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As COVID restrictions relax, many of us are looking forward to getting away again. And taking time out to travel helps us do more than just chill out. As Calvin Holbrook discovers, research suggests that, in fact, traveling offers some important mental health benefits. Whether it's a 48-hour road trip out of town or two weeks in a far away foreign country, travel can work wonders for both our personal and professional lives. And aside from giving us the chance to relax, research has shown that, in fact, travel provides us with a great number of benefits to our mental health. So, here are six key ways traveling is great for mental health and happiness: it'll give you six more excuses to start planning your next adventure! 1. It reduces stress and boosts health The daily commute. Family issues. Relationship problems. Feeling unhappy at work. Our day-to-day lives can be filled with many stressful situations. Taking time away from those things through travel is a great way to clear your head and de-stress, as it temporarily removes us from the places and activities that increase our stress levels. Travelling allows us to forget about our chores and stresses and reset our minds. According to a 2013 study, almost 90 per cent of Americans surveyed noticed significant drops in stress following just a couple of days of travelling. The same study found that women who travelled only every six years or less had a significantly higher risk of developing coronary death or heart attack when compared with women who vacationed at least twice a year. Additionally, men who didn’t take an annual vacation were shown to have a 20 per cent higher risk of death and about a 30 per cent greater risk of death because of heart disease. Travel boosts mental and physical health shutterstock/haveseen Margaret J King from the Center for Cultural Studies and Analysis sums up the stress-relieving abilities of travel well: “With a short list of activities each day, freed up from the complexities of ongoing projects and relationships, the mind can reset, as does the body, with stress relief the main outcome.” 2. It boosts happiness and mood Aside from the obvious point that you don't have to work (and can basically eat and drink pretty much anything), traveling provides you with the perfect chance to step away from the mundane daily grind. Switching up your daily routine through travelling means new experiences and events, which are proven to help rewire the brain and stimulate your mind, in turn boosting both your mood and happiness levels. Furthermore, according to two significant studies, even just the act of planning a trip is proven to raise your happiness levels. RELATED: Why money can't buy happiness (except when you spend it like this) A 2014 study by Cornell University concluded that the anticipation of a trip increases a person’s happiness levels substantially, more so than the idea of acquiring a new possession, such as a car. This research was backed up by a further study from the University of Surrey that found that people are at their happiest when they have a trip ahead already planned. Moreover, they’re also more positive about their general quality of life, health and financial situation. 3. It makes you more mentally resilient and independent Visiting a new place while traveling is exciting, but it can also be intimidating and challenging. Indeed, facing difficulties in an unfamiliar environment and being among new people and situation often forces you out of your comfort zone. For example, it could be trying to speak a new foreign language, navigating public transport networks, attempting to order and try new foods… While this can sometimes be uncomfortable, this aspect of foreign travel can also make us more resilient, by toughening us up mentally and emotionally. “Travelling allows us to forget about our stresses and reset our minds. According to a 2013 study, almost 90 per cent of Americans surveyed noticed significant drops in stress following after just a couple of days of travelling.” Being out of our comfort zones like this means we have to learn and adapt, which in turn makes us more flexible and patient. And, according to a 2013 research paper by Zimmerman and Neyer, the challenge of travelling in a foreign country can strengthen the 'openness' of our personalities and improve emotional stability. 4. It gives you time to reconsider your life Travelling helps promotes mindfulness as we tend to forget our lives back home and instead focus on the moment and all the nice things we're experiencing. However, taking time out from our regular routine can also provide a valuable time for reflection, especially if you're going through a transitional period in your life. As writer Patrick Rothfuss once said, “A long stretch of road can teach you more about yourself than a hundred years of quiet.” Furthermore, the lessons that you learn along the way during your travels can broaden your perspective, making you more aware and open to new ideas. Likewise, experiencing new cultures gives you a chance to reflect on your own. RELATED: Happiness in Different Cultures This chance to reflect on life is backed up by Adrian and Christoph from the German travel podcast Welttournee – der Reise Podcast. They are two friends who've travelled together to over 100 countries. Christoph says: “We've travelled to many countries together but from time to time it’s also good to go on the big trip alone. To be able to look, see and judge, it’s sometimes a big advantage, when you are totally on your own and unencumbered – your inner voices begin to speak with you and from this point it could be a journey to yourself.” 5. It strengthens and clarifies relationships Many of the benefits of travelling on mental health we've looked at so far are very focused on individuals. So, how can travel be positive when there is more than one of you on the trip? Well, if you're travelling with a friend or partner, it opens up the possibility to strengthen and clarify the relationship. In our daily lives, relationship stress can occur through miscommunication and other issues, which can in turn affect our mental health. However, traveling with lovers, family or friends, creates not just more time together but a different kind of time together: it provides the opportunity to connect on a deeper level. Travel can help strengthen relationships shutterstock/biletskiy During a trip together you have the chance to experience to many different and perhaps new feelings – awe, confusion, excitement, disorientation – all of which can be meaningful for relationships. Indeed, according to a 2012 survey by the US Travel Association, couples who travel together have healthier and happier relationships compared to those who do not. The phone study provided three key results: Travel has long-term benefits for couples, such as increased closeness and perception of shaared goals/interests Travel helps build and maintain relationships Travel ignites romance and intimacy Furthermore, planning a trip as well as making decisions – and compromises – can help bring you closer and strengthen a relationship. However, on the other hand, these experiences can also bring out hidden clarity to a relationship that was facing difficulties. Some people discover that the relationship with the person they’re traveling with is not worth investing in further and they realise they're not really compatible. 