“I can’t change my circumstances for now, so how can I live with more joy and inner peace?”
This is a frequent question I get from my clients this Winter, and it is a powerful one, because it brings the locus of control inside: you are the origin of the emotions that you want to feel. Not your circumstances.
You are where Joy comes from.
And you can multiply it. The more you share joy the more you get joy!
Here are a couple easy hacks that can be practiced at home, at work, in your car. Alone or with others. The results are immediate because they engage your physiology, which immediately influences your emotional state and your thinking, and your actions.
YAWNING: Open your mouth as wide as you can and yawn, make a deep yawning sound and stretch. Five minutes are enough and will send a “rest and digest” signal to your nervous system. Hormones like serotonin and oxytocin are released.
SINGING: Sing your favourite song out loud, three times. Karaoke or dancing are an option. You’ll boost your endorphins, serotonin & dopamine boost.
ACTION MODE -DO IT. Do what you’ve been procrastinating. Go and finally make this phone call/send this email/ have this difficult conversation/clean your desktop. Guaranteed dopamine boost!
HUGGING and TOUCHING: give someone a looong hug. Pet your cat or dog, or get a 5 minutes shoulder massage from a generous person. Oxytocin boost!
MOVE: nothing new here, we all know that when you walk for 30 minutes in the sun or dance or do a couple pushups, or yoga, you always feel better, not worse – right?
FUEL: Your diet influences your mood, especially tryptophan-rich foods like meats, banana, nuts, salmon, and yes – coffee too. Coffee!!
JOY AS AN INNER PRESENCE: Let’s invite your unconscious, your imaginative power to participate in this little game. Imagine, if Joy had a colour, a shape, a texture, a sound, a sensation, a smell, a movement. What would your experience of Joy be like?
Joy could be experienced like a warm, bubbly fizzy golden liquid starting like giggles in your belly and chest, a flower with a bright smile or a deep belly laugh. Or some subtle sparkling shivers of excitement moving all along your spine.
When you use your sensory systems to imagine what you want to feel, you receive an answer from your unconscious mind, full of resources and potential.
So what are YOUR favourite hacks to experience Joy? Do you want to live with more joy and less fear? Let’s talk.
And remember – YOU are powerful beyond measure, as Marianne Williamson says.
Have a blessed week.
Amrita
PS: Yes, I made this crazy jump of joy at the Scala di Milano.
