5 Ways to Feel Good
We all get emotionally and spiritually dehydrated at times in this world. We might sometimes even feel physically and mentally exhausted. We succumb to the daily ‘grind of life’ until one day we wake up and look at ourselves in the mirror and realise….“I don’t think I’m that healthy?”
The main thing to remember is, that it is possible to take control back, and start to feel vibrant energised and fulfilled in our daily life. What matters is not that we have got off track, but more, knowing how to get back on track.
Once you realise that it’s no one else’s job, but your own, to do this, we start to feel an inner readiness, even a sense of courage, even a feeling of “I’m going to do this, no matter what.”
Based on the wisdom of yoga, and the science of wellbeing, here’s 5 of my favourite ways to get back control of your physical and mental health - to feel good (and even great!) in our body, mind and soul.
1. Get moving
Regular exercise is not only good for your physical wellbeing, research tells us it also increases self esteem and reduces anxiety and stress. A mix of yoga, strength based training and some cardio in the outdoors are some of my favourite ways to keep healthy for life and longevity.
Most people don’t need to be told about the need to exercise a bit more – we are already knowledge saturated with wellbeing advice!! But how do we actually move from where we are now, to where we want to be with our physical health?
If you find you’re often thinking about the idea of exercise, but you hardly ever actually do it, ask yourself ‘how important is being healthy well to me?” Imagine yourself in 5 years times, contuiing with your current level of health and fitness – will you be happy with this?
The power sits with you, right now, in the present moment. Take small actions, regularly – even with your current perceived restrictions. What CAN you do? Extra small is best. Start casting votes for the type of person you wish to become.
“If you want something you’ve never had. You must be willing to do something you’ve never done.” Thomas Jefferson
2. Work on your inner world
Make sure you’re not just working out, but also working in.
Do you carve out ‘you time’ to be in your own company? Can you actually enjoy your own company? Getting to know yourself, your strengths, your tendencies, your dreams and desires, and even your most undesirable parts of yourself is the first step in carving out a meaningful fulfilling life.
Perhaps the most part of your life has been about your job, giving to your family and you feel a bit empty on the inside. You can forgive yourself if this feels true for you, as our culture gives us many messages that all happiness and success is found in our outer world. Many of us are materially rich, and have many opportunities and freedoms, but our souls are sick.
Both the yoga wisdom and the wellbeing science tells us that people who are mentally strong have a deep knowing of who they are, what their unique strengths are, and create their life based on their authentic values rather than what society tells them will bring them success.
You could call this – listening to your soul. Carve out an afternoon to yourself (preferably in nature) and consider questions like, what would I do with my life if no one knew of me? Imagine you’re at the end of your life, and ask yourself - What do I want to be remembered for? How could I love myself more, even with small actions? What lights me up, inspires me?
When you start to see the bigger picture of your life – what you are here for, where you are headed, and why you’re doing it, every activity and experience feels intentional and meaningful.
“No one in our time finds it surprising if a man gives careful daily attention to his body, but people would be outraged if he gave the same attention to his soul” - Aleksander Solzhenitsyn
3. Get the basics in order
Cultivate healthy habits from how you sleep, you eat, and how you train your mind. When we scroll through social media in our down time, and continuously check up on the news, we are training our muscle of distraction. We are essentially getting better at the skill of distraction and reinforcing the unhealthy belief that the world is scary and that the universe is not working for you - that you should be fearful of the world.
Sure its good to be in touch with what’s happening in the world, but take note if you are creating some unhealthy habits, and feeding your addiction to fear based news stories.
The great thing is we can re-train our mind to become more focussed on the tasks and habits that will bring us closer to the type of person we wish to become, and how we ourselves, can be a force of good in the world.
Take one small action, like creating a technology free room in your home, and reading an inspiring quote. The key is to do this even though you’re not in the mood. You need to tap into that small part of you that knows taking small action toward a healthier happier more intentional version is possible, despite the inner resistance.
If you find you’re in a rut - and you’re over thinking about all the reasons why you shouldn’t do that thing, and why it wont work out - remember that you can only give meaningfully to others, if you are in good health yourself (mentally and physically).
Take action to care yourself, even with the inner resistance. Every time you do this, you will grow that small part in you that knows its good for you (the courageous part), and with practice, it’ll become more of a habit.
