion of mine and I often get carried away with myself when I talk about them. I make no apology for that though – they’re one of the most important things you can know about yourself and are vital in getting genuine inner confidence. Your values are ten thousand feet down inside you, right at the very core of who you are; and they’re the building blocks, the foundations and cornerstones for you. A value is something in yourself, in others or in the world that’s most important to you, and could include things like beliefs, progress, family, fun, nature, achievement or freedom.

Why is it that some people and situations leave you feeling angry, frustrated, demotivated or deflated? It’s because one or more of your values is being denied, suppressed or repressed – and we experience that as a negative experience because it’s denying a fundamental piece of who you are. You know those times when you’ve felt really alive, amazing or buzzing? Those are the times when one or more of your values are being honored, and you can get more of that by living according to them.

Your values are all yours, and no matter what happens, no one can ever take them away. You can have absolute confidence in them because they’re there all the time just waiting for you to notice and use them. When you get to know your values, you can start to make choices and align your life around them. It’s so simple and it feels amazing because all that really means is that you’re allowing who you are to live in the real world.

2. Exercise the Muscle

Confidence is a muscle, and like any muscle you need to exercise it so that it doesn’t shrink and waste away. The problem is that unlike your biceps or glutes, which tend to stay in the same place, your confidence muscle can be harder to find. How do you develop your biceps or firm up your glutes? By doing exercises that are designed to work that muscle over a period of time until you see the results you were looking for.

It’s just the same with confidence. Let’s say that you’re the kind of person that doesn’t take many risks, the kind of person who goes through each day doing what needs to be done and doing it well, but not really stretching yourself. You might talk yourself out of doing something because it’s too scary or because you think to yourself ‘I’m not good enough,’ ‘that’s not who I am’ or ‘I don’t really want it anyway.’ That kind of person lives within what they know and what keeps them safe and comfortable. The fewer risks they take, the less confident they need to be and so the less confident they become.

To work your confidence muscle you need to be prepared to take risks – big or small. You need to be willing to stretch yourself in an unfamiliar direction, to try something new or try something in a slightly different way. You need to open yourself up to the possibilities around you and push yourself to increase what you know, what you do and who you are. The more open you are to risk, opportunity and possibility the more confident you need to be, and so the more confidence you’ll develop. That’s your confidence muscle – the question is, what are you going to do to exercise it?"

To Boost your confidence you can try both hypnosis for confidence and confidence meditations.

2 Simple Strategies For Never Losing Out Again

Wellness writer at Unplug Meditation

Life is full of ups and downs and sometimes has a few sideways thrown in too. When things go wrong or don’t go as planned, or when something happens to throw us off balance and doubt ourselves it can be tough to deal with. After all, we all want things to go well and to end up as ‘winners’. But life will always throw challenges at us, and we can’t control everything. Nor should we try. It’s not what happens to you but what you do with what happens to you that makes the difference. Here are three easy ways that you can always come out on top.

1. Focus on Your Strengths

We’re a bunch of contradictions – sorry to break it to you. Sometimes happy, sometimes sad; sometimes hopeful, sometimes pessimistic; sometimes childish and sometimes mature. We also have a whole load of strengths and weaknesses that affect what we do and how we do it, but we tend to put more focus on our weaknesses and not our strengths.

A strength is something that you do consistently well– it’s something you’re just able to do, you’re hard-wired to do it well and you get an inherent satisfaction from doing it. It could be tackling and solving complex problems, empathising with people, having a lively imagination or being able to make the perfect omelette.

Focusing on what you do well rather than what you’re not so good at makes all kinds of sense. When you look at what you’re not good at you feel bad about yourself and your ability, but when you focus on and play to your strengths you’re guaranteed to get results, and can even eliminate any negative effect your weaknesses might have.

2. Set Things Up Ahead Of Time

Sure, there will be times when you can just head into something, do brilliantly at it and get the result you were hoping for (normally if you’re playing to your strengths), but other times you might blunder forwards, wing it and not get the result you wanted. Whatever challenges or opportunities you’re facing you’ll stand a much better chance of getting a great result if you set things up to succeed ahead of time.

