The Path Of Happiness : Sometimes it appears as if happiness is like the sun on a cloudy day – hiding! Especially if you are sleep deprived. Where your yoga practice plays in is to balance out the overdoing.
the path of happiness
Extra tiring week? Stressful? Not sure if you are happy? Something that “feels good” and elicits a calm response in the nervous system is restorative yoga. Everyone seems to be concerned about stretching…you get a great release actually, and the opportunity to teach your nervous system to unwind. Think of balance as calming what is overly active and energizing what is not as strong as it could be. Find your happy place !
Even just placing the calves and feet on a chair or sofa, turning down the lights, and taking 15 minutes for yourself can help you reboot. It may not take away the stressful situations but at least make you less reactive. Soothed nerves can ease mental agitation.
Fatigue and anxiety often accompany breathing difficulties. With gentle stretches that open the chest more mobility is created in the spine, and the emotional tension that restricts your ability to breathe well is loosened up.
We spend a lot of time chasing – whether it is to run and catch a bus, make it to work, to a class, to an appointment. The mode we are in, we also carry towards happiness, chasing it, trying to purchase it, eat it, wear it. Even trying to get the one magic pose that creates it.
“Remember, happiness is a way of travel, not a destination”
Rana Waxman is a registered yoga therapist ERYT-500, with 20 years of teaching experience. Rana is a freelance writer and social media expert in addition to leading yoga workshops internationally and teaching alignment focused private and group Yoga Lessons in Hoboken and Jersey City NJ.