6. It increases depth of thought and creativity If you’re facing a creative block or lacking in direction, travel could do your mental health the world of good by boosting your ability to form new ideas and unlock your creativity through new experiences. You may have previously heard that taking a different route to work every day is beneficial to you. That’s down to neuroplasticity – the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections. By changing your environment and exposing your brain to things you haven’t seen before, you’re literally forming new neuronal pathways. And creativity is directly related to neuroplasticity. “According to a 2012 survey by the US Travel Association, couples who travel together have healthier and happier relationships compared to those who do not.” This was backed up with a 2014 study published in the Academy of Management Journal. The research showed that foreign travel and work significantly improved creativity among fashion directors from over 270 fashion houses. But simply being somewhere new is not enough to maximise boosting your creativity. According to the study’s researcher Adam Galinsky, engagement, immersion and adaptation were all critical factors to success. He told The Atlantic: “Someone who lives abroad and doesn’t engage with the local culture will likely get less of a creative boost than someone who travels abroad and really engages in the local environment.” So, next time you go somewhere new, make sure to delve into all it has to offer and connect with the local community: you’ll be forming new neuronal pathways in the brain and may boost your creative juices. The takeaway: travel and mental health Science shows that, apart from just relaxing, travelling and experiencing new cultures helps boost our mental health and happiness in many ways: providing stress relief, boosting our resilience, creativity and happiness, while also improving our relationships. As Christoph from Welttournee – der Reise Podcast says, “We have become disgustingly rich by traveling. Not necessarily in our bank balance, but in a very special way. After each trip we have many stories to tell. We have met many new people, tried new things and become richer in our own way.” ● Main image: shutterstock/frantic00 happiness.com | The fine art of being: learn, practise, share Are you a happiness.com member yet? Sign up for free now to: ■ enjoy our happiness magazine with practical life tips ■ share and support in our happiness forum ■ learn with free online classes in our happiness Academy Anxiety | Depression | Compassion Written by Calvin Holbrook Calvin edits the happiness.com magazine, as well being an artist and travel lover. He also loves hiking, nature, swimming, yoga, sweaty dancing, and all things vintage!

By changing perspective to look at an apparently negative situation in a different way, we can imagine a more positive story – one that's more likely to lead to greater happiness. Ed Gould examines how gaining perspective also offers up a chance to consider others, too. It's part of human nature to think about oneself and to focus on what's going on around us, but this one-dimensional perspective can lead to a false sense of priorities. How do we break out from a parochial view of our lives and start to see things as they really are? By changing perspective, we can gain greater insights and gain deeper happiness. Changing perspective is a healthy exercise if we want to be empathetic, rational and more compassionate. However, changing perspective is not merely about seeing things from the point of view of another. It's just as much about gaining perspective. In other words, our sense of compassion for others need not be the driver for looking for an alternative angle on things. It can help us escape the happiness trap and develop a higher level of understanding, too. In fact, simply seeing things another way is good for us not only because it means getting out of a mental rut, but because of what we might be missing out on. Changing and gaining perspective: a classical illustration The famous Greek philosopher Plato once taught his pupils by coming up with an allegory of a cave. The prisoners in his cave cannot see reality, merely a shadow of it because they are in chains. All they need to gain a higher level of comprehension is to see what is causing the shadows to form – to see things as they really are. In the allegory, this would mean that the cave dwellers would need to break free from their chains. In a sense, altering our perspective on things means breaking free from mental chains. Happy help: change perspective and your mood, too! To extend Plato's metaphor in this manner is fair because a change of perspective takes effort. Most of us are happy enough to keep moving on in our lives the way we always have – especially if we feel a degree of happiness in our current situation. Nevertheless, unless the mental effort is made, we'll never know what lies beyond the cave or what is causing the shadows to fall against its wall. As such, changing and gaining perspective can be seen as the same thing. Changing your perspective: the benefits However, to get a handle on the advantages of a change of perspective, there's no need to go back to ancient Greece. There are plenty of illustrations from more modern times. The author and thinker Benjamin Grant cites just one such example. • JOIN US! Learn more about human connection and psychology • During the Apollo missions, when NASA was working towards putting a man on the moon, the astronaut Bill Anders took one of the most iconic images ever to have been captured by a camera. During the Apollo 8 mission of 1968, the spacecraft orbited the moon several times. As the ship passed by the moon's horizon, he was the first man to see the Earth rise from the moon's perspective. His world famous 'Earthrise' shot, according to Grant, is so iconic because it shows humanity from a different viewpoint. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } It should be said that this new perspective is no mere novelty which only looks pretty – although the image is beautiful. The point of view it offers is mind altering. That is its message, its benefit, if you will. The 'Earthrise' photograph captures all of humanity, bar the astronauts on the mission, and shows something that feels so anchored and permanent – our planet – spinning in the lonely vastness of space. “Changing perspective is a healthy exercise if we want to be empathetic, rational and compassionate.” If you think that such an image is mind-altering from Earth, then consider just how many astronauts have returned from space missions with a new perspective on life and humanity. This, Grant says, is the so-called 'overview effect', which is a consequence of space travel. It can cause profound changes in our brains. Grant has harnessed the 'overview effect' in his work. A creator of images, he takes some of the most stunning photographs captured by satellites above Earth and uses them to create pictures that are designed to alter minds back on the planet. A change of perspective: fruit orchards in Huelva, Spain © Benjamin Grant Whether his images are of the tulip fields of the Netherlands, fruit orchards in Spain or refugee camps in northern Kenya, he is exposing us to the truth, but not as we know it. The colours, the scale and the perspective – everything is shot from above, as you would expect – and gives us a view of the world we might know, but