So what exactly do you want to happen? What solution, outcome or result would be great? Get really clear on the outcome you want from what’s facing you and how it would feel to get the outcome you’re looking for. Then start breaking it down – what can you do to set things up so that your desired outcome happens? What needs to be put in place? What will help to make what you want to happen, happen? And to ensure the best outcome, what are you willing to do?

How to Become a Certified Meditation Teacher

Ever wondered how to become a certified meditation teacher, and if you’re ready for it? Have you been daydreaming about getting certified? If you’ve been practicing meditation for a while, it’s not uncommon to consider the path to teaching. Training to become a certified meditation teacher can be such a rewarding experience, and a way to give back what you’ve learned in your own practice. And of course, it will improve your practice for yourself too! Here are a few simple steps you can take along the process to become a certified meditation teacher in the most present way possible.

Learn As Much As You Can

One of the most important things you can do for your meditation teacher training is continue to learn yourself. Be an open book and soak everything up like a sponge! Learn as much as you can about meditation. Immerse yourself in the different types and styles of teaching so you feel comfortable with all facets of the practice. Keep an open mind, and don’t be afraid to be vulnerable with your classmates in your meditation teacher training program, so you can all grow together. This mindset will also help you see things from a learner’s perspective, which will help you be a more effective teacher! When you know how it feels to be a student, you can better serve your own students.

Be Dedicated In Your Practice

Becoming a certified meditation teacher is more than just having knowledge—it takes dedicated personal practice as well. Before you start meditation teacher training, make sure that you have solidified your practice. The meditation sessions you’ll teach won’t serve as your own meditation time, so you’ll need to set aside time for that on your own. That means making a commitment to yourself that you will meditate regularly, both because it will make you a better teacher and because you deserve it! (That said, this does not mean being hard on yourself on days when you skip a meditation session - we all have our ups and downs. The key is to always get back on the horse and be kind to yourself.) Be intentional about meditating daily, show up for yourself in your practice, and take the time to connect with others in the meditation community. Having practical experience goes a long way in developing a warm and informed teaching style.

Ask Yourself Why

To make sure you are entering meditation teacher training with the right attitude, take time to reflect on why you actually want to become a certified meditation teacher. If you are only in it for the money or desire to have a huge following and fanbase, you may find your journey more difficult. (Those things are great! But they are not the core of what makes becoming a certified meditation teacher fulfilling and rewarding.) While there are many reasons to become a meditation teacher, many successful, satisfied meditation teachers started teaching because they:

·  Had a desire to constantly learn and were excited to share their findings with others.

·  Worked in fields like mental health or wellness and wanted to share how meditation fits perfectly with handling anxiety, stress, and other issues.

·  Knew that teaching was their calling and that meditation was their passion - and the two naturally fit together.

These aren’t the only reasons to become a certified meditation teacher - not by a long shot! - but hopefully they serve as a helpful guide. The idea is to be sure that you’ll enjoy teaching meditation for the practice itself, and for the ways it can help you improve others’ lives.

Enter A Training Program

If you’ve continued this far, then congrats: you’re almost there! You’re in the right headspace to start your meditation teacher training! Once you have decided to go through with becoming a certified meditation teacher, entering a meditation teacher training program is essential. Going through a training program is an immersive way to quickly gain the knowledge you need to go from practitioner to teacher. The Unplug Meditation certified teaching program, for example, is an intensive 200-hour program over 6 weeks that prepares you for every aspect of teaching. With those hours of training, you’ll be ready to change lives - both your students’ and your own - with the sessions you lead.

Prepare Your Practice

Once you have gone through training and have become a certified meditation teacher, you’re ready to roll! Get out there and create groups. Practice teaching as much as you can, so you can get to know your own teaching style and develop routines. You may want to start with familiar faces, like your coworkers and friends, and lean toward shorter lessons (in the 10-to-15-minute range) as you learn. As time goes on, you will quickly see how to best apply all the knowledge you’ve gained up to this point. You’ll be a thriving certified meditation teacher before you know it, and it will make life that much sweeter. Happy meditating!

6 Questions To Ask Yourself When Pursuing Your Dreams

Wellness writer at Unplug Meditation

What's your dream? Want to give your vision a jumpstart? Write down your goals and use these questions to speed up delivery of your dream.

