{"id":19558,"date":"2018-11-22T00:48:33","date_gmt":"2018-11-22T00:48:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/?p=19558"},"modified":"2018-11-22T01:24:33","modified_gmt":"2018-11-22T01:24:33","slug":"thanksgiving-mindfulness-gratitude-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/lifestyle\/thanksgiving-mindfulness-gratitude-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways To Practice Mindfulness And Gratitude This Thanksgiving"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve all been there. You\u2019ve adjusted your diet and exercise all week to allow for a second helping of turkey and sweet potato pie. You\u2019ve tied up loose ends at work (and the rest can wait until Monday). The Macy\u2019s Thanksgiving Day Parade has transitioned into your favorite football rivalry. You\u2019re happy to be reunited with your family and you\u2019re ready to dig in to the meal you\u2019ve toiled over cooking the entire previous day. And suddenly it happens: \u201cSurprised your job search is taking so long given the economy.\u201d \u201cHow\u2019s Bob\/Susan\/Steve (three years after you broke up)?\u201d And of course, \u201cYou look good, even with a little of that baby weight still on.\u201d Ah, family functions\u2014such a delicate balance of love and button-pushing. But since Thanksgiving<\/a> is about giving thanks, we sat down with Dawn Wiggins<\/a>, a licensed marriage and family therapist, to get her tips for practicing mindfulness<\/a> and gratitude, even when seated next to your most critical relative. She embraces the mind-body-soul connection in her approach, so here\u2019s a hint: it\u2019s all about finding peace within yourself.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    Check In With Yourself<\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The first step toward mindfulness is to check in with yourself and get some perspective. Know whether you have any activated traumas. If you have large, unresolved issues that have you feeling more unsettled than usual, be extra mindful so you\u2019re not in denial about it when you walk into a room with critical family. Identify your personal stressors and if you know your fuse will be shorter, be extra gentle with yourself. Give yourself a wider berth for more sensitivity.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. \n

      Flush Away Toxins, Literally<\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      One of my mentors is a retired family therapist in Key Largo. She\u2019s deeply spiritual and one of her favorite tools is to excuse yourself to the restroom. And as often as necessary. It\u2019s one of the best ways to alleviate agitation at a family function, especially if you do it with intention. Take deep breaths. Hold your hands under the water for an extra 20 seconds and really notice how the water feels on your hands. (Gentle water on skin is used as a trauma technique because of its grounding sensation.) If you\u2019re lucky, perhaps there\u2019s an aromatherapy candle<\/a> you can inhale to help you switch off the area of your brain that feels stressed out.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. \n

        Practice Gratitude With Intention<\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Practicing gratitude is a cultivated skill. Oftentimes, if you\u2019re out of the habit of taking stock in things you\u2019re grateful for, it may not feel natural. Being thankful for my job or new handbag or my family are really obvious things to feel grateful for, but if you practice for a while, gratitude can be life-changing. You can find a deeper awareness within and it becomes even more gratifying. Now, I can find gratitude in anything\u2014I see beauty and joy even in people\u2019s despair because I know they\u2019re being invited to heal. That comes with time, perspective and being grounded\u2014having an awareness and moving through my day with intention. One of the ways I first started doing that was by keeping a piece of paper taped to my bathroom mirror with a pen hanging from a string. It was a surface I looked at every day, so I had an invitation to practice gratitude with intention by writing down my thoughts or taking notes. The pen and paper were already prepared for me. Once you\u2019re committed to a daily practice like that\u2014maybe you\u2019re keeping a daily journal\u2014the more likely you are to notice things as you move throughout your day.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. \n

          Turn A Negative Into A Positive<\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          I like to put things in context. If I\u2019m about to complain about something, I try to turn a negative into a positive, to put it into perspective and ask myself if I\u2019m complaining about something I\u2019m taking for granted. If the answer is yes, then I can think about that and perhaps infuse gratitude instead.<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. \n