also knowingly ignore. His images offer us the chance to gain insights into the fragility of ecosystems, the plight of fellow humans and, yes, to simply marvel at the beauty of the planet. MORE LIKE THIS: When Life Gives You Lemons, Try Lemonading! Feeling Lost in Life? Move On In 7 Steps Internal Conflict and Inner Turmoil: 5 Steps To Resolve It If you're looking for up-sides of gaining a new perspective, then as a way to increase happiness levels, it's right up there. If your focus is on something that you perceive to be negative in your life and you come at it from a different angle, then you can feel better about it. What's more, you might even find that it helps you to perform better as a result. This approach is called reframing and is just one way in which you can derive benefits from gaining new perspectives. Let's look at some more techniques that will allow you to feel more confident, less self-critical and to enjoy more happiness. Perspective and point of view: how to change yours For many, altering perspective means becoming less self-centred and moving to a more compassionate understanding of others and the world around us. By stepping outside of our usual perspectives, it can become possible to frame arguments in ways that motivate others instead of leaving them feeling rejected, for example. Seeing things as 'bad' without taking a fresh view can mean that we get set into a closed loop of negativity. Bright future: change your view and change your life For instance, a relationship breakdown can sometimes lead to negative feelings about one's self-worth. However, a changed perspective might be that becoming single is the start of something new. As a result of reframing your view, you might even gain a higher perspective of yourself, embracing the part of yourself which might not have felt room for self-expression within the relationship. In fact, academics have done plenty of research into the techniques that will allow us to see things in a new light. Here's a look at four of the ways you can change and gain perspective. 1. Reframing your past As previously mentioned, reframing your point of view can lead to tremendously helpful results and renewed chances of happiness. This is particularly effective if you reframe the way in which you see your past. For example, you might say that certain negative outcomes are always bound to happen because of 'the way you are'. You might have been told that you are impulsive or even hot-headed by others and believe this of yourself. “If your focus is on something that you perceive to be negative in your life and you come at it from a different angle, then you can feel better about it.” However, studies have shown that reframing a negative attribute from your past as a positive one can heighten your performance. Try relabelling your so-called impulsive past as creative, for example, and see how the new perspective can impact on your present. 2. A change of perspective: problem solving Expressing ourselves is optimistic – in other words, positive, complimentary and generous – and we will naturally develop higher levels of self-esteem and a healthier self-image. By getting into the habit of being positive, we can deal with criticism and setbacks much better. Not only does this altered perspective mean that we are better set against potential adversity, but our ability to problem-solve also becomes more efficient. In her book, Putting the Positive Thinker to Work, Potter outlines how reframing perspectives can augment levels of commitment, especially at work, and lead to greater persistence with tasks. This, she argues, is the foundation for most success in the workplace. Another viewpoint: change perspective, retell your story 3. Compassion and understanding By gaining new perspectives, we can become more compassionate to others. It's important not to fall back into bad habits of negative thinking, however. A daily ritual of positive affirmation of yourself and those around you can help to keep your understanding of the world fixed in a better perspective than it otherwise might be. • BE INSPIRED! Join our compassion and curious community • Indeed, so-called 'silver lining thinking' will help you to see the good in events and to reframe problems as challenges. If you can consciously interrupt negative thoughts that might pop into your head, then this will help you to remain the compassionate person you want to be. 4. Seeing the bigger picture Finally, seeing the bigger picture means sometimes taking a step back and creating time to gain the sort of perspective you'll need for your happiness and compassion. From an astronaut's point of view, seeing the bigger picture comes from literally taking in a macro view of the world. However, we can do this for ourselves, too. Take time to clear your mind, listen to the wind in the trees and rush a little less. Ask yourself what truly counts in your life and, of course, the benefits of meditation can help you to gain insights into what's most important. By changing your perspective on your life you can change the course of it and find greater joy. ● Main image: Benjamin Grant happiness.com | The fine art of being: learn, practice, share Are you a happiness.com member yet? Sign up for free now to: ■ enjoy our happiness magazine ■ share and support in our happiness forum ■ self-develop with free online Academy classes Keys to Happiness | Gratitude | Work life balance | Quality time Written by Ed Gould Ed Gould is a UK-based journalist and freelance writer. He's also a practitioner of Reiki.

Retirement should be a time for seniors to relax and enjoy themselves, but all too often stress and isolation get in the way. Own very own senior, Marilyn Coates-Lower, says keeping your mind and body active is key to a healthy retirement. As we age, some of us may find that life becomes more stressful rather than easier. As retirement grows nearer, we look forward to the changes that this will bring, often planning to do the many things that we never had time for during our busy working lives. However, ensuring you have a happy and healthy retirement isn't always straightforward. Indeed, according to Patrick J. Skerrett, Former Executive Editor of Harvard Health: “If we're not careful, retirement can bring about many health problems rather than contentment, and that we should look upon it as a ‘process rather than an event.'” Planning a healthy retirement Some of us will have planned carefully for when we retire and will remain financially secure, while others will suddenly face a huge drop in income. Naturally, this can limit what we can achieve. According to research carried out by Dr George E. Vaillant, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, there are several ways in which retired seniors – even those 80+ – can remain happy and healthy, attaining a rewarding lifestyle that doesn't require a high income level. These ways include: Making new friends When retiring from work, you may leave many of your friends behind, but building a new social network of like-minded, similarly aged people will prove to be good for both your physical and mental health. Joining clubs There are so many to choose from, including sports such as golf, swimming and tennis, ballroom dancing, walking and bridge. They will not only get you out of the house but also provide the opportunity to make new friends. Keeping your mind and body active Why not take up a new hobby, something you've always wanted to