For thousands of years yoga has proven to help people on many levels...western medicine is finally catching up and showing how a one hour yoga session can improve our lives on many levels:

Read Below!

Methods
The study evaluated three positive emotions (positive engagement, revitalization, tranquility) and five psychological resources (mindfulness, body consciousness, self-transcendence, spirituality, social connectedness) before and after a 1-hour yoga session. Researchers used eight different questionnaires, each of which was designed to measure one or more of those qualities, to evaluate the psychological variables.

Results
All three positive emotions (positive engagement, revitalization, tranquility) and five psychological resources (mindfulness, body consciousness, self-transcendence, spirituality, social connectedness) increased when compared before and after a single 1-hour yoga session.

Conclusion
There seem to be psychological benefits of yoga. Yoga practice may increase some positive emotions and psychological resources. Effects of yoga are likely specific to style and emphasis in each yoga practice.

If you want to be more compassionate you have to practice planting seeds of compassion:)

Post-pandemic life won’t look the same for everybody. Efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 affected nearly every aspect of day-to-day life for people worldwide. Recovering from the upheaval that these changes created has the potential to be a difficult process as well.

How to Cope
The reality is that getting back to normal may take some time, and things may never completely be exactly what they were before the pandemic. As you look at this challenge, it is important to find ways to ease yourself back into society in a way that supports your needs. 

Practice Self-Care
No matter your personality type, it is important to take care of yourself as you face new challenges. Taking time for yourself, getting enough rest, eating a healthy diet, and practicing relaxation strategies can help. Introverts may find that carving out periods of time to be alone can help ease the stress related to increased socializing.

Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a technique that involves focusing on the present moment. It can help you let go of worries about the past and anxieties about the future and find a way to be present at the moment.
As you move forward, practice these mindfulness skills and pay attention to where you focus your energies and attentions.

Go Slow
If the thought of returning to normal is making you anxious, you may find that gradually exposing yourself to old routines may help ease you into it. This process is often used as part of exposure therapy to help people reduce fear and anxiety in the face of a phobic object.

By taking it slowly and progressively increasing your exposure to the things you used to do, you may find that you're less anxious.

Gratitude Meditation

I love this guys advice and hope you do too!

Why must fun and work be separate activities?

One of the most common phrases among high achievers is “Work hard, play hard”.

But there’s something fundamentally wrong with this phrase. 

It suggests we must endure what we have to do in order to get to what we want to do.

Of course, not everything that's Essential is enjoyable. But you can make almost any tedious task better when you pair it with something you love. 

Here are some examples I've come across:I recently responded to a backlog of voicemails while sitting in my hot tub
A friend of mine pairs exercising with listening to his favorite podcast
My wife Anna and I eat chocolate-covered almonds and listen to our favorite songs while we create the family budget
Combining a difficult but Essential task with something you enjoy can turn a task you endure into a ritual you look forward to. 
  

Here’s your challenge for today:Make a list of 20 things you love to do
Next time you have an Essential task that is difficult, ask, “How can I make this enjoyable?”
Use your list to find something you love and pair it with the Essential task
When we attach small moments of joy to mundane tasks, we don’t have to wait for the time when we can play and have fun. That time is always now. 
 

"Joy is finding the holy in the small and the sacred in the everyday."

- Mary Davis

In gratitude, 
Greg McKeown

Author of Essentialism.

Have you ever leaned into your fear and found great beauty and freedom on the other side?

Truly taking yoga off the mat

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Brian Granader

Owner

Red Lotus Yoga