            Turn Gratitude Toward Self<\/h1>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            I recently stayed at a hotel near the ocean. And when I opened the draperies in the morning, I could see the water from a very particular angle. I lived right off of the ocean years ago when I went through a divorce, and then my first breakup after the divorce. These were the hardest times of my life and I would walk along the beach and meditate and find snippets of peace even though I was in a lot of pain. When I realized I was looking at the same piece of water from my hotel all these years later, I was suddenly filled with gratitude. Eight years ago, I was in the depths of despair, and now I have an amazing marriage, a beautiful daughter, and am truly filled with joy. Sometimes gratitude comes later, and that\u2019s OK. It\u2019s important to remember that the things that feel painful today, we\u2019ll feel gratitude for down the road. Otherwise, how would we know how good it feels to be here if we hadn\u2019t been there? So I like to notice how I\u2019ve grown or changed or what I\u2019ve accomplished, to take stock with myself and note that I\u2019m doing well and am proud of myself. That\u2019s my most meaningful piece of advice: Turn gratitude toward self.<\/p>\n

            Image credit:\u00a0Daiga Ellaby<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            We\u2019ve all been there. You\u2019ve adjusted your diet and exercise all week to allow for a second helping of turkey and sweet potato pie. You\u2019ve tied up loose ends at work (and the rest can wait until Monday). The Macy\u2019s Thanksgiving Day Parade has transitioned into your favorite football rivalry. You\u2019re happy to be reunited…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":19565,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1305],"tags":[62,1432,1434,1433,770,1431,1435],"thb-sponsors":[],"class_list":["post-19558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-anxiety","tag-family","tag-gratitude","tag-holidays","tag-mindfulness","tag-thanksgiving","tag-tips"],"yoast_head":"\n5 Ways To Practice Mindfulness And Gratitude This Thanksgiving<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Marriage and Family Therapist Dawn Wiggins shares her tips for practicing mindfulness and gratitude this Thanksgiving, even when seated next to your most challenging relative. She embraces the mind-body-soul connection in her approach, so here\u2019s a hint: it\u2019s all about finding peace within yourself.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/lifestyle\/thanksgiving-mindfulness-gratitude-tips\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Ways To Practice Mindfulness And Gratitude This Thanksgiving\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Marriage and Family Therapist Dawn Wiggins shares her tips for practicing mindfulness and gratitude this Thanksgiving, even when seated next to your most challenging relative. She embraces the mind-body-soul connection in her approach, so here\u2019s a hint: it\u2019s all about finding peace within yourself.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/lifestyle\/thanksgiving-mindfulness-gratitude-tips\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zeel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GetZeel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-11-22T00:48:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-11-22T01:24:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Daiga-Ellaby-Resized.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1026\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"460\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jesse Bratter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@GetZeel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GetZeel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jesse Bratter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/lifestyle\/thanksgiving-mindfulness-gratitude-tips\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/lifestyle\/thanksgiving-mindfulness-gratitude-tips\/\",\"name\":\"5 Ways To Practice Mindfulness And Gratitude This Thanksgiving\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/lifestyle\/thanksgiving-mindfulness-gratitude-tips\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/lifestyle\/thanksgiving-mindfulness-gratitude-tips\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Daiga-Ellaby-Resized.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-11-22T00:48:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-11-22T01:24:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f8339ba28972d86a3ce0c2f9965336b2\"},\"description\":\"Marriage and Family Therapist Dawn Wiggins shares her tips for practicing mindfulness and gratitude this Thanksgiving, even when seated next to your most challenging relative. She embraces the mind-body-soul connection in her approach, so here\u2019s a hint: it\u2019s all about finding peace within yourself.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/lifestyle\/thanksgiving-mindfulness-gratitude-tips\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/lifestyle\/thanksgiving-mindfulness-gratitude-tips\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/lifestyle\/thanksgiving-mindfulness-gratitude-tips\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Daiga-Ellaby-Resized.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Daiga-Ellaby-Resized.png\",\"width\":1026,\"height\":460,\"caption\":\"Zeel Pause Blog 5 Ways To Practice Mindfulness And Gratitude This Thanksgiving Dawn Wiggins Daiga Ellaby\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/lifestyle\/thanksgiving-mindfulness-gratitude-tips\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"5 Ways To Practice Mindfulness And Gratitude This Thanksgiving\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Zeel\",\"description\":\"Premium wellness delivered, on location and on demand.