do? Gardening is a great work out and has many mental health benefits, too. Or you could learn a new language or take a new course, or maybe discover the healing power of pets. A dog will not only be a great companion but will also get you out walking and meeting people. All of these suggestions are not only enjoyable but also provide excellent stress relief, which will keep body and soul together and make for a happier and healthier retirement. We should make the most of every moment because, as this quote from Ausonius attains: “Let us never know what old age is. Let us know the happiness time brings, not count the years.” Indeed, every day is precious, and a happy and healthy retirement can be found in something as simple as journaling or talking to a friend. Flower power: gardening can lead to a healthier retirement Stress and how it affects senior health A handy factsheet produced by the American Psychological Association (APA) Office on Ageing and Committee on Ageing suggests that, if we're not careful, stress can affect us badly as we age – lowering the chance of a healthy retirement. The APA say that one of the simplest ways to remain healthy is to eat nourishing food – helping seniors to maintain a reasonable weight – and to take regular exercise. The APA explain that stress is being caused by our bodies responding to danger, releasing hormones into the bloodstream, which speed up the heart and increase the pulse rate: the ‘stress response’. They go on to explain that research has shown that too much stress will impair the immune system, decreasing our ability to fight off disease and mental health problems. It offers several stress relief tips for retiring seniors, including: Staying positive Avoid negative talk such as, “I’m too old”, or, “I can't do it anymore”. This type of talk will not help, and, while you may feel that doing nothing is your solution: think about what you can do instead. Staying focused Never feel helpless because, no matter how difficult something might seem, there's always a solution. Each problem is a test or challenge that will keep your mind active as you consider your options. Meditation Relaxation techniques, meditation and especially MBSR (meditation based stress reduction) have been developed to deal with stress based on techniques that have been around for centuries. According to Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, just ten minutes a day can help to control stress, reduce anxiety and contribute to improving cardiovascular health, which, in consequence, will make you healthier during your retirement years. Dr Stöppler goes on to say that meditative techniques were first pioneered in America during the 1970s by Harvard physician Herbert Benson. It has since gained acceptance worldwide, by both doctors and therapists, to be a valuable complementary therapy for symptom relief of many different illnesses. “When it comes to a happy and healthy retirement, here are several ways in which retired seniors can remain happy and healthy, with a rewarding lifestyle that does not require a high level of income.” Dr Stöppler states: “No matter how the relaxation state is achieved, the physical and emotional consequences of stress can be reduced through regular practice.” Stress relief, in this form, can also lead to happiness and inner peace. For a first glance at stress relieving meditation practices, try 'Mindfulness daily', an easy-to-follow course developed by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. Meditation and yoga can lower blood pressure and stress in seniors A happy and healthy retirement Every one of us will see retirement differently; how we use all this extra time that we suddenly have on our hands depends very much on individual circumstances according to Harvard Health Publications. They explain that, if your job has been tiring, boring or unrewarding, then retirement will come as a great relief. Whereas, those of us that have thoroughly enjoyed our work and thrived on the structured lifestyle will see retirement in an entirely different way; this in itself will require you to work harder to ensure you have a happy and healthy retirement. A couple who are happily married, or in a long-standing relationship, are far more likely to enjoy their retirement than someone whose home life is unstable. Healthy retirees will be looking forward to an active and rewarding time, whereas, those who are in bad health will not have this option. Whichever category you fit into, still keep as active as possible and keep your mind and body busy. Senior stress relief: seeking help One of the biggest stress relief tips offered by the fact sheet produced by the APA is to seek help before everything gets on top of you. Of course, when we talk about a healthy retirement, we are also referring to optimal mental health as a senior. Here are three ideas for achieving this: CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) This will explore and help to discover the underlying reasons for stress and contributes to change negative thoughts into positive ones. Supportive therapy Often a non-judgmental ear can help to justify why feelings of anxiety exist and to offer stress relief tips to introduce a more positive way of thinking. Relaxation training Related to meditation, it also includes education about stress and tension and how to achieve muscle relaxation. Fitness and friends: two great ways to stay healthy during retirement Stress relief: what you can do Dr Dossett recommends talking to loved ones or close friends, as well as visiting your doctor. Talking about problems that are stressing you can sometimes lead to a solution, but, healthwise, as Dr Dossett explains, your doctor will be able to check your blood pressure and recommend a healthy lifestyle change, particularly with diet; anti-depressants are also an option for the severely distressed. “Every one of us will see retirement differently; how we use this extra time that we suddenly have depends very much on individual circumstances.” He also states that one of the best stress relief tips is to focus on triggering exactly the opposite of the stress response – the relaxation response – through, as previously mentioned, MBSR, meditation or tai chi, yoga and deep breathing exercises. All of these will lower oxygen consumption and the heart and breathing rate, so reducing blood pressure and stress hormones, helping to maintain a much more positive outlook on life. As American actress Valerie Bertinelli so aptly said: “Happiness is a choice. You can choose to be happy. There's going to be stress in life, but it's your choice whether you let it affect you or not.” Indeed, seniors can and will face issues around loneliness, health and potential cognitive impairment, but staying optimistic is essential. By trying out these stress relief tips for seniors, you can increase your chances of a happy and healthy retirement. Enjoy it – you deserve it! ● Main image: shutterstock/rawpixel.com Written by Marilyn Coates-Lower I am a free spirit who wakes up with a smile every morning. My life has been an adventure and, although now officially retired, I continue to work as a writer and proofreader. I live in a stunning part of Brittany, France together with my horse and cat, enjoying views of the woods that surround my house and across the valley to the village. By way of my experiences, I hope to inspire people, through my writing, to become more positive, happy and forward-thinking.

