December is the month of joy and giving. It’s a time to not only enjoy the winter holidays, but December marks the last month of the year as we transition to the next. In many cultures, this time is celebrated with various festivities and invitations to tap into this our inner joy. Joy is defined by Miriam-Webster as:
- the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires : DELIGHT
- a state of happiness or felicity : BLISS
- a source or cause of delight
How does joy, the experience of happiness and delight, relate to your practice on the mat? In traditional yoga philosophy, we find that the ultimate goal of the practice of yoga centers around the concepts of Sattva (in balance), Samadhi (oneness), and Ananda (bliss). In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, he describes the practice of Yoga as a union between the individual self and the Cosmic Self (God), between the body/mind and the spirit/soul. Without delving too deeply into the yogic and hindu concepts of soul, it is through the 8 limbs of yoga – Yamas, Niyamas, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi – that we realize joy. And through the mind/body/spirit connection we find peace, bliss, and freedom. The combination of these practices and pathways allows to to alleviate suffering, cultivate peace, and sustain balance & well-being.
During this auspicious period of transition, cultivating, experiencing, and sharing joy feels especially rewarding. Just as we learned in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, the spirit of Christmas should be kept all the year. But why? As Ebhineezer Scrooge wondered, what is the point of all the silliness, playfulness, giving, and love???
Though yoga philosophies provided insight into these phenomena long before the existence of Christmas, modern science has uncovered the physiological importance of cultivating positive mind-body relationship.
As explained through Polyvagal Theory, The vagus nerve (cranial nerve X) is the defining physiological pathway of this mind-body connection. The vagus nerve, meaning “wandering nerve”, is one of the most diverse in the human nervous system, and is connects sensory, cardiac, circulatory, respiratory, digestive systems directly to the autonomic nervous system- and to each other. “PVT links the evolution of the autonomic nervous system to the emergence of prosocial behaviors and posits that the neural platforms supporting social behavior are involved in maintaining health, growth and restoration” (2018 Sullivan et al). Take a moment to think about a time when you were stressed. How did you find relief? Did you:
- dance?
- listen to music?
- breathe?
- do yoga?
- connect with friends?
In short, by tapping into the mind/body connection, we can harness our joy, our power and our calm. Through nutrition, breath, and movement, we can are able to alter our heart rates, affect or respiration, and thus activate the proper physiological pathways to achieve homeostasis and well-being. This pathway to joy and peace is built into our amazing bodies, and we each have an innate connection to it. We already have an intuitive understanding of what works for us and what doesn’t, but I invite you now to begin to consider just *how* you are harnessing your well-being.
The polyvagal theory elucidates this two-way communication between brain and body as a way to understand how to build resilience (our body’s ability to bounce back from stress to a state of homeostasis/equity/sattva), and thusly wellbeing. The aristotelian concept, “Eudamonia”, is described in Sullivan’s article which offers further insight into *how* joy can be cultivated and sustained. Eudaimonia is defined as:
- WELL-BEING; HAPPINESS
- Aristotelianism : a life of activity governed by reason
Some key phrases in both the definition of joy and eudamonia are “prospect of possessing what one desires” and “a life of activity governed by reason”. Through the lens of yoga, eudamonia, and the polyvagal theory, we can now draw further connections to what we may already have been experiencing in our practice and daily lives. We know there are moments when things seem to just click and be harmonious.
Use that pathway to sustain your well-being and resilience so it can be called upon in more challenging moments. When you are in that uncomfortable asana, clear your mind and focus on what the body without obsession, allowing awareness to tune into the breath. Find ease through the sweat as you are further building resilience and teaching yourself how to be in discomfort with ease, with softness, with connection, and with breath. This is the equation of well-being and joy. It’s not without obstacles. But in the connections we see the opportunities. Through the connection of the body, the breath, and the mind, we arrive at clarity. In this journey we discover the joy within each opportunity and the power of each moment. We meet our selves with equanimity, with trust, with peace, and with purpose. Set your intentions and trust the process! That joy is already innately within you. The practice is discovering the ways you can tap into that and explore the depths of your journey with trust and intention.
Jai!
Further Reading:
Sullivan, M., Erb, M., Schmalzl, L., Moonaz, S., Noggle Taylor, J., & Porges, S. (2018, February 06). Yoga Therapy and Polyvagal Theory: The Convergence of Traditional Wisdom and Contemporary Neuroscience for Self-Regulation and Resilience. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00067/full
Richard M. Ryan and Edward L. Deci. On Happiness and Human Potentials: A Review of Research on Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being. Annual Review of Psychology 2001 52:1, 141-166. https://www.wisebrain.org/papers/HappinessLR.pdf
Telles, S., Gupta, R. K., Kumar, A., Pal, D. K., Tyagi, D., & Balkrishna, A. (2019). Mental Wellbeing, Quality of Life, and Perception of Chronic Illness in Yoga-Experienced Compared with Yoga-Naïve Patients. Medical science monitor basic research, 25, 153–163. https://doi.org/10.12659/MSMBR.914663
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6542302/
Donnelly, K. Z., Linnea, K., Grant, D. A., & Lichtenstein, J. (2016). The feasibility and impact of a yoga pilot programme on the quality-of-life of adults with acquired brain injury. Brain Injury, 31(2), 208–214. doi:10.1080/02699052.2016.1225988
written by Lian Mosher
MS Yoga Therapy, BBA Marketing
C-IAYT 1000, RYT 500 (pending) E-RYT 200, Reiki
FCYP blog 