Project Happiness Articles — #wellnesswednesday

Like the Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage for any Christian, Mecca a pilgrimage for any Muslim, Burning Man a pilgrimage for any festival goer, a marathon is a pilgrimage for any runner. In the words of Nike, you’ve gotta just do it!

Let’s start by addressing the question that comes up most when I share about the Africa Yoga Project: “Is Yoga really what Africa needs?” Although this question was once a source of frustration, I now see it as a great way to open up the conversation of what yoga is truly about and how our understanding has become limited in modern times.

The biggest challenge I have found since becoming a health coach has been getting people to take a step back. Mental, physical, and emotional change come only after we learn to take care of ourselves. Learning to take care of ourselves comes only after we can break down our everyday lives and how actions we take without even thinking about them shape how happy we are.

In lieu of the two very tragic deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain this year, I want to remind all of you to be extra kind to one another for this is a perfect example of, “you have no idea what others are going through”. You may not feel that the subject of mental illness pertains to you, but it should, as more than likely someone in your life is going through something that you know nothing about.

Anxiety – what is it? There are so many different levels of Anxiety and some can be so severe that could lead to a panic attack (which if you haven’t experienced - can be so overwhelming it almost feels like a heart attack! ).

When you’re feeling down and out, or generally just low, do you ever feel pressured to pull yourself out of it as soon as possible? To constantly appear happy? But what if we accept that not being okay, is very much part of being okay; how might this impact our personal journey?

What if, regardless what we're going through, we choose to see our minds as a tool, a friend, a co-creator in our path towards freedom and wellness? What if we see the issue, label or whatever we're annoyed at our minds for, as a separate entity i.e. not part of the mind itself, but a passing albeit unwanted visitor?

I had been desperately trying to avoid pain at all cost, perpetually searching for new stimuli to prevent me from sitting alone with my thoughts. In that moment in my garage, as I sat there fatigued, I realized that it was powerful to embrace the pain. The calm exhilaration that I felt was an effect of the physical exertion.

We all know that when we feel great emotionally life seems to be so easy. Remember when you fell in love and everything felt so great or when your child was born and your emotions were spontaneously happy and you felt such joy. Conversely, when we feel down, or even depressed, its like we are walking through treacle and everything seems to be fighting against us and life is very tough going. Well, there are five definitive steps you can take to get you to such emotional wellness and with it physical wellness too.

Former American actress Joey Adams claims that “if it weren’t for the fact that the TV set and the refrigerator are so far apart some of us wouldn’t get any exercise at all.” While Adams humorously understands the expectation of society today, many of us truly struggle to find motivation for exercising. However, like all complications in life, simplification leads to completion.