This “Embodiment & Creativity Self Care” resource is a simple one, yet it’s often overlooked and tossed aside.

We often neglect gratitude when we are stressed, overwhelmed or stuck in a cycle of chaos. However, gratitude can be a powerful antidote to changing our feelings of loss and lack into hope and nourishment.

Interestingly, the same part of the brain that produces fear also produces gratitude. Using gratitude for creating a small shift in focus, or a re-direct in therapeutic terms, can bring a sinking ship back to the surface.

In terms of attracting what we want into our lives, we have to be in touch with the feeling level that we want more of.

Despite how most people use the of Law of Attraction, it’s not your thoughts that will get you the new car, the happy marriage or the big paycheck. However, if you continue to focus on the feeling of nourishment you get within your relationships—or the feeling of joy and ease that comes with more money—you can start to create more of that feeling in your life. Like attracts like.

We all want more of the good stuff in our lives don’t we?

Using gratitude as a means of expanding the heart and feeling more joy is a very simple way to help us create a life that feels more nourishing—to help us thrive and expand our hearts.

Create a “Life of Thriving” with these five steps:

Step #1

Write a list of all the things you are grateful for. List the people, experiences and parts of your life that truly make you feel glad to be alive. Are you grateful for your health? Your children? Your garden? Your amazing clients? Put it on the list!

Step #2

As you look at your gratitude list, pause and be still. Where do you feel the sensation of gratitude in your body? Can you feel it rising up from your belly or spreading across your chest? Try to locate the sensation and clearly identify it.

Use this physical body feeling as a tuning fork. Keep coming back to this sensation as a way to touch in with the feeling of thriving and nourishment. More of that please! This is what you want to create more of in your life!

Step #3

Create an image of this feeling of gratitude and the sensation of nourishment it brings into your body. Use cray-pas, paints, collage, pen and ink or any other medium that inspires you. Use colors, textures and shapes to create your image. Take 20 minutes (or more!) to create your image then give it a title.

Step #4

Move your image. Use your image to inspire a movement exploration. Let your body move in response to your nourishment image with an intention of “moving with your feelings of nourishment.” What sensations emerge for you during your dance? What awareness? Allow 5 to 10 minutes for this movement exploration.

Step #5

Harvest in your journal some of your key findings from this process. Answer these statements:

I sense___
I feel____
I imagine____

Bonus Step:

Pick a few people to share your gratitude with. The best way to amplify this feeling is to share it with others! Use post it notes for a quick thank you or get more elaborate and write out a love note to someone special. Write a sweet message of gratitude to your child or give your neighbor a friendly mailbox surprise.

I’d like to share more with you on this “Embodiment & Creativity Self Care” journey! Get daily inspiration and resources to create a life of thriving. Are you on my list?

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Relephant read:

Befriend Your Inner Critic—In 5 Easy Steps.

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Author: Saraswati J.

Editor: Yoli Ramazzina

Photo: Flickr/*nacnud*