Gratitude is a simple, yet powerful, form of mindfulness that deepens our connection to the beautiful people, places, events, and things in our world. Fostering and expressing thankfulness can also improve mental and physical health, boost happiness, reduce depression, and enhance our relationships with others.
While we’ll see the most benefits from cultivating gratitude every day, a committed daily practice can be difficult when life gets busy. That’s why we’ve compiled these 17 inspiring quotes on yoga and gratitude—to inspire and motivate us to practice gratitude as often as we can.
Our Favorite Inspirational Quotes on Yoga and Gratitude
The attitude of gratitude is the highest way of living, and is the biggest truth, the highest truth. You cannot live with applied consciousness until you understand that you have to be grateful for what you have. If you are grateful for what you have, then Mother Nature will give you more. — Yogi Bhajan
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity… It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. — Melody Beattie
If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice. — Meister Eckhart
Gratefulness for what is there is one of the most powerful tools for creating what is not yet there. What does gratefulness mean? It means you appreciate what is. You value, you give attention to, you honor whatever is here at this moment. — Eckhart Tolle
The purpose of life is to be beautiful, to be bountiful, to be blissful, to be graceful and grateful. What a wonderful English word—grateful. If one is great and full, one is God. And whenever smallness faces you, you should be great. And full. Full of that greatness. — Yogi Bhajan
Cultivating thankfulness for being part of life blossoms into a feeling of being blessed, not in the sense of winning the lottery, but in a more refined appreciation for the interdependent nature of life. It also elicits feelings of generosity, which create further joy. Gratitude can soften a heart that has become too guarded, and it builds the capacity for forgiveness, which creates the clarity of mind that is ideal for spiritual development. — Phillip Moffitt
Whatever our individual troubles and challenges may be, it’s important to pause every now and then to appreciate all that we have, on every level. We need to literally ‘count our blessings,’ give thanks for them, allow ourselves to enjoy them, and relish the experience of prosperity we already have. — Shakti Gawain
We can learn to be so fully immersed in the moment that even as it ends, we counterintuitively find an innate sense of non-attachment, which of course lies at the center of our ability to embrace authentic gratitude. Like little droplets, gratitude sinks into the heartbeat, into the natural pace of breath, into the essence of being. This vibrant energy sustains us, irrespective of circumstance. — Francesca Bove
As you breathe, savor the openness in your chest and lungs. On your inhale, think about each and every single thing that brings gratitude into your life. Exhale anything that doesn’t serve you, and smile to yourself for the things that do. — Georgina Berbari
Practicing gratitude doesn’t have to be difficult, but it will take effort. It’s the practice of seeing the quality of things alongside the quantity. It’s both the subconscious and conscious valuation you place on people, events, and challenges in your life. — Jessi Richardson
Great gratitude comes ultimately from a place of great humility. Replacing expectation with awe, we see the world through childlike eyes. Everything is a gift, everything is alive, everything is thrilling. — Monique Minahan
If you can learn how to be happy right here, right now in the middle of whatever mess you find yourself deep in, then you’ll carry that happiness to the highest peaks of your life. But if you can’t find gratitude and happiness in your heart now, it’s unlikely that soaring achievements will bring it to you. The external world is only an amplifier for the inner world. You can’t control the outer world, but you can learn to mold your thoughts and thereby change the vibration of your inner world. The best time for training your mind is when things are easy because it’s when things are difficult that you’re tested. — Kino MacGregor
Gratitude has a way of bringing us into the present moment, allowing us to be with what is. Our mind is no longer chasing after something in the future or lingering somewhere in the past. We are content. — Birgitte Kristen
From the perspective of Ayurveda, gratitude balances Vata. Some of the signs of an imbalance of the energy of Vata are a state of depletion of the mind, emotions, and energy; degeneration of the body and energetic state; and feelings of scarcity on all levels. When we are truly experiencing a state of gratitude, we feel naturally full, abundant, and blessed, which are all the exact opposites of the experience of Vata imbalance. — Dr. Siva Mohan
Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough. — Oprah Winfrey
Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude. — A.A. Milne
We should not measure success by bank accounts filled with money, but rather by moments filled with joy and gratitude. Pursuing your passion vigorously and relentlessly will bring you those moments. — Dennis Houchin
How to Use Inspirational Quotes in Your Yoga Practice
Quotes are powerful tools you can use to inspire yourself to action. Each quote is a bite-sized nugget of potent wisdom, often presented in a poetic or otherwise memorable way. Here are a few practical ways to incorporate these inspirational quotes on yoga and gratitude into your practice:
1. Print out the list of quotes and post them wherever you might need a reminder to practice yoga and meditation.
2. Create an intention card or small piece of artwork featuring a quote and place it on your personal altar.
3. Share your favorite quotes on social media to build communal support for your yoga and gratitude practices.
4. Read a few quotes before you practice yoga or meditation to set an intention or mood for your practice.
5. Use a quote as the seed thought for deep contemplation or journaling.
May these powerful quotes on yoga and gratitude help you to express your thanks and appreciation for all that you have and for the people who encourage and inspire you.
And don’t forget to share the love—if you know someone who could use more gratitude in their life, consider sharing this article with them, including a quick note expressing your appreciation to them for their friendship.
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