Yoga Archives - Page 4 of 7 - Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Autumn Season Vata Optimization

Below I have some tips on how you can evolve and make the most of your Vata season with autumn mind-body balance tips.

We know we’ve hit a naturally changing season when daylight savings time hits and we fall back in time (and then give back an hour in spring forward).

But before these time clock changes, our healthy bodies naturally start to transition into the upcoming season. And our daily preferences change much sooner. Mostly because the stores and media around us have started their promotions on the first weekend before the new season starts.

And when we are ready, we get ourselves ready for a new season…

We change up our home candles, spices, and teas. And we opt for warm drinks over cold drinks. We also like burnt, spicier shades of browns, reds, and oranges compared to the bright whites and colors of summer.

We subtly shift from light caramel lattes to pumpkin spices. And we feel it in the sea air in the last days of summer.

And for Vata bodies (maybe that’s your dominant dosha), the mind-body can feel most balanced during the Vata season. And for any of us we want to lean into this season. And there are easy changes to help our Vata balance.

Vata Season – Surroundings Change

We lean into Vata season with a change in home décor that can cost nothing like bringing in pine cones or adding a splash of color inspired by the changing of the trees and leaves outside.

I like to pull out different cornucopia color coffee table books or magazines (…remember those?) that have the colors I’m looking for.

So it doesn’t have to cost much of anything except bringing out your creativity and the resources around you. That can help you get closer to your inner child when in those days that’s how everyday was when you wanted to do more.

And maybe that includes rearranging books and decor on bookshelves, and creating new table centerpieces. Some people like to change up their bedroom or wall colors too.

And maybe you have a second getaway place you call home like a cabin retreat, that can be very nourishing as you move away from the summer beachy vibes.

You can look at your new surroundings and inspiration, and feel warm and cozy inside, like you get from a crackling lit fireplace, but it’s still too warm outside for that!

5 Vata Season Body Shifts

1. Warm

In Vata season, we start preferring the warm drinks, but not the hot ones. We prefer warm drinks to start the day, and that gives our soul a small boost to enter the day with optimism.

In the shower, we may feel very relaxed with the therapeutic water pitter patter comfort of warmer water drops, but your skin could still be screaming for cooler jet streams because it’s still hot outside (and you’re part Pitta!).

2.Dry

Vata bodies also shift into their natural dry, wind-like features. Maybe your lips, lizard dry feet, or another part of your body feels the transitioning effects. Even though you may have felt the dry effects during the heated summer that’s another cause.

And Vata season, all around us we see proof as nature is withering into the season.

3. Tastes and smells

And we have certain flavors that we go to that give us seasonal joy. A good reminder for us is when we already know our preferences in food, tea, drinks, and spices. Because we can reach for those with little extra decision effort and maybe they’re on hand already.

But for a Vata who prefers variety and the preferences change daily, cinnamon and ginger does not. And those are good to lean into during Vata season.

Also, orange scented candles as in orange fruits, but could be orange color too. There are so many options in candles these days that I have to specify. 😊 Because pure orange citrus calms the nerves and that helps with Vatas who are feeling naturally anxious in their body when triggered, unlike Pittas and Kaphas who don’t understand.

4. Colors

The changing fall leaves help to inspire fall colors. Out in California where I have family and friends, to me it never feels like fall because the lack of deciduous trees with shedding leaves.

And I always feel “off” like something inside is missing even if I’m only there for a short visit and seeing the lovely evergreen palm trees and coastal vibes.

And my body calls for the changing landscapes of parks and cooler temperature vineyards.

5. Activities

Fall is a great transitional period to start a physical routine again like hiking, pickleball, or YOGA. That’s my favorite.

I’m back in classes and I’m gonna share with you my lessons old and new in the coming few weeks! It’s an anniversary for me as I started going to Hatha yoga classes regularly in the Vata season after I had my Ayurvedic epiphany. 🧘🏻‍♀️

And even if you’ve just left the happy-go-lucky and vacation summer days, and headed back to busy fall, find time to get your alone time in yoga or meditation wherever suits you best.