In the first of a three-part series into yoga types, Sienna Saint-Cyr explores yoga for compassion. The poses she practised helped her to release both sadness and stress, and to feel a whole lot happier. Happiness, joy, bliss: these things aren't easy to find or maintain. I've worked for 15 years now at this and only recently realised that being present is the key. But there's still work to be done! Being present is only the first step of many, all of which include being present inside the body too. Not just mentally and emotionally in the moment, but physically as well. Yoga for compassion can help you achieve that. Therapy, openness, and great friends indeed help me maintain joy with my mental and emotional states, but my body is more complicated. I’m still getting used to being present in it and learning to listen when my body needs something is hard. Since I know yoga works well for this, I wanted to explore specific yoga practices like trauma sensitive yoga, designed to bring joy, happiness, compassion, and gratitude. This article marks the first of a three-part series involving yoga for finding happiness (and maintaining it). Rather than do each practice just once, I’m repeating them during different parts of the day and when I'm in varying moods. Compassion yoga The first practice I tried was called 'Compassion Yoga – Yoga With Adriene'. Some of her videos, including the one here below, are free to view on YouTube. This is a one-hour video surrounding yoga for compassion. Since the instructor has the practitioners set their intentions, I set mine for self-compassion. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } Release tension and trauma with compassion yoga Self-compassion isn't easy for me. But I was already feeling great, uplifted, and my heart was full of gratitude. So setting my intent for self-compassion seemed the right choice. There were two things I was going to focus on for self-compassion: Keep trying, even when it’s hard Listen to my body Listening to my body is a struggle not only because I tend to push it, but also because when I’m stressed, I carry so much tension in my neck, shoulders and back. It’s distracting, and hard to maintain staying in my place of peace when I’m full of tension. The tightening of my muscles is a clear indication that I need to release something I'm holding onto. It might be an emotional, mental, or physical strain. No matter the source, tension makes me grumpy and pulls me from being present and feeling joy. By listening to my body, this enabled me to focus on my areas of tension. Adriene also asked that we focus on compassion, the highest form of love. Then she asked that we say ‘yes’ to our practice. She wanted us to be present and aware of our movements. Observations and compassion yoga Adriene suggested exploring and to move slowly. Not to rush. What I instantly noticed was that I began paying attention to the spaces between what I thought were the important poses. It was the movements from one position to another that I started to really connect with my body as opposed to just repeating what was on the screen. I found I moved differently than Adriene. “Listening to my body during yoga for compassion enabled me to focus on my areas of tension.” She also kept repeating that she wanted those practising with her to have an experience, not just ‘do yoga’. This changed the nature of what we were doing for me. It gave me the freedom to explore my body and not worry about doing the pose exactly how Adriene did. This was helpful as I have hypermobility and shouldn't do certain poses for health reasons. Downward Dog: making progress! As we moved through the practice, I discovered that poses that historically bothered me — like Downward Dog — weren't so bad. Some of that was me taking my time getting into the pose, and the rest was settling into it. I found so much tension in my back and shoulders released through my hands and feet as I allowed myself to stay in Downward Dog. The burn moving through me was pleasant, like a phoenix burning up all the unwanted energies of my day. Compassion yoga: Warrior One pose Yoga for compassion: staying present We also did what Adriene referred to as holding a beach ball. There were several positions where we held our imaginary beach balls. Some as we sat, other as we stood tall — Mountain Pose — some while in Warrior poses, and I found that this really opened my heart and chest. I was able to breathe deeper and let go of more stress in my upper back and shoulders. One thing I noticed was that I kept smiling, even when the moves were more difficult for me. I was feeling the gratitude in my body, not just thinking it. I felt it move through me like a wave of pleasant energy and that’s what was making me smile and I couldn't stop myself if I’d tried! By the time I finished, my entire body was relaxed. I’d also learned during my practice that I had issues with my knee and hip, something I’d not been aware of before. Taking the time to hold compassion and stay present in my body made a huge difference in my result. “I left the practice full of joy and self-love. I felt euphoric, which isn't something that I've historically felt after yoga.” The second time I did the video, I wasn't in a good place. I’d dealt with some trauma and was genuinely sad. While I still felt grateful for all the goodness in my life and inside me, I was in pain, and it closed off that lovely flow of energy I’d been feeling move from my root chakra up through my crown. Boat pose: great for releasing sadness This time, I entered into the practice with an intention to release the sadness and trauma that had caused my pain. For me, releasing pain and trauma are the highest form of self-love and self-compassion. While I still moved slowly on my second go, because I needed to release emotional build-ups, I stayed in the tougher positions for longer. I kept my body active: my muscles and breathing active. One pose I found particularly helpful when releasing sadness was Boat Pose. I’m not sure why, but it seemed to keep all the parts of my core that like to hold onto trauma engaged. The longer my muscles were involved, the more I released when I left the pose. I also found Cobra pose particularly helpful during my state of sadness. Compassion yoga: Boat Pose When I'm sad and holding onto trauma, it affects my core and heart chakra. So, by opening my chest up and my entire body with Cobra, I was able to feel a lot of the negativity move out through my heart. I felt like a blast of sadness shot from my chest, and it pushed right through my open window and into the earth. After finishing a second time, I’d managed to release the negative emotions I was feeling. I couldn't explain why, though. My inner scientist wanted to understand how the sessions — which seemed to impact me more than shorter sessions I’d done — affected me so positively, even when I came into it full of sadness. Yoga: alleviating depression and sadness According to Science Daily, Boston University School of Medicine carried out a study in 2007 to find out if yoga alleviated depression and sadness. The researchers found that practising yoga may elevate brain gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) levels. GABA is a major neurotransmitter that brain cells use to communicate with each other. People with low levels of GABA often experience depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders that affect happiness. The study included testing 19 subjects. All had their GABA levels tested before their tasks. Eight were sent to do an hour of yoga and 11 sent to read for an hour. After one hour, all the subjects were tested again. Those that read for an hour had no change in their GABA levels. But those who did an hour of yoga experienced an increase in GABA levels. After more research, the team came to the conclusion that an hour of yoga may help alleviate depression and assist with happiness. The study was more comprehensive than my summary here, so I do suggest to check it out fully. Conclusion: yoga for compassion works! My research and experience explained why this compassion yoga video was so much more effective than others I’d done. Each time I came away with a feeling of being high, but still in control of my facilities! It seems that the length of this particular video weighed into my results just as much as my focus on compassion and releasing. While this video is longer than the other two in this series, it's my favourite when I have the hour to complete it. I highly recommend trying Compassion Yoga with Adriene. Be sure to check out part two, Gratitude Yoga! Namaste! ● Written by Sienna Saint-Cyr Sienna Saint-Cyr is an author, advocate, and the founder of SinCyr Publishing. She speaks at conventions, workshops, and for private gatherings on the importance of having a healthy body image, understanding enthusiastic consent, using sexuality to promote healing, navigating diverse or non-traditional relationships, having Complex PTSD, and more. Sienna loves sharing her journey of healing and finding happiness with her readers. Along with writing erotica and romance, Sienna speaks at conventions, workshops, and for private gatherings on such sex-positive topics as a healthy body image, using sexuality to promote healing, and navigating diverse or non-traditional relationships. She writes for several websites. Find out more.