1. What's your highest priority in this lifetime?

What's most important for you to experience, explore or embrace this time around? Until you answer this question, your life goals will be off purpose. Unaligned with your inner passion, your intentions will lack the power to attract the people and situations necessary to become a reality.

Get clued into your true joy. What activities did you enjoy as a child? What are your hobbies now? When your goals are aligned with your soul, synchronicity kicks in to guide you to your target. 

2. Is this your dream, or someone else's?

Are your goals your own choice, or what others think you should strive for? Do you want to look back in your old age and wish you had followed your passion? Will you regret having "played it safe?"

Is it selfish to go after your own dream? What joy can you give to others if you haven't given it to yourself first?

3. Are you settling for less than?

Are you resigned to accepting less than your full share of love, health and success this lifetime? Have you compromised and sacrificed your dream?

Anything short of living your true passions will never make you happy. 

4. What will you feel like when you reach your dream?

Personal passion fuels a vision. Dive into the thrill and exhilaration of the feeling of living your dream. 

The Hawaiian Kahuna say, "Where your creative attention flows, so flows your life."

5. What steps can you take today toward your dream?

Don't defer your dream. Set up supports and systems around you to instantly translate your intentions into action. Jump on every opportunity that is in line with your purpose and vision.

Are there smaller projects that lead to your larger dream? If the dream is to run a marathon, train for a local fun-run first. And find a way to measure your progress. Track those little wins-by writing in a journal or telling a friend.

6. Are you telling yourself: "I can't have my dream?"

All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them -Walt Disney

Most people don't believe they can live their dream. Either their belief system has them believing they can't make a living doing what they love, or they feel they don't deserve their dream. To avoid the pain of feeling they can't have their dream, people often keep their dream so buried they can't remember they ever had a dream.

Everyone has a dream! And everyone is destined to fulfill that purpose. Why wait?

A Guide to Corporate Wellness Programs That Work

In the last year, work has shifted more drastically than any time in history. Businesses shifted online. Hours changed. Stress levels rise. The global poandemic led to higher rates of anxiety, more challenges in the workplace, and, in many instances, lower levels of productivity.

Fortunately, it has also opened our eyes to the benefits of corporate wellness programs and how they not only benefit employees but businesses as a whole. Here’s what you need to know about corporate wellness programs and how to choose one that works:

• What exactly is a corporate wellness program?

At its basic level, a corporate wellness program is a benefit that employers provide for employees to help deal with health risks. While these have traditionally focused on the physical such as workplace sponsored gym memberships and healthy eating programs, mental health and wellness is now one of the most important benefits companies can provide. 

• What are the benefits of corporate wellness programs?

Wellness programs are a surprisingly cost-effective way for businesses to reduce long-term costs. In a study conducted by Harvard, it was found that for every dollar companies spent on wellness programs, more than three dollars were saved on healthcare costs. A World Health Organization report found wellness programs to reduce sick leave by nearly 30%. Not only are wellness programs great for employees, they help the bottom line as well.

• Which wellness programs actually work?

One of the important things to remember when choosing a corporate wellness program is to tackle the root cause of issues, not just the symptoms. That’s why mental health and wellness is the biggest focus for many programs. By helping employees relax, reduce anxiety, and stress, you can improve overall fitness, reduce sick days, and increase productivity.

Unplug For Business

Unplug For Business, for example, is designed to help employees de-stress and refocus. Unplug has worked for over 150 businesses and helped create a more positive work environment, increase employee job satisfaction, and led to improved productivity. If you are a business searching for a way to improve the life of your employees and create a more efficient work environment, consider Unplug.

9 Ways To Combat Fear

Wellness writer at Unplug Meditation

Fear gets to the best of us, whether it is fear of failure, fear of success or even fear of fear. All of us have experienced fear at some point in our lives and it can be a real stumbling block that holds us back from being truly successful.

Fear can’t hold you back forever, if you don’t let it. There are several ways to overcome fear, here are my top 9:

1. SEPARATE REALITY FROM PERCEPTION

Ask yourself what is really going on, locate the facts and place them over your feelings.

2. IDENTIFY THE TRIGGER

Figure out what it is in a situation that triggers you. Learning to identify it will help you learn to combat it.