That will help you ease into the season, and ground and round out the rest of the year. And gear up for holiday time and a new year that’s getting closer.

And finally…

Get An Vata Season Empowered Reset

The change in season gives us a reason to reset.

We don’t really need a reason because every day is a new start, but a new season like Vata season is a good reminder.

So we can a start new project, have new goals, and a way to remember the same season last year.

Our body cells don’t forget. I learned this experientially in a yoga class when years ago I took a break and my muscles remembered.

And you can consciously activate your brain cells by going down memory lane.

What were you doing this same time last year? I’m sure there are areas that were 180 degrees in another direction when you check.

Maybe you moved or something in your work or relationship changed. You’ve made great strides, so you should pat yourself on the back for all your soft and recognized accomplishments.

You empower yourself with healthy thoughts.

Photos, journal entries, and other personal external things can conjure up happy memories and thoughts that bring nostalgia and joy as you go through the transition of the season.

Make some new routines. Maybe some end-of-year goals. Now is a good time so you can make impact on this year’s progress. Just a thought. 💭

Mind-Body Balance + Active Bridge Pose Metaphor

I just finished an Ayurvedic series and am starting a mind-body balance series TODAY.

This NEW series on Mind-Body Balance is I believe so important for our happiness. Because our mind-body’s off-ness or imbalance that we can restore, is the cause of why we’re feeling:

…misaligned with the natural season

…distant from our peaceful-joyful selves

…or, lack of clarity that’s different than uncertainty that’s part of this life.

And the good news is we’re able and empowered to restore what’s naturally meant to be ours… and mind-body balance is one of those life benefits.

One sign that we’re on a good track is when we feel mostly clarity…

Clarity defined as grounded in knowing who we are despite daily situations that change and shake us up.

Life situations play out and can put any of us in a funk. That’s a good reason to not take life situations so seriously… and instead, slip back to leaning into our naturally designed groove of being happy and living healthy.

Because if you’re not happy, those undertone feelings show up in and on your body… and preventing this is what mind-body balance is about on a practical level.

The below tips are to help you walk through imbalances and for the next time…

But, before jumping in, I just wanted to mention the next part will be about Mind tips as related to the mind-body equation. And then the last part will be on the Body in the mind-body that you may not have been informed of or thought about in those ways. So you can discover more about you and empowering better outcomes.

…Because you do have a choice in all three: your mind-body, mind, and body life.

If you believe that your happiness exists within you and not your situations, you can have your best season yet.

So clearing the mind is such an important tool to gain clarity on helpful beliefs, feeling better, and making better daily decisions.

Suggestion Reminder Steps to Feel Better

One good step and reminder is to take multiple deep breaths. Taking conscious breaths clears the air instantly…

You get a pause break from active thoughts, and you pump in life-giving new oxygen into your body, while pumping out old air. You get the chance to exhale bad energy and anxious thoughts not grounded in full reality.

You can realize in the moment that your thoughts are only part of the equation in any life situation.

And, maybe you take a few moments for a few deep breaths now to help you with your mind-body health.

Did you do that?

And, the second suggestion is to take a few minutes in silence by yourself every day where all you hear is the white noise in the background. You can do this in a quiet room with a door or at a quiet park. Listen to your mind-body…

Connect with your mind-body where you’re in tune with your heart’s whispers.

The mind-body is interconnected in a deeper way than the physical mind and body (e.g. organs like the brain and skin).

And connect the idea that symptoms on your body show up as outcomes from your carried thought-feelings.

That was revelatory for me years ago because that helped me to grasp how to change thoughts at any moment.

It’s a mental exercise that isn’t visible so it’s not as easy as say, picking up a ball where you don’t have to be as fully mind present.

And it’s one where we can have a block if we never embraced changing thoughts.

We can start by acknowledging that it’s healthy to agree to disagree with ourselves sometimes and exit out the negative thoughts. And we’re healthy wise to do so often!

