November Theme: Practicing Gratitude

You may know her as "The Voice of the Firelands"  or the amazing Ashtanga teacher who has been teaching at Mindful Asana in Norwalk... Kelly Rose will be rejoining OWY's teaching staff when we open our Norwalk studio in early January.  She will be teaching the same Tuesday evening class she taught at Mindful Asana and adding a Thursday evening class as well.  We are excited we'll have Kelly Rose and Ashtanga back on the menu at OWY!  Here are some of Kelly Rose's thoughts on gratitude...

Kelly Rose in Upward Facing Dog and a sneak peek of the new Norwalk Studio Space!

Practicing Gratitude

“You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Gratitude is something I have always struggled with. I don’t know why.  I was never taught to write thank you notes as a child. I have periodically kept gratitude journals trying to cultivate thankfulness only to give it up feeling silly and just going through the motions.  In my meditation on the idea for this piece, I have come to the conclusion that it is due to my own lack of self worth.  That is because I feel inadequate in my expressions of gratitude… that there was some perfection I was reaching for… some great gesture I should be giving in order to express how thankful I was, I missed opportunities to just say “Thank You.”  I’ve literally written and re-written notes on thank you cards only to throw them away because my handwriting was poor or because I couldn’t create perfectly equal margins. 

The first person who really taught me how to express gratitude (among so many other things) was my late yoga teacher, Martha Marcom.  I remember doing her a small favor and she wrote me a thank you note.  It was simple. She misspelled words and crossed them out with her pen.  She ran out of room and wrote on the back of the note card.  It wasn’t perfect, it was genuine.  It was refreshing and freeing.  I wrote my first first-draft, imperfect Thank You note to my friend, Anne Marie, for having a beautiful dinner party.  It made her smile and I felt free from my own shame cycle.  

I’m not perfect in my expressions of gratitude. I’ve felt shame for not writing that Thank You note since them.  I still sometimes chase perfection.  But I’m practicing.  I practice like I practice so many things in my life.  This piece has inspired me to rededicate my thoughts and action to the things I feel grateful for… Getting to my mat.  When my kids sit down for dinner without a fight.  The opportunity to teach again and the community that supports me.  I have learned so much, including the knowledge that the well is infinitely deeper.  

This is my first draft.  I wrote this without striving for perfection, but to be honest and genuine like Martha taught me.

Thank you for reading. 

xo, KRose

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” – William Arthur Ward