3. KNOW WHERE FEAR LIVES IN YOUR BODY

A lot of times, fear takes over physically. It affects different people different ways. Identify if/how it affects your physical body and do the work to take care of your body. Ex: if you hold stress in your back, you can learn stretches, foam rolling, etc. to avoid the pain.

4. PRACTICE GRATITUDE

Everyday, list out 1-3 things you are thankful for. It doesn’t matter how big or small it is, gratitude helps shift the mind into a positive light, which overtime, overcomes fear.

5. LISTEN TO YOUR INNER VOICE

Monitor your inner conversations. If you wouldn’t say it to a friend, don’t say it to yourself. Speak positively to yourself and remind yourself of your strengths.

6. CREATE A NEW ASSOCIATION

Remind yourself that the feeling and the moment will pass. Focus on the positive outcome of the situation, rather than the scary in between.

7. LOOK AT THE GLASS HALF FULL

Perception is a very powerful thing, and how you feel about your situation dictates how you respond. So think positively and you’ll give yourself a much better chance of success. This won’t happen overnight; practice with just one thought. What is one recurring negative/fearful thought you have? Work on reversing this one thought. Overtime, this will become a habit.

8. PRACTICE BREATHING EXERCISES

Breathing helps center your body; when you stop breathing, your heart stops beating. You can do a grounding exercise, or even just take 5 deep, long breaths at any point to calm and center yourself. It is best to start your  day with this, but feel free to practice all day long.

9. CREATE A SAFE SPACE

When you feel safe and secure, there is no room for fear. Find somewhere safe you can retreat to when ill feelings begin- whether this is a real place such as your bedroom, or a place in your mind such as the beach. This sense of comfort will soothe you and allow you to face your fear.

Please keep in mind, that these are just 9 strategies, not everything works for everyone. But this is a place to start. Start implementing these techniques into your life and don’t let fear hold you back from reaching your goals and your highest potential this year!

3 Steps To Discovering The Purpose of Your Life

Wellness writer at Unplug Meditation

Determining what our purpose is in life can be one of the hardest questions that we as humans must try to answer. In this article we will be going through a step by step process, exploring your feelings and options, and by the end, you should have a fairly solid tool you can immediately employ in your life, to help give it a meaningful direction!

There are three steps to the process of discovering the purpose of your life:

1. Understanding the principle of choice

2. Creating your “underlying principle”

3. Aligning your life with this underlying principle

Understanding The Principle of Choice

Norman Vincent Peale has this to say about the power of choice. “The greatest power we have is the power of choice. It is an actual fact, that if you have been groping under unhappiness, you can choose to be joyous, instead. And, by effort, lift yourself into joy. If you tend to be fearful, you can overcome that misery by choosing to have courage. The whole trend and the quality of anyone’s life is determined by the choices that are made”.

“Choosing” is the most important activity of your mind, because by making a choice, you are proclaiming your desires to your subconscious mind. Once the subconscious mind gets to know your desires, it is going to do anything to manifest them in your life. The choices you make in your life become your goal. And, if you are sincere in pursuing them, there is no reason why you should not accomplish them.

Indecision, on the other hand, not only creates frustration and anxiety, but can also confuse the subconscious mind about what you want. But it is important that the choices you make are made by you, in accordance with your true desires, purposes and aptitude. A lot of us let others make choices for us, or make our choices according to what we think is ‘correct’, even if that means that we go against our wishes. What is right for someone else may not be right for you, and the way to know this is listening to what your heart says.

So, to begin with, make a list of things which interest you; things which you have always enjoyed, which make you feel better, and which inspire you to surge ahead, no matter what obstacles you face. Do you like doing something creative, or something artistic? Do you enjoy nature? Do you like the sea? Do you enjoy helping others? Do you get pleasure out of making a difference in other people’s life?

Whatever it is that interests you, write it down and answer these questions:

• What thing do you love to do?

• What is it that you love in this thing and why?

• How could you do this for money, and make a living out of it?

Creating Your Underlying Principle

The next step is to examine the list you just made and find out if there is any recurring theme. Maybe, it is the contribution that keeps coming up, or an effect to seek or give love, or helping your parents cope with old age. Whatever it is, try to identify the central theme of the things you love to do, and try to put it in a short and precise statement. This will be your ‘Mission Statement’. It may even be a quote by a famous person, or a philosophy that has influenced you. Of course, as you grow up, this statement could evolve, but its soul will remain the same. Now, write down your Mission Statement.