But our ego tries to sabotage these efforts. And it takes mental power to fight our ego as it fights for us to be right with ourselves.

And most of us don’t have reinforcement backups, as we weren’t taught by our caretakers or teachers to debate ourselves. …Ah, but those old ways are old school.

…And I believe is the cause of us not living our best lives sooner. Until we can get to this more humble place of admitting our minds could be wrong, our outcomes are lesser than they could be.

Of course… this is by no fault of anyone as we were born into this mind and body… but now that we know better, we can do better.

We have to outsmart our programmed machinery.

And for me, that led to awareness, getting past my ego thoughts, and to the root of PTSD thoughts that I previously was oblivious to and then was one day aware (much like someone blindsided).

And you can too can uncover the wounds that need scar healing if you dial back your ego trying to mask imperfection… and if you tune into your deeper mind-body that’ll help reveal blind spots so you can get out of the lesser life and into your peaceful, whole, and abundant life. That’s why quiet time is super helpful.

And in busier moment times, emotional outbursts or displaced anger, irritation, anxiety, and withdrawal sub-feelings and undertones usually mean there are blind spots that need healing.

Blindly in our busy lives, any of us can carry around these past feelings and hurts, that are still presently heavy burdens that disturb our natural mind-body balance.

And if left unattended, they show up as accumulated body stressors that can lead to scientifically-known early aging and chronic diseases.

But you can claim back unnecessary unhappy years and seasons with a little effort on your part…

With humility, openness, and a desire to grow, you will save yourself and open yourself up to better opportunities.

Getting Mind-Body Balanced

1.Being and keeping aware is not overused. It’s imperative to bringing light out of darkness feelings… as is, connecting dots in your past to your present. And consistently flipping the negative thoughts to positives.

…Or said another way, gaining peace of mind, where you have less outbursts and negative reactions. And one day, no outbursts. That’s definitely possible! I’m living evidence 💕

And then, you enjoy more of your day. And you get more out of this life. You meet your higher potential that’s greater than what you originally thought was possible.

You don’t fear uncertainty as you’ve made peace with that, and you worry less (or not at all). You take moments in each day and use them as brand new chances to build off the days before.

And you use your past experiences in a beneficial way. And those new perspectives bring you better outcomes.

And when you believe deeply in your mind-body that all is possible, you speed up your growth and bypass ego’s tricks.

2. Uncover and replace mind-body blockage like that found in PTSD. This means confronting your feelings and questioning why those happen when you feel them. Make them visible.

And if you’re in a temporary funk, call that out. So you can figure it out. Exchange for a loving and life-giving belief.

And one great way to do that is to have a yoga pose that serves as a mind-body reminder.

And habit stack after walking around or whatever your favorite moving activity is. Or do it as a stretch before you get out of bed in the morning.

In the Blue Zones, the living 100 year olds in those concentrated zones do mostly natural activities that use their bodies and not machines for exercise.

And they also celebrate with yoga that’s a natural move in getting up and sitting down. In our younger, modern, and Western societies, we can do that too.

We optimize when we activate our mind-body and are aware that we’re naturally getting up and sitting down, using our body. And that awareness helps to calm us just like active breathwork.

Mind-Body Active Bridge Pose

A natural active bridge is an active body pose in motion. And you can combine with that your deep breaths.

Bridge pose is one you can make active and fun.

Here’s how:

You can use a yoga block to heighten your bridge. You can stack two blocks on the shorter height sides… or use the taller skyscraper building block side as your back support.

You want to place the edge of the block where the top of your tailbone meets your back (and the rest of the block or blocks are toward your buttocks and not your upper back).

Challenge yourself… reach to your outer edge limits!

It’s at that block meeting intersection where your legs take off, bend at the knees, and are grounded by your feet. And the fun comes in when you remove the block.

You can use this as a mind-body balance reminder: where you no longer need a crutch support like a block. And in awareness, you’re removing the yoga block and mental block that could be anything holding you back.