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f8339ba28972d86a3ce0c2f9965336b2\",\"name\":\"Jesse Bratter\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/JesseBratter-180x180.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/JesseBratter-180x180.jpeg\",\"caption\":\"Jesse Bratter\"},\"description\":\"Formerly an editor for Luxe Interiors + Design, Florida Design & The Miami Herald, Jesse Bratter's work has appeared in Architectural Digest, The Wall Street Journal, Modern Luxury and more. Learn more about Jesse at her web site at jessebratter.com and on LinkedIn.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.jessebratter.com\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jessebratter\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/author\/jesse\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"5 Ways To Practice Mindfulness And Gratitude This Thanksgiving","description":"Marriage and Family Therapist Dawn Wiggins shares her tips for practicing mindfulness and gratitude this Thanksgiving, even when seated next to your most challenging relative. She embraces the mind-body-soul connection in her approach, so here\u2019s a hint: it\u2019s all about finding peace within yourself.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/lifestyle\/thanksgiving-mindfulness-gratitude-tips\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"5 Ways To Practice Mindfulness And Gratitude This Thanksgiving","og_description":"Marriage and Family Therapist Dawn Wiggins shares her tips for practicing mindfulness and gratitude this Thanksgiving, even when seated next to your most challenging relative. She embraces the mind-body-soul connection in her approach, so here\u2019s a hint: it\u2019s all about finding peace within yourself.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/lifestyle\/thanksgiving-mindfulness-gratitude-tips\/","og_site_name":"Zeel","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GetZeel","article_published_time":"2018-11-22T00:48:33+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-11-22T01:24:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1026,"height":460,"url":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Daiga-Ellaby-Resized.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Jesse Bratter","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@GetZeel","twitter_site":"@GetZeel","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jesse Bratter","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/lifestyle\/thanksgiving-mindfulness-gratitude-tips\/","url":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/lifestyle\/thanksgiving-mindfulness-gratitude-tips\/","name":"5 Ways To Practice Mindfulness And Gratitude This Thanksgiving","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/lifestyle\/thanksgiving-mindfulness-gratitude-tips\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/lifestyle\/thanksgiving-mindfulness-gratitude-tips\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Daiga-Ellaby-Resized.png","datePublished":"2018-11-22T00:48:33+00:00","dateModified":"2018-11-22T01:24:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f8339ba28972d86a3ce0c2f9965336b2"},"description":"Marriage and Family Therapist Dawn Wiggins shares her tips for practicing mindfulness and gratitude this Thanksgiving, even when seated next to your most challenging relative. She embraces the mind-body-soul connection in her approach, so here\u2019s a hint: it\u2019s all about finding peace within yourself.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/lifestyle\/thanksgiving-mindfulness-gratitude-tips\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/lifestyle\/thanksgiving-mindfulness-gratitude-tips\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/lifestyle\/thanksgiving-mindfulness-gratitude-tips\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Daiga-Ellaby-Resized.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Daiga-Ellaby-Resized.png","width":1026,"height":460,"caption":"Zeel Pause Blog 5 Ways To Practice Mindfulness And Gratitude This Thanksgiving Dawn Wiggins Daiga Ellaby"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/lifestyle\/thanksgiving-mindfulness-gratitude-tips\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"5 Ways To Practice Mindfulness And Gratitude This Thanksgiving"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/","name":"Zeel","description":"Premium wellness delivered, on location and on demand.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f8339ba28972d86a3ce0c2f9965336b2","name":"Jesse Bratter","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/JesseBratter-180x180.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/JesseBratter-180x180.jpeg","caption":"Jesse Bratter"},"description":"Formerly an editor for Luxe Interiors + Design, Florida Design & The Miami Herald, Jesse Bratter's work has appeared in Architectural Digest, The Wall Street Journal, Modern Luxury and more. Learn more about Jesse at her web site at jessebratter.com and on LinkedIn.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.jessebratter.com","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jessebratter\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/author\/jesse\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19558"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19558\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19567,"href":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19558\/revisions\/19567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19558"},{"taxonomy":"thb-sponsors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zeel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/thb-sponsors?post=19558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}