Gratitude and Joy:  They go hand in hand with each other.  Love that!  The more you truly recognize the things you are grateful for the more joy you experience.  The more joy you experience the more grateful you become. We could all use that right?

Before I get into all of that I wanted to share the recipes for 4 healthy veggie side dishes that you should consider as an alternate for your Thanksgiving Meal.  Good for you and they are also tasty.

Research has shown that feelings of Gratitude and Joy improve our brain function by turning on  certain neurotransmitters that create calm and pleasure.  It is hard to be stressed out when you are truly feeling Joy or Gratitude, so these feelings help tone down the nervous system and we experience a sense of well-being and satisfaction.

JOY and GRATITUDE is good for our HEALTH

I have been writing in a journal everyday for the past couple of months and one of the prompts is ” what are you grateful for today?”

You could write the same thing over and over and that would be OK, however what if you challenged yourself to write something different everyday. What would that look like?  For me it meant that I had to focus on details.  It caused me to reflect a little more deeply in order to answer the question.

So I challenge you to take a minute to two and do two things: 

1. Write down in a journal 5 things you are grateful for everyday and do it each and everyday …
2. Make a list of 10 things that truly  bring you JOY.  Doing this is like giving your self a GIFT for the Holiday season.

Here’s My top 10 JOY list:

1. Snuggling with my hubby and putting my nose in the crook of his neck and taking a big deep breath.
2. Crisp clean 600 count smooth sheets
3. Savasana after a hot sweaty Yoga Class
4. Being outside in Nature and watching the sunset
5. Having hot Tea with a friend and Laughing a lot cause we feel so comfortable with each other
6. Savoring a  cup of Nesspresso coffee in the morning. It tastes amazing and looks like art.
7. Little baby giggles and chubby cheeks
8. Helping and supporting people on their Wellness Journey
9. A cashmere sweater. I literally rub my hands up and down my arms so that I can feel the softness.
10. Being in Italy brings me JOY.
11. Smelling and eating Cilantro
12. Sitting in front of the fire pit after Meditation with my group

I know I went over but you get the idea.  I keep feeling we need more than ever to focus on our mental wellbeing if we want to be truly healthy.  A healthy diet, exercise  and supplementation  will not provide true wellbeing unless you also focus on MINDSET and ways to reduce your Stress response.

I hope that this article was helpful and also provided you with some ideas and tools to help you navigate the Holiday Season.

I am beyond Grateful for each and everyone of you. Happy Thanksgiving and don’t forget to take you digestive enzymes if you decide to eat too much on TG day. You need good stomach acid to digest your food.

My favorite go to is Zypan from SP and Enzymix Pro from Apex.  If you want to pick up a bottle there is still time.  Let us know and we will set some aside.

Have a Healthy Week

Dr Pia