7 Short-Cuts to Daily Bliss By Meryl Davids Landau
Sure, the ancient yogis found inner bliss by stretching in their yoga poses and sitting on their cushions for hours on end. But we live in the real world—frequently too busy treading water to spare that kind of time! Fortunately, after digesting tons of spiri- tual books and attending myriad workshops, then experimenting with what works for me, I’ve cre- ated my own Reader’s Digest-ish short-cut to daily bliss. To connect to your elevated interior, try (as best as you can) to sprinkle these simple steps throughout your day:
1. Sing in the shower. One thing the ancient yogis were right about: Set a good tone first thing in the morning and you float through the day. But I can’t drag myself out of bed early enough to meditate, so my solution is, I sing in the shower. Rather than fixate on problems and to-dos, I send my thoughts skyward via song. I learned this technique from a healthy and joyful 99-year-old
man, whom I’m convinced got that way because he belts out “Oh, What A Beautiful Morning” with every shampoo. I prefer Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwrit- ten.”
2. Listen for the bird chirp (or the dog bark….). Several years ago, I read the old Aldous Huxley novel, Island, where the Mynah birds on his utopian Pala constantly shout, “At- tention, attention,” to remind the natives that here-and-now is most important. I decided to use the occasional chirping of the birds outside my South Florida window as my own prompt to pause. I stop and take a long, deep breath, and am immediately pulled into the present moment—the only place we can access our higher selves. If you don’t have regularly cacoph- onous fowls, any vocal animal, or even a neighbor’s crying baby, are equally wonderful cues.
3. Stop whining. The biggest problem with our chronic complaints: They keep the mind fixated on what’s going wrong, rather than on the higher- vibration, fabulous things that are working. Next time you’re ready to criticize or complain, stop and ask, “What is this unhappy situ- ation making me desire?” Then turn your whole focus to that.
4. Stretch your arms up. As a longtime, big-time fan of yoga, I know the value of sneak- ing even a couple of poses into the day. The stretches make you feel great physically, and, equally important, they expand your mind. My favorite micro session when I can’t do a full class: A boat pose (aka Superman), a full for- ward bend, and a half spinal twist. (If you’re at your desk: raising your arms and arching backward and holding a minute, folding forward down to your ankles for another, then twisting around to the right side, then the left.)
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