After suffering years of chronic pain, Jill Satterfield healed herself and developed her own unique practice: Vajra yoga and meditation. Sienna Saint-Cyr takes a deeper look at the method and the woman behind it. Most yoga practices involve breathing and movement. Some are body-based and focus little on the mind or proper breathing and movement. My first experience with yoga was this kind: the instructors showed off, while the others in class competed to see who could get into the more difficult pose. This level of competition and showboating didn’t center me, relax me, or bring me any sort of joy. It took years for me to discover that not all yoga was like the showy gym classes I’d taken. In fact, some instructors and practitioners take their methods to new levels by making the practice unique. There are many reasons to make a practice your own. Whether it’s body limitations, personal desire, or simply following your intuition. One woman, Jill Satterfield, created a method called Vajra Yoga & Meditation. In Vajra, she combines mindfulness, meditation, compassion, Buddhist philosophy, psychology, and yoga asana (pose/position of the body). Jill Satterfield: walking a different path Jill Satterfield's journey of discovering her own process began when she was fairly young, around the age of 19. She’d been diagnosed with chronic pain, and for years, doctors were unable to find the cause. She endured multiple surgeries and eventually, a doctor found the problem. Surgery repaired some of the issue — see the interview with Jennifer Raye — but it didn’t get rid of her pain. Later, Jill was told she’d have to live with the pain or take very risky steps to deaden her nerves. Jill had already explored movement and meditation and wasn’t going to take this bad news lying down. So, she decided to work with her mind, since that’s where the pain was being registered. After a few years of meditation and specific yoga practices, she managed to heal parts of herself that the doctors claimed wasn’t possible. This led her down the path of 35 years of what she coins “integrative healthcare”. RELATED: Healing trauma with yoga What Jill Satterfield has done – and continues to do – is combine many methods of yoga, meditation, relaxation, mindfulness, and so forth, to achieve her goals. Jill teaches internationally: she's a wellness program director, speaks and coaches, and is the founder of Vajra Yoga & Meditation and founder and Director of the School for Compassionate Action: Meditation, Yoga and Educational Support for Communities in Need. Indeed, Jill certainly knows her stuff! Shambhala Sun magazine (now Lion's Roar) named her one of the four leading yoga and Buddhist teachers in the United Kingdom. A happy and healthy life has more than one piece While there are many parts to her practice, one of Jill's methods I found helpful is called Checking In. Unlike some practices that have the practitioner focus solely on their breathing and body, during 'check in', Jill has the practitioner focus on the room as well: What temperature is it? Is there sound? What about smell? .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } Check out how to check in: Jill Satterfield's yoga © YouTube/Eckhart Yoga Jill's method broadens the space of which we can be aware of our surroundings and present in them while keeping focus inside the body as well. It’s more of a meditation to use throughout the day or right before your yoga session. Combining the meditation and physical yoga movements really assist with balancing the mind and body. “After a few years of meditation and specific yoga practices, Jill Satterfield managed to heal parts of herself that the doctors claimed wasn’t possible.” Jill Satterfield also teaches how to move from the inside out. Rather than the very body-based yoga poses I’d previously tried, Jill teaches how to set the mind and heart straight first, then go into the asanas. The difference is rather than a rigid body pose — a thing I struggle with constantly — the body is much softer. An example of this is in her Heart Opening sequence. The idea is to pull from a place of love within, then carry that into our poses. To push that feeling into our bodies and outward into our surroundings. Trying to feel peace from the actual pose has never worked for me. But beginning in the heart and moving outward into the body gives me the inner calm that leads me to feel filled with joy on a daily basis. The art of heart: Jill's Heart Opening seqeuence © YouTube/Eckhart Yoga Mindfulness practices for yoga and every day Adding in the Buddhist beliefs takes this practice to a place of even higher intent as it involves a lot more mindfulness than typical yoga. Buddhism is a way of living. Not just a belief, but daily actions. Being mindful means being aware of thoughts and actions. Buddha Net has a Five Minute Introduction to Buddhism where they explain some of the basic principles. Again, much of this is about mindfulness. RELATED: Do mindfulness apps work? To fully understand how all of these things work together and make Jill Satterfield’s practice so effective, I did some research on how mindfulness itself helps us achieve happiness. In 2012 Berkeley Science Review did a study on mindfulness and published the results. Once completed, researchers found what connects mindfulness with happiness. In their studies, they discuss something called the 'self-discrepancy gap'. What this gap is, is the space between our actual self and our ideal self. It's in this gap that we fill ourselves with self-judgment. These two views of self tend to contradict one another, thus creating negative emotions because our natural drive is to close the gap between these two selves: we want to be this but we’re really that. After an eight-week mindfulness-based, cognitive therapy (for depression relapse prevention) session, those that completed the mindfulness therapy had fewer discrepancies between their actual self and ideal self. In essence, the gap became smaller. “Being mindful – which includes being present in the mind and body – directly leads to happiness. It shatters this internal conflict of these two aspects of ourselves.” While the review goes into several reasons as to why this happened, it's clear that mindfulness helps us to be present. When we’re present, we’re focused on the here and now. This isn’t to say we can’t have goals, but the practice helps us honor who we are in the moment. It helps us to see that the gap between who we are and who we want to be isn’t as big as we thought. RELATED: Happiness is a journey, not a destination Being mindful — which includes being present in the mind and body — directly leads to happiness. It shatters this internal conflict of these two aspects of ourselves. How your body can teach you to be mindful The Berkeley Science Review brings me back to what Jill Satterfield shared in her interview with Jennifer. Jill knew that she needed to listen to her body and mind. That she needed to honor what