Mission Society x Yoga Ed.

The Mission Society of New York City and Yoga Ed. partner to explore the impact gratitude practices can have on our physical and mental health.

Daily gratitude practices can have lasting effects on our lives. Physically, these practices can help us to feel grounded and centered. Mentally, they can create a sense of joy, calm, and presence, influencing not only our well-being, but our relationships too. Practicing mindfulness in the form of gratitude allows us to tune into the present moment, and notice how our thoughts, feelings, and actions interact. The more aware we are of how we are feeling at any moment, the more capable we are of making choices to support ourselves physically and mentally.

In other words, gratitude strengthens wellness from the inside out. So how can we ensure we’re making this practice both accessible and a top priority in our lives? Given the benefits, why isn’t this mindfulness practice emphasized all year-round?

Yoga Ed. partnered with the Mission Society of New York City to explore this further, with the intention to highlight the multitude of benefits gratitude has to offer, how yoga can be instrumental when cultivating gratitude, and how to prioritize gratitude every day by tapping into tools that already exist within us.

Since their founding in 1812, the Mission Society has provided life-changing opportunities to over 6.5 million New Yorkers. Through academic enrichment, career readiness, and college access initiatives, they create transformative educational experiences for low-income communities throughout New York. In the K-8 Power Academy program, the Mission Society provides afterschool and summer enrichment activities focused on literacy, STEAM education, leadership development, and physical fitness. Level Up offers high school students academic persistence, career exposure, and college access services. Together, these programs inspire over 5,400 students and families each year to both imagine and realize better futures.

As an education company, Yoga Ed., provides online classes that are educationally focused and created to support wellness outcomes for school communities, including stress reduction, focus, calm, and joy. Their purpose is to support the health and wellness of school communities worldwide; to positively influence the lifelong health of children everywhere, by giving educators the tools to calm minds, overcome trauma, and change lives.

Thus, inspired by a mutual appreciation for and commitment to community wellness, Yoga Ed.’s and the Mission Society’s collective goal was to curate two resources: our article, “Cultivating a Lifelong Gratitude Practice” and an interactive playlist of 15 yoga and mindfulness classes to get folks started on the road to a daily gratitude practice – with mindful breaks, chair, and mat yoga classes that will introduce you to accessible tools you can share with your students, colleagues, families, and of course, with yourself.

Jump into the playlist below, and be sure to access the full article co-written by Molly Murphy (Mission Society) and Harmony Tesoro (Yoga Ed.)

From all of us at Yoga Ed. and the Mission Society, we are certainly grateful for you!