According to this weeks’ guide to happiness from the Chopra Center, because our mind can be easily distracted by the past and the future, our body, which only knows how to live in the moment (present), is our best vehicle toward happiness…who knew?
To do this, this week begins with a Get Grounded exercise, which helps bring you back to awareness whenever you realize life is taking you from living in the moment (which I need a lot of help in 😉 ). Whenever you begin to feel another other emotion, outside of happiness, the Chopra Center says you should go into Tadasana or Standing Mountain (below are standing and sitting options for how to hold this pose).
As a result, for this week’s meditation, the Chopra Center encourages us to cultivate the following three intentions, at the beginning and end of each day, allowing our body to guide us.
- I make choices to maximize the energy in my body – Ask your body what it needs and follow its guidance.
- Before I act on any emotion, I will consult my heart – Your heart is the seat of emotional intelligence and it is a reliable guide when you trust it. Tune into your heart throughout the day, particularly when you have a decision to make. Put your hand on your heart and pay attention to any subtle sensations or feelings that signal a “yes” or a “no.”
- Lightness of being in my body will be my indicator of happiness – This week, begin to pay attention to the sensations in your body. If you feel heavy or dull, make shifts, no matter how small, to let go of old patterns so that you can open to the freshness and pure potential each moment holds. Give your body what it needs the most, whether that is more restful sleep, life-giving nourishment, the joy of movement, or communion with nature.
I am always amazed at how the spark I need, to keep me on the happiness track, always presents itself just in the nick of time. While I have gotten back on the 4-5 day exercise track, I’ve allowed my mind to convince me this means I can eat heavier/meatier meal choices. As a result I’ve been feeling very heavy, like I’ve gained 20lbs. and no matter what I eat, although my mind is content, my body is not. Duh, my body has been screaming at me to stop listening to my mind and start listening to it because it knows better than my cluttered mind, what I need to keep on the happiness track. Note taken body…sorry it took me this long. 😉 Back to my Flexitarian way of life it is. 🙂
If exercise is not your thing, at least try to go for a daily twenty minute walk, play with your kids/animals, go out dancing, do yoga, chair exercises or move in whatever way you can to let go of your day and come back to happiness. 😀
What is your body, not your mind, saying to you today? What is your favorite way to move?
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