We are designed to be happy. At the structural core of the human body is a network of neurons, nerves, nadis, and glands designed for the good life.
We are designed to be happy. At the structural core of the human body is a network of neurons, nerves, nadis, and glands designed for the good life.
Happiness is our birthright, so why do we get the blues?
In yoga tradition, the main cause for depression and poor health is confusion about who we really are. The materialistic notion that the mind and body are separate leads to unnecessary stress, inflammation, and disconnection. It’s alarming that the American Medical Association claims stress causes more than 60 percent of all human disease, most of it preventable.
Want more joy? Inquire within
In the flowing rainbow of sensations, feelings, and thoughts that make up our inner reality, chronic stress can raise too many red flags in the peaceful zones of our natural state. When triggered, reactive wiring flares up, we disconnect from feelings, and lose our sense of wholeness. Deep sadness, loss, and craving ensue. Glands shut down. Metabolism trembles. Skin sags.
Neuroscientist Dr. Rick Hanson calls this stressful state the brain’s “red zone.” The red zone isn’t all bad; it helps us cope with threats by firing up the sympathetic nervous system in case we must fight, flee, or freeze. The problem starts if we don’t take time to cleanse the body, relax, and recover before another threat occurs.
Yoga stimulates the “green zone” to replenish the brain. Through positive visualizations, reconnection, and contentment, suffering ceases. Joy naturally arises from the core of the body.
Reset your mind
Most exercise sparks a dopamine high that makes us feel better, but yoga balances the mind-body connection, provoking long-term change at a cellular level.
Two Practices
This two-step practice takes only 10-15 minutes and elevates mood, fosters strength and flexibility, and inspires clarity and connection. Do it every day for a month and watch your joy garden grow.
1. Bhavana – Visualization
The Sanskrit word bhavana means “calling into existence.” Here, we construct our inner peace and joy. Sit in easy cross-legged position. Close your eyes, lengthen the breath, and sense your body. Place the palms together, thumbs touching the heart. Bring the mind deeply into the flesh and focus on what you are grateful for: health, pets, people, love, prosperity, peace. Concentrate on this pleasurable vision forming in your open heart. Savor your delight in what you imagine. Feel it. As poet Mary Oliver says, “Attention without feeling … is only a report.” Breathe deeply. Notice the shift in your physiology to the green zone.
Silently or aloud, repeat these affirmations to yourself:
“I am safe from inner and outer harm.”
“I am happy and peaceful.”
”I am healthy and strong.”
“I am grateful for this healthy, peaceful world.”
Repeat, replacing the “I” with “you” and “we” to broaden the scope.
Keep these affirmations in mind when jumping for joy!
2. Frog pose
This vigorous kriya from the Kundalini tradition, cleanses and energizes the whole body. Start standing tall with the feet turned out, heels touching, Charlie Chaplin-style. Start slow, breathing through the nose. Mouth is closed. Squat down like a frog with knees over the toes and heels lifted. Bring tailbone toward the heels. Place fingertips on the ground in front of you for balance. Heels touching, look up. Inhale.
Exhale to straighten both legs, zipping up the inner thighs, hugging them together and lifting the belly, torso folded down to legs. If possible, fingertips stay on the ground in front of you.
Inhale as you press heels to ground, roll up the spine, and stack vertebrae one at a time. Hollow the abdomen and chest into a high curve. Head lifts last. Bring the arms out and up to touch hands overhead. Gently arch into a backbend. Exhale to fold forward again, head down, hands to floor.
Drop your tailbone into the frog squat, lifting the heels together, looking up.
Repeat 13 to 26 times, following the breath. Dissolve tension in the hips and shoulders to create new space for joy. As you build strength, keep the heels lifted (and touching) through the entire sequence. Feel the body and mind lighten up. Be playful. Remember — frogs jump for joy!
For a few moments, rest on your back. Feel the benefits. Let yourself smile. Most people today need reminding: “It’s OK to be happy.” Laugh out loud. If you feel uneasy, notice how discomfort can lead to anxiety and stress, the red zone. That automatic response is pointless. Visualize the brain free of such habits, growing more green vibrancy and spaciousness.
Planting joyful seeds
Happiness, Alan Watts once argued, isn’t a matter of improving our experience, or even merely confronting it, but remaining present with it in the fullest possible sense.
Happiness is a process of gradual self-actualization. We need patience, but there are instant fruits, yielding pleasure here and now. Little by little, yoga opens our eyes to the wholeness and peace we are, dwellers in the green zone. Therein lies joy, peace and happiness.
Color us green in 2017!
Marya Mann is the co-author of Healing Our Planet, Healing Our Selves and teaches Evolutionary and Gentle Yoga in Kealakekua.