her body was telling her it needed. She understood that the true healing would happen in her mind and carry out into her body. If you haven’t tried this type of yoga practice, or if, like me, you were stuck in classes of people showing off, I can’t recommend Jill Satterfield’s practice enough. She is supportive of people making their practices their own. She coaches as needed because she understands that we know what our bodies need. The more present we are in our bodies, the faster we can go about healing ourselves. Jill Satterfield serves as an example of what we can achieve when we honour our needs and use integrative therapy to heal. ● Main photo: Colorbox.com Portrait of Jill Satterfield: vajrayoga.com Written by Sienna Saint-Cyr Sienna Saint-Cyr is an author, advocate, and the founder of SinCyr Publishing. She speaks at conventions, workshops, and for private gatherings on the importance of having a healthy body image, understanding enthusiastic consent, using sexuality to promote healing, navigating diverse or non-traditional relationships, having Complex PTSD, and more. Sienna loves sharing her journey of healing and finding happiness with her readers. Along with writing erotica and romance, Sienna speaks at conventions, workshops, and for private gatherings on such sex-positive topics as a healthy body image, using sexuality to promote healing, and navigating diverse or non-traditional relationships. She writes for several websites. Find out more.

Looking to develop or improve your mindfulness practice? Tine Steiss reviews Mindfulness Daily, an app that aims to do just that. In Mindfulness Daily, Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach are presenting a 40-day introduction for mindfulness and meditation. You can access the daily lessons via an app or online. Mindfulness Daily app: what is it? The lessons are usually around 10 minutes long and are either taught by Jack or Tara. An explanation about today's subject is followed by a guided meditation to dig deeper into the subject. It's wrapped up with a daily practice to try throughout the day. Finding some space to incorporate your Mindfulness Daily practice during the start of your day could be a great idea. RELATED: Morning meditation – the secret to a great day Once you've completed a lesson you can access the following one the next day. This creates a nice pace and means that you can't rush through the course. You're given the time to explore each lesson throughout your day and you can always revisit the lessons you've already completed. These lessons are currently divided into four main topics: Mindfulness Basics Emotional Intelligence Resilience, Healing and Inner Freedom Mindful Living With the latest update of the Mindfulness Daily app, each lesson also has a name. This makes it much easier to revisit your most influential lessons when you feel like you need them. With this, you can tailor your sittings to your daily needs once you've finished the course by starting out with a subject you'd like to focus on. Which means the app keeps being your little helper, even after having finished the course. “Once you've completed a lesson on Mindfulness Daily you can access the following one the next day. This creates a nice pace and you can't rush through the course.” The course has a great structure that guides you through all the relevant areas of mindfulness without being boring or too demanding. It's suitable for beginners as a first introduction to mindfulness, but if you're more experienced you will still find this course helpful and structured and are likely to discover new aspects of mindfulness for yourself. Get 'appy: Mindfulness Daily offers 40 lessons Going through 40 aspects in 40 lessons you'll most likely encounter some that seem to be an easy ride and some that touch you on a deeper level. So, this is also a great way to explore where to focus on more in your future practice. Pricing and benefits Mindfulness Daily is distributed by Sounds True, an independent multimedia publishing company focusing on spiritual traditions, arts and humanities. I paid $38 for the app, so each lesson came down to less than $1. If you download Mindfulness Daily you also get access to other free Sounds True content. Even its regular newsletters come with free content, so the marketing is actually a win-win deal; they remind you to spend your money with them and give you something nice for free. Fair enough if you ask me. [UPDATE] Mindfulness daily is now available for free! RELATED: The 5 best happiness apps to improve well-being The Sounds True library app is a similar deal. It provides you with easy access to meditations, music, Mindfulness Daily and whatever else you may buy there in the future. It also tracks the time you've been meditating with the app, offers a meditation timer with different bells, and a journal for your experiences. This keeps me from not deleting the app from my phone and even using it on a daily basis. Mindfulness Daily: my personal experience Due to the briefness of each lesson, it's easily incorporated into your morning routine. At least for me, it was easy to sit down for ten minutes each morning and I didn't skip or postpone a single day. Most of the time I'd even revisit a lesson in the evening again to wrap up my day. “The Mindfulness Daily app course has a great structure that guides you through all the relevant areas of mindfulness without being boring or too demanding.” I started with meditation many years ago, but it wasn't until about two years ago that I developed my personal daily routine. Having a structured program is very helpful for me to keep up a daily practice. Even better if it helps me revisit and expand my knowledge and practice. So, the structured daily lessons were really up my alley to start with. I also realized how I got a bit slack after the course had finished. But I started using single lessons matching my needs that day as an intro to my daily practice. High praise: daily meditation using Mindfulness Daily works Furthermore, I admit to being a bit of a Tara Brach fangirl. She has a lot of free content out there that I listen to regularly. Normally it's harder for me to concentrate on a subject if I'm just listening and I prefer reading about it. In her case, it's the other way around. I had some troubles reading her book True Refugee. On the other hand, listening to her talks is a great experience, as the way she explains things really resonates with me. So, that's one of the main reasons I chose this course. If you're unsure about whether or not you like Tara Brach's or Jack Kornfield's style, just check out the free content they provide. Some of it you can also get for free on Sounds True. ● Main photo: colourbox.com Written by Tine Steiss Tine is part of the happiness.com team. She's an artist, meditator, media engineer and MBSR teacher. If she's not traveling she's working on turning her rooftop terrace into a garden paradise. Find out more about her on Instagram.

