Today we are celebrating International Happiness Day! Below are 5 quick tips to boost your mood & live in a state of gratitude. Even better yet, they’re all free because happiness shouldn’t come with a price tag. Join in on the convo - comment on your favorite mood-boosting tips below.
1. Oxygenate. As simple and repetitive as it sounds, taking the time to take mindful deep breaths can shift our internal state in seconds. We live in a world of internal and external stressors, this activates the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight), exhaling a deep breath sends our bodies into a parasympathetic state (rest & digest) and signals to our brain to calm down. Trust your breath, after all, it carries us through our entire life and is always there for us even when we are just taking it for granted. Our life starts and ends with the breath, taking the time every day to notice and be grateful for it will go a long way for our mental health.
A simple but effective breathwork exercise to try at home is box breathing. Close your eyes and imagine your lungs as a square, take an inhale as you trace up one side of the square and notice your chest rising-pause at the corner, and then exhale as you trace the top of the square and notice your chest falling, pause at the corner and repeat down and across the other half. Two inhales and two exhales completely the entire box.
2. Call A Friend/Family Member. Sometimes when we're feeling low or just off, the first thing we want to do is isolate ourselves and spend our time overthinking. The antidote to this can be calling your best friend and venting about whatever is weighing on your heart, 9 times out of 10 one of you will end up cracking a little joke that will make you smile. As humans, we instinctively crave and thrive off of connection and community. Be mindful if you have been spending too much time alone in your own head and reach out to your loved ones to lift you up.
3. Put On Your Favorite Tunes. It is proven that music releases the feel-good chemicals (dopamine and endorphins) into our brain and causes positive emotional reactions when we hear our favorite artists or songs. Take time at home time to play your favorite music - loud because we aren't in an office - and sing along or if you're feeling it freaking dance! I am currently streaming “How will I know” by Whitney Houston because sometimes we just need a power female to lift us up.
4. Limit Social Media. Social media is kinda like eating a family-sized bag of chips while watching a TV show. Before you know it an hour has passed the bag is empty and you suddenly feel like crap. A little doesn’t hurt and can be enjoyable, but being mindless about the time you are spending scrolling can without knowing, be an unconscious trigger for negative thinking and comparison. Sometimes social media has a way of making us feel like our life isn't measuring up, but I am here to remind you, you are enough and you are doing enough, so put the phone down and enjoy the beautiful life you are living!
5. Movement. It doesn’t always have to look like the powerlifters on the gram. Sometimes its as simple as taking the time to stretch and create space in our body that helps us feel a bit more grounded. Walking your dog around the block to get a little fresh air or even doing a 20-minute at-home workout. Whatever it is I can promise you no one in the history of forever has ever regretted the feeling they get after intentionally moving their body. If you have please direct message us and show yourself.
6. Bonus Hack- Eat your favorite food. I don't know about anyone else but making or having a delicious meal especially shared amongst loved ones can make me feel pure happiness, so I invite you to indulge in whatever fuels your heart and supports your body! Like maybe don’t eat the whole bag of chips but if you want to eat half you’re good, you feel me?
If you are in need of some movement we have a 30-minute yoga flow IGTV on our Instagram below.
Additionally, if you are craving community we have started an online resource called our Flourish community in slack as a space to harbor connection. Join the Flourish Online Community here- we would love to have you!