Happiness

There's been some sad research coming out of the UK recently with regards to people's happiness levels... adults as well as children. That's why it is so wonderful to come across an organisation like "Action for Happiness" (website), who are actively trying to change people's lives for the better. It provides simple tools, great information and creates events that try and boost our happiness. And its free and accessible to all (well everyone with internet)! It has some high-profile supporters and is getting some good press. I wanted to share an interesting piece of statistic from their website: 


Although our genes influence about 50% of the variation in our personal happiness, our circumstances (like income and environment) affect only about 10%. As much as 40% is accounted for by our daily activities and the conscious choices we make. So the good news is that our actions really can make a difference.

Wise Word of the Week #3

Watch your thoughts; they become words.

Watch your words; they become actions.

Watch your actions; they become habits.

Watch your habits; they become character.

Watch your character; for it becomes your destiny.

- Upanishads

Better to keep your mouth shut?

So what's with the title of my blog?

Well, sometime around the second century CE, a man called Patanjali wrote a text of 196 concise lines called the Yoga Sutras. To give you an idea of its briefness, the first line is: "Yoga citta vritti nirodha". Many different translations exist, one being: "Now, the teachings of yoga" (translated by Chip Hartranft). I like to think of this text as a summary of the yogic wisdom that had already been practiced for centuries and many of the various translations and books on them are a wonderful read (try "The Wisdom of Yoga" by Stephen Cope if you're keen).

In short, these sutras outline an eight-limbed or eight-fold path to yogic living. The interesting thing is that there's no mention of any of the now famous yoga postures in the text. Apparently there's more to yoga than that... This text is basically a guide to the art of "right living" a la yoga -- a guide to physical, emotional and ethical health. Yoga is basically a way of life. 

So far, I have spent the most time pondering and trying to apply the first two limbs to my life - the yamas (restraints) and niyamas (observances). They are sometimes called "the 10 commandments of yoga", but these guidelines are less about being good vs bad and more about being wise vs foolish.

The yamas are guidelines for how to interact with the world and other people; 1/ Ahimsa (made famous by Gandhi, non-violence), Satya (truthfulness), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacarya (sexual responsibility) and 5/ Aparigraha (abstention from greed, making life simple).

The niyamas are guidelines for how to interact with ourselves, or our internal world; 1/ Shaucha (cleanliness, internal and external), 2/ Santosha (contentment), 3/ Tapa (austerity), 4/ Svadhyaya (self-education) and 5/ Ishvara-Pranidhan (living with an awareness of the Divine).

We spent a lot of time debating these guidelines during my Yoga Teacher Training course and I think they are well worth trying to apply to our lives. It's not always easy since it's often about changing deeply engrained behaviors (like jam-packing your diary, gossiping, telling white lies, greed for more wine, ice cream, money, nice holidays). I will return with more on a few of these guidelines later, because I think they are so important and so multi-faceted. In the mean time I will leave you with something my yoga teacher, Yogi Vishvketu, used to say: "Before you open your mouth to say something, think: Is it kind? (ahimsa, non-violence), Is it true? (satya, truthfulness), Is it necessary? (aparigraha, simplicity)". If not? Perhaps keep your mouth shut?

Delicious AND healthy

One of my dear friends does an alkaline detox on a regular basis and has a wonderful blog where she shares her recipes and other bits and pieces. Over the past week I've tried two of her recipes, red quinoa paddies and leek and feta pancakes. I'm not a particular wiz in the kitchen, but managed to make delicious meals from her easy to understand instructions (the pic below is hers though, my sauce was slightly more dribbly and pancakes slightly less round... figured you'd be more likely to check her blog out this way!!). Want more details, here's the link: Alkaline Foods - a healthier life

Wise Word of the Week #2

Earlier today I had one of those great moments that make you appreciate the simple things in life. A friend and I sat on her veranda enjoying a magnificent view, a gorgeous smokey cup of Lapsang, some delicious tarta de santiago and a lovely conversation that made me think of one of my favorite poems.  

The Journey by Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.

I found this poem in a book on the bedside table at a friends house the night that I left my job nearly 2 years ago. At the time, I was going through a pretty all-encompassing self-discovery process, one where I, for the first time, was allowing myself the time and space to hear that new voice, which turned out to be my own.

"Economics as if people and the planet mattered"

Ok, so I have a Master in Economics and my old me would argue that statement to be a bit of an oxymoron. However, there's a great organization called nef (or the new economics foundation) whose sole purpose is just that. They focus on "promoting innovative solutions that challenge mainstream thinking on economic, environment and social issues" and they do some really interesting work. There's one particular thesis of theirs that I really like, it is called "Five ways to wellbeing". It basically lists five key actions to incorporate into our day-to-day lives to improve our wellbeing; 1/ Connect (with people around you), 2/ Be active (exercising makes you feel good), 3/ Take notice (basically about being present and general mindfulness), 4/ Keep learning (try something new) and 5/ Give (because giving is receiving). Do note that this is actually a research paper, it is an evidence based report. Have a look at some more details and get inspired to improve your wellbeing: Download "Five ways to wellbeing"

We are how we eat

We've all heard the "we are what we eat" and the more recent "we are who we eat", I'd like to add another slogan to finish of the trinity -- "we are how we eat".

I've just finished a great book called "Yoga for the Digestive System" written by an Australian medicine graduate turned yogi. There is an old naturopathic belief, which this book subscribes to as well, that all disease starts in our gut. Digestion is something we most often take for granted, because it happens on its own, subconsciously or "naturally". And what do we do with things we take for granted? Well, we use and abuse it... we eat in front of the TV or computer, we eat standing up or on the go, we have heated arguments or debates over a meal and we shove huge amounts of food down our throat and expect it to be taken care of.

My brother-in-law was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It is a terrible disease of the gut. Made me read every single word in this book, and in several related articles, just a little more carefully. So, the things I have learned and that I will try and apply to my life (recognizing it's not always easy):

- Overeating is very detrimental to our health. Our internal organs are not built to take on the amounts of food we eat in the West today. A healthy amount of food to eat is about the size of your two hands cupped together. Basically, undigested food is worse than no food. Eat smaller portions less and live healthier for longer.

- Pay attention to your mood as you eat. Do not eat when you are tense, stressed or angry. All of these upset states affect our autonomic nervous system and disrupts our body's ability to properly digest the food. It is actually better to skip the occasional meal than to eat in an upset state.

- Respect the food. Prepare it with awareness and care and make it look tasty. This will help very important enzymes get produced in your saliva and your stomach. If you're not the one preparing the food, perhaps just take a moment when it has arrived on your plate and, literally, salivate over the upcoming meal.

- Chew your food!! Be careful not to start thinking of the next bite as soon as one has hit your mouth. That way we tend to swallow before the food is properly chewed and we create more hard work for our gut. Stay present and focus on the bite that's in your mouth, that will make it taste a lot better too!!

I'll end with a few lines from the book that I like: "No organ causes so much trouble as the tongue. It can get us into endless strife outside as well as inside. Talking and eating rank amongst the hardest body processes to control." So, granted, all of the above is easier said than done, but by trying to apply some of these principles to my life most of the time, I hope to live a healthier life.... in body, and thus also in mind and soul.