October may mark the mid-point between summer and winter, but it remains a good one from the point of view of positive news. This October saw many new stories that were full of hope and happiness: here's Ed Gould's round-up of the ten best... 1. Boost your happiness with a short review of your day The BBC reported in October that a simple exercise to appraise your day can improve your happiness and well being. Its report focused on Sandi Mann, a lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire, who suggested that the habit offers a straightforward psychological boost when completed regularly. She suggests conducting a review of your day in which six questions, including what experiences gave you pleasure, are asked. By focusing on your answers you can gradually shift your mindset, no matter how bleak, to a happier one. 2. New hope for fossil fuel free energy A fuel that's packed with energy just like coal would make a huge difference to electrical energy production – if it didn't release so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and add to global climate change. Incredibly, exactly this could be on the horizon thanks to Spanish company Ingelia. The Valencia-based company has developed an industrial process called hydrothermal carbonisation. Essentially, this means it can make biocarbon named 'biochar', which can be burned with zero emissions. What's more, there should be a plentiful supply of biochar's raw material: it's made from nothing more than sewage, meaning we can all contribute! 3. Toy giant to harness to power of mindfulness You might not put Lego and mindfulness in the same headspace but that may change according to reports in The Daily Telegraph. The Denmark-based toy brand has decided to use a new marketing ploy in which its simple bricks are used to help achieve a sense of inner calm. A spokesperson for the company said that the idea was to highlight the benefits of mindfulness through Lego, since playing with it offered a “challenge that's at once relaxing and creatively stimulating.” The campaign is primarily aimed at young adults rather than Lego's core audience of children: perhaps it's time to break that tub of bricks open! Building blocks of happiness? Lego could help... 4. The era of single-use plastic is coming to an end In more positive news for the environment, the European Union has taken steps to ban the use of plastics which are designed for single use only. Many media outlets reported that MEPs had voted to ban things like plastic cotton buds, knives and forks, drink stirrers and straws. Many such plastic products end up in the ocean and enter the food chain when eaten by fish (which are subsequently caught and consumed by humans). The move is expected to take effect from 2021. 5. French city leads the way in public transport revolution During October, The Guardian reported how the citizens of the coastal city of Dunkirk were taking up public transport in ever greater numbers. Not surprising given that the city's authorities decided to offer all bus services to its community for free. What's newsworthy is the fact that buses have since become places of social interaction, meeting points and even places to get work done: Dunkirk's buses offer complimentary Wi-Fi. Research suggests that as bus use rises, so fewer cars head into the city, freeing it up and generating cleaner air for all: a win-win situation. 6. Could mushrooms treat depression? In America, where the use of substances is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), permission has been granted into a scientific study into the effects of psilocybin mushrooms. Long known for their psychedelic effect, these fungi may unlock some clues as to how to treat mental health disorders like depression. It took some time for the FDA to come to its final decision, but the path now appears to be clear for researchers to progress with their studies. Mushroom for improvement: fungi could treat depression 7. Cannabis may hold the key to treating Crohn's disease Medical News Today reported a story that should bring some happiness to those with Crohn's disease. A debilitating condition that impacts negatively on the digestion system, people living with Crohn's may soon be able to make use of the properties of cannabis to lessen the severity of symptoms. The medical uses of cannabis are well known, but this Israeli-led research indicates that the drug may soon be widely used to help treat pain caused by the condition. Project lead Timna Naftali, a gastroenterology specialist at Tel Aviv University's Meir Hospital, said it's yet to be determined how a treatment might work but its effects are already there to be seen. 8. Solar farm created on former disaster site Chernobyl may forever be linked with the worrying outcome of a fully-blown nuclear power plant disaster, but it's making power once more. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the old power plant – which was thought to be completely unusable following its meltdown – has now been converted into a solar energy farm. It still may be too radioactive to live there, but workers can safely set up solar panels which create green electricity. So far, the Ukraine has installed in excess of 3,700 solar panels at the site. 9. UN recognizes Indian state's farming achievement Affording new hope to anyone who believes in the future of an agricultural sector which does not rely on pesticides and antibiotics, the Indian state of Sikkim has officially become 100 per cent organic. Over 60,000 farms have adopted the practice, which, according to Reuters, has boosted tourism in the state, as well as setting an example of what can be achieved with a collective effort. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN recognized the achievement by awarding Sikkim with its most prestigious prize. Congratulations! Indian farmer with eggplants © Hari Mahidhar/shutterstock.com 10. Police beat stress with mindfulness techniques Few jobs can be as stressful as working for the police. In response to the needs of officers, the United Kingdom's College of Policing has developed a 'Mindfit Cop' programme to teach officers how to use methods derived from Buddhist meditation to help face up to their work difficulties and anxieties. The eight-week course has already been taken up by officers from South Wales, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Somerset and Avon. It's hoped the course will see fewer cases of burnout within the service, so that officer retention rates are improved. ● Do you think Lego could help you be more mindful? Have you ever tried an end-of-day appraisal? Share your thoughts on October's positive news stories with the community below... Written by Ed Gould Ed Gould is a UK-based journalist and freelance writer. He's also a practitioner of Reiki.