“Gratitude is one of the strongest and most transformative states of being. It shifts your perspective from lack to abundance and allows you to focus on the good in your life, which in turn pulls more goodness into your reality” -Jen Sincero. In yoga, the concept of gratitude is practiced in Santosha or contentment. Santosha is one of Patanjali’s Niyamas, or positive life practices. When practicing gratitude or Santosha, the mind is putting its focus on what is presently good, no matter what the circumstances are. This concept of finding the good within the ups and downs actually has the power to rewire the brain. Neural pathways (samskaras, in Sanskrit) are like rivers in the brain that carry our thought and behavior patterns. Thanks to the science of gratitude and neuroplasticity, neural pathways reroute and renew to reflect the improved intentionality of our thoughts. With time and practice, old samskaras no longer exist, and positivity becomes second nature.
A mindful yoga practice can change your mind from lack to abundance.
Yoga is mindful movement and differs from standard forms of fitness. In general fitness, the focus is on what you’re doing, and sometimes, how you’re doing it. For example, in strength training, it’s extremely important to have proper form so that you’re movement patterns contribute to postural health. Yoga is similar in this way. The alignment of poses are incredibly important for providing awareness to your body. However, yoga takes it one step further and encourages you to examine who you are while you’re doing yoga. Are you straining? Forcing? Moving into perfectionistic tendencies?
By paying attention to how you’re approaching your yoga practice, you provide yourself the opportunity to shift to a more positive and useful mindset, such as gratitude. When you move with gratitude, you provide nourishment to your body in a different, kinder way and reduce your stressful state. In addition, you’re wiring your brain to have gratitude for even the simplest pleasures of life, such as movement. When you find gratitude for simple things, you shift from lack to abundance.
One secret to happiness.
A 75-year old Harvard study has proven the key to happiness—relationships. Positive relationships to be exact.
Gratitude is transactional. Expressing appreciation from one person to another lifts the mood and creates a positive, energetic interaction for both the benefactor and recipient. When you express gratitude for someone, you embed the value that you have for them and they feel valued, creating a positive exchange and appreciation for one another.
“Personal connection creates emotional stimulation, which is an automatic mood booster, while isolation is a mood buster,” says Dr. Waldinger.
Since its infancy, yoga has promoted the concept of Sangha, or community as a way to bring people together and build relationships. “The essence of a sangha is awareness, understanding, acceptance, harmony, and love” -The Red Lion. We would all agree that the community at Ignite embodies all of those qualities and more, but it’s important to express it. So we’d like to spread the goodness and share what we have to be grateful for this year. First, a sincere…
Gratitude to you, our Ignite community
Without a doubt, we would not be where we are today without our supportive and patient community. Every day we come into the studio to teach, we know we will be welcoming countless smiles and many laughs. Teaching at Ignite is like coming home, with our students as extended family that are always lending a listening ear, whether it be for plant advice, parenting advice (both pet and human), or life advice. Your light-heartedness and ease create a safe space for us to fully express our truest selves—faults, mistakes, misspoken body parts, and all! There aren’t many places a person can go where they feel unconditionally loved and accepted as they are, and you all have graced us with that gift. You make teaching yoga fulfilling and enjoyable, without feeling the pressures of perfectionistic expectations.
30% of the country’s yoga studios closed due to the pandemic, and thanks to you, we were not one of them. We’ve adapted and adjusted tremendously, and you’ve be unwavering. We express our gratitude to you.
The Ignite community continues to grow and we have more to be grateful for…
+ In 2022, we celebrated 8 years as Ignite Yoga, and 9 years of being a yoga studio
+ We have 70 original members from the days of our small but mighty studio. We thank you for your dedication!
+ Close to 400 new students bought passes in 2022!
+ Ignite raised over $1300 for The Gem Project at our suicide prevention event in September
+ We were nominated in two different ‘Best of Dayton’ competitions
+ We welcomed five new, fabulous yoga teachers onto our team—Liz, Stephanie, Lindsay, Maria, and Bronwen
+ Spark Change Challenge brought in $275 that was donated to East End Community Services
+ Guest facilitators like Barb Morsa, Scott Stone, The Four Winds Candle Co., Ivy Dayton, and many more
+ Partnerships with local businesses like Ordinarie Fare, Mobility Fit, and the Dayton Dragons
+ New corporate clients that are bring wellness to their employees at ChangeUp Inc. and TerraTitle
We would love to hear what you have to be grateful for. There’s no item too big or too small that doesn’t deserve this acknowledgement from your heart.
We wish you and your families a safe and happy holiday.
The Ignite Yoga Team