And when you release down, you let go of whatever that is… maybe it’s the how something turns out, control over someone else, past hurts, PTSD, etc. And that can start the process to heal.

And you maybe hold the block (or a dumbbell weight) close to your pelvic area and move your hips up and down.

Use the block as a peaceful symbol that you’re now aware of how what you let go of is easy now to see in front of you, and you know what to do.

…And the block whether it’s under your bridge or in your hands is in your control and helping to build strength in your life. In active moving bridge, you’ll also feel it in your buttocks and upper hind legs (hamstrings), so you have a full mind-body balance pose. 🧘🏻‍♀️

Ayurvedic Series:

Part 1 – Pitta/inflammation

Part 2 – Vata anxiety vs. nervous

Part 3 – Kapha awareness

For a mind-body balance recipe, you can make this star beet granola pan. Beets and cinnamon are good for Vata. Oatmeal is a good meal before practicing yoga. And this is a good snack to help tie you over 🌟

Star Beet Granola Pan

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Equipment

plastic wrap

Ingredients

2-1/2 cups oatmeal
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/2 cup light olive oil
1/2 cup raw honey
chocolate, melted
beet powder
crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

Combine dry ingredients and then mix in wet ingredients.
Bake granola for about 25-40 minutes at 325°F or until toasted.
To make chocolate topping. Prepare chocolate on display pan you will be using. Take a piece of plastic wrap and put on top. Add melted chocolate and pour onto plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chocolate is hard. After granola is baked and cooled, you can pour into the pan and then add the hardened chocolate ontop removing the plastic.
To make beet heart: take a star stencil or make a star cutout with cardboard. Add beet powder to create star shape. For fallen star effect, use tweezers to pull out the yellow pepper flakes (found in crushed red pepper flakes) to make a fallen line.

Neck Yoga Exercises + Easy Coconut Cookies

One part of our body that gets ignored often is our neck. It’s like a shadow to our face. …so neck yoga is needed and the best poses are below.

And a recipe you’ll love that you can prepare in in 5 minutes and bake in 10-12 minutes.

Jump to Recipe

How to make easy coconut cookies below (that are so easy that NO recipe is needed!)

Our necks vary in length even though we have the same number of neck vertebrae as giraffes. 🦒And our neck sizes vary as do our Adam’s apples that are larger in males than females.

Our necks serve us to not just help support us in eating apples. 🍎Without our neck, we couldn’t use our brains. And we wouldn’t be connected to our body.

So regularly doing neck yoga exercises protect this vital body part and can work out some of the kinks from our bad computer postures and pillow sleeping habits.

Restoring your neck is a gentle way to get your groove back. And if you haven’t been in your yoga routine recently, this could be a good way to start again. Plus you can do it anywhere and everywhere. That can’t be said for many yoga poses.

And yoga is a great way to get your relaxation and breathing space back. 🧘🏻‍♀️

Sometimes all you need is just 5-10 minutes of yoga to reset your day and how you feel. So let’s begin… ⏲️

Take baby steps, Child’s pose is a great way to begin if you have floor space and a mat. It’s a calming move to set your relax neck intentions.

For neck yoga benefits, instead of tucking your neck down, try an Active Child’s pose where your neck is upward and out forward like the neck of a plane at take off ✈️

You can look at your pointed hands and fingers stretched forward on the mat. The intention can be to focus.

FYI, beginner poses like this are healthy good for anyone Advanced or Beginner.

You can use balancing (Hatha) poses. And go with a flow (Vinyasa) where you insert a Downward Dog in between the face down mat and face up poses… or anything you like if that’s too much or intimidating.

Yoga is flexible and hopefully when you do any yoga, you’ll become more joint-muscle flexible as one of the main benefits.

You’ll feel less soreness all around if any, and hear less joint cracking when you bend a certain way. Usually you’re benefitting more than one area at a time.

And the neck is no different.

