Health and Happiness

As a teacher of yoga, with my own studio in Massachusetts, my students are acutely aware of the connection between the breath, the mind, and the body.
They know that a disturbed breath disturbs the mind and a mind that wanders hinders the creation of new and beneficial mental thought-patterns, or neural pathways, as well as the flow of positive energy.  They experience that when they are practicing asanas, pranayama, or entering into meditation.

There are two classic reasons for an unsettled mind to occur; desires and thoughts.
Desires are produced by an actual lack of control of emotions as well as the latent impressions of feelings.
Thoughts that impede positive growth are usually thoughts that occur without any awareness or are pessimistic in nature.

Negative thoughts are like weeds and prevent happy thoughts from flourishing.

Awareness in all of your activities, behavior, and choice of thoughts and emotions actually helps you to take control of your life and only create situations which are of benefit to you.

For example:
When you laugh or watch a comedy program, your body produces endorphins, which are a natural painkiller and also produces more of the cells required to both ward off and fight infection. 

It is estimated that children laugh up to 400 times per day

while adults only manage up to 15 daily laughs.

You are what you think
In the seventies, a Harvard University study discovered a special group of receptors on the immune cells distributed throughout the body. This was a major breakthrough and shone new light upon what we know about the immune system. The research demonstrated that the immune system is not an independent self-directed system; rather it has an actual connection with the conscious mind and the effect of thoughts upon the body.

Learning coping mechanisms and maintaining a positive frame of mind clinically promotes a healthy state of being. However, how we respond to our varying circumstances is based upon earlier data that is stored as a memory and used to create a response, regardless of the consequences.

Connection to the world
Our moods, health, state of mind all influence the decision-making process and subsequent outcome of a reaction to stimuli. It is only when we consider the detrimental effects upon our heart, emotions, or the effects of our actions upon other people or our environment that we begin to see the need to be aware first of how we respond and secondly to the connection between ourselves and the world around us.

So, smile and laugh often if you want to improve your chances of staying happy and healthy.

Visualize what you love

Mini Meditation
See yourself in a tranquil location surrounded by people and animals that bring you joy.
Delight in the warm loving embrace of their presence.
You are free of disease and sadness in this environment.
Peace and bliss envelop you.

Carry this image within you and use it whenever you need to return to a happy state.