“A lot of times we are afraid because we have thought too much about something, as opposed to not thinking enough about something.” – Ryan Holiday
4. Notice what’s going well for you
Regularly expressing gratitude promotes optimism, better health and greater satisfaction in life (UC Berkeley Greater Good Science Centre).
We often ignore so much of what’s going right in our life. As the old tale goes, we all have a 'bad wolf' and a 'good wolf' that we feed with narratives every day, and every moment. The question is, which wolf are you choosing to feed?
Dr Rick Hanson, neuroscientist and founder of the course The Foundations of Wellbeing, explains that our brains have a negativity bias but we can overcome this by taking in the pleasures of everyday experiences to grow the good inside of us and rewire our brains for the better. Practicing yoga - both in the studio and in daily life - helps us build our inner strengths to become more mindful and have a greater sense of fulfilment in life.
How aware are you of the things you’ve been given? Take note especially of those simple daily pleasures you might otherwise take for granted.
Take in pleasure by uses your senses you observe pleasurable sights sounds and smells in the present moment, and especially in nature
Can you recognise the millions of ordinary moments of goal accomplishments in your day? Help yourself feel successful by noticing just 1 small thing you’ve already done well today.
We can proactively notice the many successes and small delights of our daily life and let these experiences sink in again and again. With practice, you’ll have more of a sense of thankfulness, enjoyment and general positive feelings in our everyday life.
5. Go easy on yourself
As the latest hit song by Adele tells us (!)… its true, we can choose to go easy on ourself, rather then be harsh to ourself – especially when things aren’t going well for us. The true sign of someone who’s mentally and emotionally strong is someone who can be kind and self soothing to themselves when things are hard, or even falling apart.
Our state of mind impacts our physical health. When we are harshly self-critical it activates our sympathetic nervous system response leading to increased cortisol levels, inflammation and other side effects. It also makes you anxious and lowers your ability to perform. So, when you fail you feel like you can’t handle it, you give up, it feels unacceptable to fail.
Being on our own side, by being kind to ourselves, and developing a wise encouraging inner voice, is a powerful inner strength we can develop. The key is to relate yourself like you are relating to a good friend. This creates space in our situation to move into are more caring response, rather than a fearful response. In a moment of struggle, try saying things to yourself like, “I am not flawed in any way for feeling like this.” “Anyone would find this hard.” Rather than avoiding the difficult feelings, you actually lean into them, and acknowledge them. You could even place your hand on your heart to bring up feelings of being soothed and comforted.
Self compassion broadens your perspective. Negative emotions narrow your focus so we only see what’s going wrong in our situation. We are less able to see the possibilities.
Self compassion allows us to develop a wise encouraging voice to help us be more motivated and effective in our life. – Dr Kristin Neff
In summary, 5 ways to feel good based on the ancient wisdom of yoga and the science of wellbeing:
Get moving - Regular exercise is not only good for your physical wellbeing, it also increases self esteem and reduces anxiety and stress
Work on your inner world - When you start to see the bigger picture of your life – what you are here for, where you are headed, and why you’re doing it, every activity and experience feels intentional and meaningful
Get the basics in order - Cultivate healthy habits from how you sleep, you eat, and how you train your mind.
Notice whats going well for you - Regularly expressing gratitude promotes optimism, better health and greater satisfaction in life
Go easy on yourself - Being on our own side, rather than being self critical - especially when things are not going well for us - allows us to develop a wise encouraging voice to help us be more motivated and effective in our life.
Learn more at the upcoming Beachside Yoga Retreat 12th March Christchurch
Or jump into the next 5-week Beginners Yoga Course at Heart and Mind Yoga 21 Bealey Ave
Jo Jarden is a certified personal trainer and yoga teacher in Christchurch New Zealand and the founder of Heart and Mind Yoga studio. She has 10 years experience in health promotion in New Zealand and Australia including management and promotion of national chronic disease prevention programs. She now helps people one on one with their wellbeing through yoga teaching, personal training, workplace yoga and wellbeing workshops.
Qualifications include:
Certified Yoga Teacher Santosha Yoga Institute, Registered Australian Yoga Alliance 2017
Certificate in Advanced Personal Training, Fit College New Zealand, 2016
Bachelor of Science with Honours Public Health. University of Canterbury, New Zealand 2006
Bachelor of Arts Mass Communication and Psychology. University of Canterbury, New Zealand 2005