But if you want to isolate the neck yoga exercise, moving your head side to side and from shoulder to shoulder like sunrise to sunset is a good regular practice. 🌅

It’s a healthy mantra to get you loose and let go of the unhealthy or tricky areas of your life situations. And yoga is great to manifest new habits and old thought patterns that don’t serve you any longer.

Making a tradition a habit is not a good idea if it keeps you stuck. And making a good habit a tradition is!

So now that you’re warmed up for neck yoga, here we go:

Front facing down mat:

1.Active Child’s pose

As mentioned start with the Active Child’s pose. If your tendency is looking down most the day, then this will carry a good stretch in your neck. Look as far up to the ceiling or sky as you can.

2. Table pose

This is a neutral pose that you can take into standing or front down poses. In Table pose, look up to the ceiling. Feel the back of the neck yoga stretch.

Besides yoga habits, another habit you can do is when you’re waiting in neutral, look up.

I do this when I’m waiting for the warm water to brew for tea making. Or when I’m filling the water filter with water.

Habit stacking neck yoga with waiting is a good idea. Even when you’re looking at your phone, try to get in the habit of holding your device up.

3. Mountain Pose 🏔️

You can ease into a Downward Dog and then stand up in Mountain Pose with hands in the air or prayer hands, and look up to your hands or ceiling.

3. Bow pose

Torso body facing down on the mat, bend your knees. With legs up in the air that you can move around, send your arms to your back and grab your ankles.

You’ll feel a nice stretch along your torso and back, and if you look up you really get to take advantage of the neck yoga bend.

Then transition to a seated position with Downward Dog if you like.

Bottom on the mat:

4. Boat Pose

Look up and legs up in the air so you’re in “V” shape with your bottom as your anchor. Your neck gets a nice stretch.

Instead of counting breaths, when you hold the pose, you could think of something today that you’re grateful for that you otherwise would’ve missed in a busier moment. That’ll add stress-drop points to your day. 🌻

5. Fish pose

This is a fun water animal pose. On your back, arch your back and let your head dangle downward so you’re looking at the wall behind you and upside down.

This is something you can do on your beach towel in case you’re on vacation 😉 And you can roll up your towel to use as a temporary pillow so your head drapes over the rollup (mimicking your neck yoga pose in Fish) that takes the pressure off your neck.

6. Seated Leg stretch

And finally to finish off, while seated you can stretch forward to touch your toes in front of you or as far as you can stretch.

Look up (and out as far as the eye can see) and you’ll feel the effects.

And after doing these 6 look up neck yoga poses, you’ll feel lighter.

And you could be ready for a treat like these summer light delights that are suprisingly healthy with superfood coconut goodness.

Coconut Cookies 🥥

Coconut lover? Move over macaroons (and macarons!). You’ll love these healthy, lower-fat cookies that need NO recipe or butter…

These healthy coconut toasted cookies are so easy to make with 4 ingredients and even less steps 👣: coconut flour (plus about a TBSP of AP flour), coconut oil, an egg, and shredded coconut.

Mix these ingredients together by hand and make a loose cookie dough that will have falling crumbs.

Shape into small circles, and bake on a no-stick baking sheet. Bake until sides are lightly toasted brown.

For the toasted coconut, if you want to be sure they don’t over toast while your cookie is still toasting 🥠, you can use this ‘lil trick:

Add shredded coconut to cookie tops about 5 minutes before the cookies are done. Then flip the cookies upside down on the baking sheet.

They look like crab cakes as an illusion. They’re coconut cookies.

And after you’ve been looking down on your baking tray, habit stack back to your look up neck yoga 🙆🏻‍♀️

Low-Sugar Coconut Flour Cookies

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1 cup coconut flour
1 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 large egg
1/4 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
1 Tbsp shredded coconut, sweetened

Instructions

Combine ingredients.
Bake at 350°F for about 12-15 minutes until sides are golden brown.

Balance Yoga Poses For Longevity and Core

Balance is at the core of ballet and impressive yoga poses. And we all need balance in our core.

