While things may seem uncertain lately, there’s still a lot to be grateful for. That’s why CIVANA Wellness Resort & Spa in Carefree recently launched the “Summer of Gratitude” challenge, a six-week experiment exploring how mental health can be improved through various gratitude exercises.
Through August 31, each week will focus on something different to be grateful for. CIVANA is closed until September, so the resort wanted to create a way to stay connected to its community this summer and create a space (virtually) to advocate for emotional wellbeing and provide positivity. The weekly programs will be available on CIVANA’s Instagram page, so you don’t have to be local to participate.
Each week, participants can share who or what they’re grateful for and use the hashtag #CIVANASummerofGratitude to be entered to win a three-night wellness retreat at CIVANA. People can also nominate someone they’re grateful for who deserves the getaway, whether it’s a family member or essential worker.
Studies have shown that cultivating gratitude has a bevy of benefits, including improving physical health and enhancing psychological resilience, which is something we could all use right now, says Amanda Grant, CIVANA’s chief wellness officer.
“Turning our attention toward gratitude during this time of unprecedented challenge is actually rewiring us to invite more good into our lives, to love each other more and to be more present for ourselves and each other,” she says.
CIVANA provides a playground for people to work on all aspects of their mental, emotional, spiritual and physical wellbeing. The resort has a 22,000-square-foot spa that goes beyond traditional treatments – each massage or facial starts with a grounding ritual and includes healing energy work throughout the experience. CIVANA’s culinary philosophy is plant-forward, but offers guests the ability to design “their own mix of behave and misbehave,” Grant says. The CIVANA ideology includes instilling healing principles that wills stick with guests long after their stay.
“CIVANA is a wellness resort built on this idea that wellness does not need to be restrictive,” she adds. “You can still enjoy a steak if that’s part of your wellness routine or a glass of wine or a margarita. We design a wellness routine that’s ultimately sustainable for you and that you can take home with you and be a better person.”
The six-week gratitude journey starts with setting an intention – writing down three reasons why the challenge is personally important to you and revisiting these reasons when your commitment wavers. Every morning of the first week, Grant recommends writing down or mentally noting three things you’re grateful for and ending the day with noting three good things that happened that day.
“The morning ritual is actually training our mind what to look for because there’s always two sides to a story. You can lean into the part of the story that’s going to cause suffering or you can lean into the part of the story you can find appreciation for,” she says. “At night time, going to bed happy is really important… it’s going to give you more of a restful sleep and it heals your immune system, which is so important right now.”
Week two focuses on self-talk, the idea that the body hears everything the mind says. Week three’s theme is “grateful friend.”
“This week, the challenge is to make a conscious effort to appreciate those people around us who have done so much in our life, who have contributed in such a meaningful way but we don’t always take the time to say thank you,” Grant says. “This week, people will be writing a personal letter to somebody who’s had an impact on their life who maybe you haven’t told in awhile.”
Grants says CIVANA is inviting people to read the letter to their friend via videoconference so they can watch their reaction.
Week four is “grateful stranger” – thanking someone for opening a door, bagging your groceries or making your coffee.
“The exercise here is really a warm smile, a gentle pause and intentional eye contact to express your gratitude for those small acts of kindness that happen that we’re largely unconscious of,” Grant says.
The fifth week is “grateful adversary,” acknowledging a difficult experience and thinking about what it taught you.
“We want people to bring to mind something that was really painful or difficult and then just to find softness around that and to inquire, ‘How did this make me better?’” Grant says.
The sixth and final week is called “grateful world” – finding love and appreciation for what’s around us.
“There’s magic around us all day long, whether it’s looking at the Arizona sunset and being in awe of how the sky shifts colors at night or this idea that the earth provides us oxygen that we breathe every day,” Grant explains.
Participants can start the exercise at any time and practice year-round.
“Our mission statement is to invite more people into wellness to lead a measurably happier and healthier life, so ultimately that’s our goal, whether they’re engaging here physically on property as a guest when we reopen or doing it digitally with each other in the comfort of their own home,” Grant says. “We just hope that everyone is measurably happier and measurably healthier as a result of this activity.”
Photo credit: CIVANA Wellness Resort & Spa
