In the spirit of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, the theme for the month of November at DASHA is Gratitude, so we asked co-founders and owners Dr. Darren Pollack and his wife, Shannon Russo-Pollack, for their thoughts on the subject. DASHA is in the business of encouraging, promoting and delivering wellness, so you can “enhance your well-being.”
DASHA: What does it mean to have gratitude?
DR. POLLACK: Gratitude is showing your appreciation for something or someone in your life.
SHANNON: To have gratitude means to express your appreciation for everything and everyone you encounter. We should do our best to practice gratitude for all the blessings given to us, along with the challenges we’re meant to weather and learn from.
DASHA: Name 3 things you have gratitude for on a daily basis.
DR. POLLACK: Shannon, my wife, mother to our children and my business partner, always has my back. She is my #1 cheerleader. We have 2 beautiful, healthy children. Shannon and I have a schedule that enables us to enjoy quality morning time with our kids during the week.
SHANNON: My family & friends, my health, and DASHA, of course!
DASHA: Name 3 things you feel you could more actively express your gratitude for on a daily basis.
DR. POLLACK: My family and I have a roof over our head, and we don’t know hunger. I have a purpose every single day I wake up – I really love what I do and how I spend my time. Sometimes I think about the time I ran my very first marathon and wanted to giveup and quit at mile 23, when I saw a man with no legs, also on mile 23, propelling himself forward on a dolly with just his arms. That man’s courage insprired me to have gratitude for my body and helped me to finish the race. I am grateful to that man for being an example of gratitude to me through his own determination. With gratitude, anything is possible.
SHANNON: Art (I definitely should get to the museum more – I live in a city full of some of the greatest museums in the world!), the fact that I live in a great walking city, my crazy schedule (even though it’s always full, I am so lucky to be spending time on all the things and people I love the most!)
DASHA: In today’s world, do people say “thank you” more or less than they did in the past? Why?
DR. POLLACK: Definitely less. I think people are so worried about their own schedules and problems, and our culture can sometimes veer to the materialistic and self-obsessed, so simple basic human gestures fall to the wayside. It’s up to us, as adults, to pass these lessons on to our children so they practice them.
SHANNON: I was raised with the constant reminder to mind my manners, so I have always said “please” and “thank you,” and practiced offering forgiveness or admitting I’m wrong when necessary. There does seem to be a little bit of entitlement in this day and age – sometimes people are ignorant or selfish. I believe there is plenty of success and happiness to go around for everyone, even when the days feel dark and hopeless, and if we practice gratitude we make the space for those good things to happen.
DASHA: How do you develop a practice of gratitude?
DR. POLLACK: I believe in the golden rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
SHANNON: Offer a helping hand to people when it’s needed. Don’t be that person who just walks by and ignores it. You never know when you’re going to need the helping hand of a stranger. What goes around, comes around. Extending yourself takes so little time and makes you feel good, too.
DASHA: What does the Thanksgiving holiday mean to you, and how will you celebrate this year?
DR. POLLACK: Thanksgiving means rest, relaxation and good food! I’m grateful that we’ll have both sides of the family out east. I’m hoping to squeeze a run in early in the day, and enjoy great food and family throughout the holiday weekend.
SHANNON: Thanksgiving to me means family and my mother’s delicious sweet potato pie with marshmallows. We’ll be out east over the holiday weekend. Both of our children were born around Thanksgiving, so it’s going to be a very busy time! We are so fortunate to be celebrating their lives, to be surrounded by loved ones, and to celebrate Hanukah, too!
DASHA wellness & spa is a luxury lifestyle brand and New York City-based wellness center created to offer a truly holistic approach to wellness. To learn more, visit dashawellness.com.