Because when we grow older, our muscles and bones weaken and the more core stability we have, the less likely we’ll fall and the stronger we are.

When I was in my early 30s, I sprained my ankle on one foot and that led me to get a bone scan. I learned my ankle was healing but my bones were aging (and that happens to all of us).

Before then, I didn’t catch onto the thinning bones effect, especially common with natural Vatas. And none of us know what we don’t know… and back then, I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

So from that point on, I started taking more calcium. I added back the plant-based milk sources and selective dairy choices to my diet.

Just so you know what decade that was, soy was the up-and-comer. And seeds weren’t popular add-ons back then, but Chia-pet plants were 😉

Chia seeds today are everywhere and also are a good calcium source.

And you can make your own chia seed jam if you’re looking for easy (but effective) creative food inspo… especially if Overnight Oats is not your favorite jam and you want to find other ways to add in your chia.

Most commercial or grocery store jams have added sugar when natural fruit juices are all you need to enjoy:

And since most of us don’t eat off the foraging land like our ancestors did, it’s a smart move to continue to look at packaged ingredient lists regularly as formulas change (and even when the carton or outside appears to be the same as the one you ordered last time).

…Next time could be slightly different and missing the nutrients your body especially needs. Or the reason why you added those foods to your list.

So taking those extra seconds to glance at the nutritional profile is smart.

Our bodies thrive on nutrient balance and synergy. Examples: calcium complements magnesium… or all the B-vitamins work together.

…Pretty amazing how our bodies run if you think about it. We often don’t when it’s running optimally. So lifestyle prevention and protection are easy compared to the alternatives.

And living balanced is moving in the right direction.

When you start a balance (in everything) practice early on in your life that your body sings to in harmony, then your body adopts to those healthy habits.

One day can creep up on you, so you want to be protected to some degree. Plus, yoga balance is such a good metaphor for finding purposeful balance in our lives where our joy is.

One easy move you can practice is getting up from the floor in one fell swoop. In Japan’s Blue Zones (with the longest living people on the planet), they do this proudly as Centenarians.

…You could start with something as simple as that. We started as children sitting Indian-style in our classrooms, and we can use our youth as inspiration.

Also, an easier, no-struggle way if you can’t do it without hands is to take your closed fists and knuckles faced down to the floor, and push straight up. Using other parts of your body as tools does a body good!

And then when you’ve peeled yourself off the floor, then you can work on your balance yoga poses.

Four great ones that are top of mind are: Tree, Dancer, Warrior 3, and Bird of Paradise. They all are standing poses and have balancing on one foot in common so they help improve your balance. You can add a centering meditation move in between if you try them all.

You can hurt yourself in yoga just like with exercises so be careful. In yoga, your body weight are your weights for your balance exercises.

Tree pose is the easiest to start with and if you want to be a bit more advanced, add prayer hands behind your back and bend backward a little like a swaying palm. This helps your equilibrium from your core..

We spend most of our day hunched forward in some way reaching for things or typing on the computer. It does your body good when you reverse your posture from inner to outer, and from down to up.

One balance trick to work on is developing your leg and quad muscle strength (that are part of your largest muscle groups). You can do that pretty quickly in a regular Chair pose. Not in your chair but with the invisible chair where you are the chair. If that’s too hard to do, you can use a wall to rest back on.

So then when you think you have Tree pose down (and up!), Dancer pose is another great balance practice. With Dancer, you may find one side is stronger or less wobbly than the other.

…When you fully tilt forward into your Dancer pose, you get a good head-to-toe stretch. And if that doesn’t put a smile on your face, I don’t know what will. 😊

For me, Dancer is a joy pose (…and maybe you too). A good day outlook could be the metaphor and mantra to strive for if you’re trying to make healthy changes in areas of your life.

From Dancer, you can easily flow into Warrior 3 (or you can go through the traditional Warrior 1, 2, 3 yoga pose sequence). I included this in my 100 Best Yoga Poses that I can’t believe I wrote around Easter a year ago!