Aligning Your LIFE With Your Underlying Principle

The final step in this journey is to map your path to your ultimate purpose and to begin implementing changes that help to align your daily life with your underlying purpose. By making these little changes in your lifestyle, you will start to be able to begin living this principle out each and every day. It might take a few days, but by becoming aware and intentional of this underlying principle of your life, you will certainly start to feel the difference in your enthusiasm for life as a whole. If you realize that you love being amidst nature, plan out your holiday. Maybe an outing with your children could be enough to recoup with your energy. If you discover that you enjoy helping those in need, start to look for opportunities to volunteer in your community. On the other hand, you might even want to change your job, or start a new business that is more in line with your mission.

So there you have it! By following along with the steps outlined above, you will be on your way to finding and living out your purpose. And, as you go through this process, just remember, “You were put on this earth to achieve your greatest self, to live out your purpose, and to do it courageously.” - Steve Maraboli

The Best Meditation Teacher Training Program 2022

Written by Liv Wu

With hundreds of meditation teacher training programs out there it can be incredibly overwhelming trying to figure out which one works for you and is worth the investment. I know this because I personally researched dozens of training programs for close to a year, before landing on the one I felt would give me the most knowledge in the least amount of time, and the ability to deepen my own practice and confidently teach others. One in particular stood out as the best.

The Unplug Meditation Teacher Training Program with davidji (world-renowned meditation teacher trainer) and Suze Yalof Schwartz (Founder/ CEO of Unplug)

Unplug Meditation was established in 2008, and is the world’s first drop-in meditation studio and has a global app filled with the top teachers in the world. In other words, they already have the real experience of knowing what it takes to create star teachers that lead packed classes and teach to huge companies. Unplug teachers have appeared in the NY TIMES, traveled on cruises with Oprah Winfrey and have opened studios and retreat centers across the globe. 

What makes this program unique is the balanced teachings of deep spiritual knowledge and modern techniques from davidji combined with Suze’s entrepreneurial experience of running a sought after meditation studio. You will get lots of personal attention and actual live teaching time with the emphasis on deepening your own practice and being able to confidently teach in studio, one-on-one, virtually, as well as corporate settings.

Starting from day 1, the Unplug Meditation Teacher Training Program pairs you with a partner so you can practice what you learn on video and live. By the end of 6 weeks, you will feel confident to teach anyone, anywhere in your voice with your own original content. 

"Who am I to teach meditation"? I know that's how I felt but this is how they do it.

In just 6 weeks you will learn how to simplify the science of meditation (so you can explain it to anyone), learn all the different styles and techniques, the business, best practices, how to create original content, how to speak to the camera and how to engage the people in your class. Most importantly, you walk away with a consistent meditation practice of your own, a deep understanding and love of meditation, and a true connection and comradery of like minded people who, just like you, want to make the world better by creating more peace, presence and positivity. 

Led by the internationally acclaimed meditation master davidji, the former COO of Chopra and best selling author, davidji has taught over 2,000 teachers. His method of teaching makes the experience fun and easy that you won’t want it to end. You’ll most likely end up writing down every word he says because he speaks in endless wisdom and brilliant Soundbites; You will also be media trained and guided by Suze who focuses more on simplifying and modernizing this ancient practice so that it appeals to a larger audience. 

At the end of our 6-week journey, I felt I had formed an unbreakable bond with everyone in the program. When we shared our favorite things about it, many of us felt like we’ve found our voice. Not only that we learned the science and practical applications behind it, we can now easily share this knowledge with others with confidence.

If you are ready to make meditation part of your life journey, check out the Unplug Meditation Teacher Training Program and apply — The next course cycle begins on October 10, 2022!

