So with the holidays looming around the corner, most, if not all of us have already made our plans to be with family or friends. In case you didn’t, or can’t or, well, won’t—here’s how you can have a Merry Christmas all by your lonesome self…
Are you one of the happiest people in the world? It’s not a guarantee, but if you are, perhaps you live in Costa Rica, Denmark, or Singapore—all homes of the happiest people in the world. In his latest book, National Geographic Fellow Dan Buettner draws from research spanning, as the book proclaims, “141 countries to uncover how and why the hot spots produce the world’s most satisfied, healthy, and thriving people.”
Satya is the second Yama or moral constraint of Patanjali’s Eight Limbed Path of Yoga. In its essence, Satya is our inner truth compass. The Sanskrit derivative “sat” translates to “true nature.” It is the principle that holds a mirror to one’s face and asks for a raw and honest look at one’s thoughts, words, and actions. Satya asks the question, “Are you living in alignment with your truth?”
Let’s face it: being human isn’t easy. Everyday we are called by curiosity, challenged by confusion and contradiction, confronted with choice, provoked by wonder and awe. We travel a vast emotional landscape, often times getting swept away in a storm of thoughts that pull us far from our bodies, uproot us from our homes and lead us into sentiments of separation. As spirit, living in a human body, we are tasked with the endeavor of exploring our limitless potential within the constraints of our physical reality.
How many times have you aimed to be a productive do-it-all in the morning, only to end up as a barely-done-anything drained person at the end of the day? Sure, we all have our bad and unproductive days every now and then, but if this is happening to you way too often, then it’s time to make a stop-doing list instead of your normal to-do list, to raise productivity levels.
We all have a unique soul purpose, a reason for being that exists as a seed within our consciousness, stored as a gem just waiting to be discovered. This “life mission,” it could be called, is what allows us to find access to infinite presence and timelessness. In Sanskrit this unique soul-calling is known as one’s dharma and is thought to be the reason for pursuing a life of self-awareness and enlightenment, to allow this essence to be both discovered and expressed.
Not everyone is the same kind of person. While for some, encouragement, motivation and looking at the bright side works – like Poppy in the animation movie Trolls -- for others, like Branch, the opposite is true. Too much optimism can actually make some of us complacent, overconfident and less of achievers than what we truly are. And let’s face it: we all have been subject to negative thoughts that creep up upon us as self-doubts, inferiority complexes and even a fear of losing all that we have. So what do you do with all those scary, negative thoughts?
Why did you start running? If I ask ten people this same question, I’ll receive ten different responses. Some are obvious: to lose weight, to gain cardiovascular benefits, to make friends. Others, however, are less so: to reconnect with my body, to destress, to teach myself dedication. Running has myriad physical benefits, but the psychological benefits are just as numerous. Here are five reasons why running is good for you–mentally.
Call me crazy, but I actually look forward to hittin’ the gym, and eating a healthy, veggie-packed meal afterward. However, getting to the point of loving the gym and wholesome, nutritious foods doesn’t always happen overnight.
Ultimately, I got a gym membership because I wanted to lose a few pounds. Then, along the way, I’ve discovered so many more added bonuses to working out than just weight loss.
What do you think when you hear the word “dance”? Chances are, you think of dancing at a dub-step heavy club, or perhaps taking your children to their ballet lesson.