Most things in this Life change, but gratefully yoga stays constant!

In Warrior 3, your neck is aligned with your back, so you’re looking slightly down and both arms are aimed parallel straight ahead, like you’re on a mission forward. …maybe you are?

Warrior 3 can represent a determined, protective strength pose that can be a good metaphor for warding off unproductive moods that don’t serve you.

And finally, if you really want to get your better balance practice-on, Bird of Paradise (B.O.P.) is a fun bird pose. Getting into the pose is like playing a game… and you’re the object.

If you’ve never tried (or it has been a while), I recommend B.O.P. in an open space as it’s a ‘lil more involved than some of the other poses. You want to feel free (to fly, lol).

When you’re standing up and your shoulder is underneath the same side leg, then clasp your hands together. From there, you have better control on your placements and can get into your showy Bird of Paradise that you fancy.

You can also use Bird of Paradise 🦩as a fun assessment of what areas of your beloved body need a ‘lil more TLC handle 😘 …but not love handles.

Or sometimes you can stumble on your imbalances and what life is trying to show you (like my sprained ankle that served as the canary in the coal mine).

Sometimes you can feel your joints and maybe hear a few snaps the first few times. Those will smooth out and you can stretch even more.

Yoga is I think the BEST and easiest way to open up the tightness and bring us back to balance (that again we need especially as we age).

So glad our modern, Western world has caught on… and in looking up and out, keep on keepin’ on! 🌱

Grow Self-Awareness For Your Happiness (Part 2 of 2)

Grow self-awareness to “believe in yourself” never grows old. That mantra can change your entire day and how you feel about yourself… and still be you, but better!

Be you and believe in yourself are good daily self-awareness mantras. — Be You and Believe in Yourself! 🪞And love yourself with chocolate heart cookies. A health conscious sweet cookie recipe below… 🧡

A few weeks ago, I published Part 1 (of this 2-part series) on using yoga meditation as a way to develop and grow self-awareness for your happiness. And the one thing yoga and your happiness have in common is self-love.

Think about this, you are loving on yourself when you’re focused inward (and in yoga pretzel bends 🥨).

…So first and foremost, love yourself first.

And if that’s what you’re doing, then that love energy radiates and carries over to the (and your) world that needs more light.

And know that the opposite of love is fear. (It’s not hate that can be usually what we’re constantly upset about).

And by knowing this, we can do something about it as we grow self-awareness.

Our ego is built-into our brain construction that serves up internal obscure thought messages to us every day in a “lizard brain” protection way. Triggers turn into threats in the subconscious ego mind and thrives in our dark area where self-love is missing.

So to grow, we want to bring back love to restore.

Ego fear shows up first in our thoughts, so we have a chance then to shut it down, walk away, change our thoughts, and replace with loving thoughts that grow self-awareness and our happiness.

And if anyone you know thinks they’re not affected, then their ego is definitely playing them every day.

As silly as it can sound to our ego minds, telling yourself and believing “I am loved” (or substitute with your fave loving mantra to build yourself up) will eventually kick out the ugly ego imposter ways.

And then you have a concrete go-to way that helps the next time. And you count on that there will be a next time whether it’s later in the day, week, or a few weeks away.

And if this ego idea is newer to you, think of ego as fear and how you feel when you’re scared in some way. Similarly, an unhealthy amount of ego shows up from time to time from some situational trigger, memory, or enemy forces (where ego stands for Edging God Out if you’re spiritual).

And know that ego fear is disguised on a platter to you in your subconscious thoughts, behaviors, and decisions. More serious is when it shows up in you, and that affects others in your actions if the thought is allowed to grow.

So, do yourself good…

Healthy Love yourself more… and stop the ego fear madness!

When you bring out the accumulated baggage in self-awareness that you’ve been carrying around already too long, let it go, and magnify self-love, then you’re on your merry way to personal happiness.