Bonus class perks include:

• Lifetime membership to the Unplug Meditation App

• 1 month FREE unlimited classes at the Unplug Meditation Studio (live and virtual)

• Invitation to join the Unplug Meditation Teachers private group

• Life-long friendships with Suze, davidji, and the Unplug Meditation community

The Science of Gratitude

The Science of Gratitude

The rise of reality television, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, etc. facilitates an instantaneous connection between everyone with access to a smartphone. In the United States, it seems like that includes anyone over the age of 10. The amount of people “following” celebrities is absolutely staggering. Spending considerable time watching the ultra-wealthy leads to comparison, which ultimately leads to envy. Everyone knows the phrase, “Keeping up with the Joneses,” however, just a few decades ago, most people didn’t even realize how the wealthiest people lived. National surveys and research now show that social media negatively impacts mental health on a truly concerning level. Additionally, new data collected from a population-based study showed a 37% increase in the likelihood of significant depressive episodes among adolescents.[1]

 When we compare ourselves to others, we can never be content. This reality spans every aspect of our lives – looks, weight, height, income, possessions, careers, relationships, etc. Have you ever said to yourself, “If only I…?” Here’s something to consider, according to World Bank economist, Branko Milanovic, an individual that earns $34,000 annually is in the richest 1% globally. Moreover, the average family in the United States has over three times the income of those living in poverty in America, and almost 50 times that of the world’s most impoverished people.[2] It’s easy to take so much of what we have for granted. Food and shelter seem like merely an afterthought. It’s not to say that everyone doesn’t face challenges, obstacles and problems, however, if we honestly examine our lives – we are truly blessed.

So why are so many people unsatisfied or discontented with their lives? How can we learn to appreciate what we have? In recent years, universities began researching the “science of gratitude.” Interestingly, information obtained from numerous studies indicates that gratitude actually improves overall mental health. Thinking about the positive aspects of our lives as opposed to dwelling on the negative, shifts perspective and mindset. This isn’t to suggest that positive thinking cures clinical depression or serious phycological issues, but for many people, gratitude can potentially alter their state of mind.

Robert Emmons, a psychologist and scientific expert on gratitude, suggests that there are two components which comprise gratitude. First, an affirmation of goodness, and second, a recognition that sources of goodness are outside ourselves.[3] Several years ago, researchers at Indiana University conducted a study designed to measure the effects of gratitude on neural activity. The subjects were selected from a group of individuals beginning psychotherapy for anxiety and depression. One group participated in a gratitude writing intervention and the control group attended their regular therapy sessions. After three months, MRI data was collected from all participants. The brain activity of the gratitude writing subjects showed a greater neural sensitivity to gratitude. Additionally, even after three months, the subjects showed greater neural modulation in the medial prefrontal cortex.[4]  

You can download the study here.

At the University of California, research data suggests that participants who consciously focus on their blessings could experience emotional and interpersonal benefits.[5] In 2019, Harvard Health Publishing posted an article which condensed information from multiple gratitude studies – each study found that a positive mindset improved heart health. In one analysis, researchers examined over 8,000 people. The group that scored the highest on an optimism questionnaire had a 30% lower risk of developing heart disease.[6]

So, how can we cultivate gratitude?

1. Keep a journal. It’s nice to remind yourself that despite the day’s challenges, you have so much to be grateful for. Life is so busy, it’s easy to gloss over seemingly simple things, like food, shelter, electricity, health, family, friends, etc. Unfortunately, for a large percentage of the population, basic needs are not a given.

2. Be kind. When you treat everyone with respect, you send out positive energy. Your kindness might be the thing someone else is grateful for that day. Show appreciation for the kindness of others. Acknowledge and show gratitude for even the simple things.

3. Meditate. Meditation gives us a chance to find stillness. A simple five minute meditation can improve your state of mind. Gratitude Meditation is designed to help us reflect on things we are grateful for. Mindfulness Meditation helps us stay grounded in the present moment without judgement.

Practice gratitude, it’s a pathway to better mental and physical health. 

[1] Sherrell, Zia. “What to Know About Social Media and Mental Health.”  Medical News Today, 15 September 2021.

[2] Milanovic, Branko. The Haves and Have-Nots: A Brief and Idiosyncratic History of Global Inequality. Basic Books,

   2011.

[3] Emmons, Robert. Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,  

   2007. 

[4] Kini, P., Wong, J., McInnis, S., Gabana, N., & Brown, J. W. (2016). The Effects of Gratitude

   Expression on Neural Activity. NeuroImage, 128, 1-10.

[5] Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of

  gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377–389.

[6] Tello, Monique. “A Positive Mindset Can Help Your Heart.” Harvard Health Publishing, 6 March 2019.