The Shala Daily

Nine percent. That’s the difference in mortality risk between people with the highest gratitude scores and those with the lowest, according to a landmark study published in JAMA Psychiatry in July 2024. Following nearly 50,000 women over four years, Harvard researchers found what yogis have intuited for millennia: the practice of santosha—contentment—isn’t just philosophy. It might be medicine.

The study, led by Dr. Tyler VanderWeele at Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program, represents the first rigorous examination of gratitude’s effects on longevity. Participants ranked their agreement with statements like “I have so much in life to be thankful for” and “If I had to list everything I felt grateful for, it would be a very long list.” Four years later, those with higher gratitude scores showed measurably lower risks of death from cardiovascular disease, respiratory illness, and other causes.

🪷 Santosha: The Second Niyama

In the eight-limbed path of yoga, santosha appears as the second of the five niyamas—the internal observances that govern our relationship with ourselves. Often translated as “contentment,” santosha runs deeper than mere satisfaction. It’s the practice of finding fullness in the present moment, regardless of external circumstances.

What strikes me about the Harvard research is how precisely it maps onto this ancient teaching. The gratitude questionnaire didn’t measure whether participants had good lives—it measured whether they could recognize the good already present. This is santosha in action: not achieving contentment through acquisition, but cultivating it through attention.

🧠 The Neuroscience of Enough

What happens in the brain during gratitude practice? Research from the University of California found that gratitude activates the ventral striatum—a region involved in reward processing and positive emotions. When we deliberately focus on what we’re thankful for, we trigger a positive feedback loop that influences emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.

Dr. Martin Seligman’s research at the University of Pennsylvania showed that writing and delivering a gratitude letter produced a greater happiness boost than any other intervention tested—with benefits lasting up to a month. The key phrase here is “deliberately focus.” This isn’t passive appreciation; it’s tapas—the disciplined effort to redirect attention toward what nourishes us.

The yogis understood that what we attend to shapes who we become. The Yoga Sutras speak of pratipaksha bhavana—cultivating the opposite thought when disturbed by negative patterns. Gratitude practice is essentially this: when the mind fixates on lack, we deliberately turn toward abundance.

⚖️ Not Toxic Positivity

There’s an important distinction the research makes clear: gratitude isn’t about denying difficulty. As one trauma therapist noted, “What if gratitude isn’t meant to replace your pain, but to help you carry it differently?” This nuance aligns perfectly with the yogic understanding of svadhyaya—self-study—which asks us to witness both our joys and sorrows without attachment.

The practice isn’t pretending everything is fine. It’s developing the capacity to hold multiple truths at once: life is difficult and beautiful. We struggle and we are blessed. The nine percent difference in mortality risk didn’t come from people who had easier lives—it came from people who had developed the skill of seeing clearly.

Perhaps most powerfully, the research found that “short instances of expressing gratitude can bring about significant and enduring impacts on neural activity.” You don’t need a complete life overhaul. You need a practice—small, consistent, and sincere.

As we close out another year, this is the invitation: not to manufacture happiness, but to notice what’s already here. To count the breath, count the blessings, count ourselves among the lucky ones who get to practice at all.

— MJH