Various elements contribute towards happiness. It can be money, cars, clothes, jewelry, passion, purpose, meaning, or positive emotion. Each individual will have a different sense or element which can make him/her happy. In my opinion, the three elements or TRIPODS of HAPPINESS are –
- Breath
- Sleep
- Mind
Why these three elements?
1. Breath – did you know according to the ‘Origin of Happiness’ report eliminating mental health issues such as depression, stress and anxiety will increase happiness by 20%, whereas eliminating poverty increases satisfaction by only 5%. It means eliminating mental health is four times more effective for happiness than money. I think this says it all. My next posts will cover how Breathwork can help release all the negative emotions.
2. Sleep – everyone knows the importance of sleep and how we are restless, groggy, and angry without our beauty sleep. But did you know sleep or lack of it is linked to – Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Weight Gain, an increased risk of Stroke, and Diabetes. A total scary body effect!
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- Sleep deprivation affects the cortical and the subcortical regions of the brain, which affects the amygdala (emotional center) of the brain, which leads to poor mental health. Individuals suffering from sleep disorders have very high chances of depression and anxiety disorder.
- Drowsiness – your brain does have enough time to rejuvenate in the night, leaving you tired throughout the day.
- Deterioration of grey matter – poor sleep quality leads to losing brain tissues.
- Fatigue – one of the biggest causes of car crashes, as it leads to lack of focus, poor response time, and at times nodding off at the wheel.
- Family and work get affected – you become one grouch potato snapping at the smallest of the reasons, which affects your family and work.
- Decrease in Libido – sleep deprivation affects both gender’s libido.
3. Mind– Yoga should become like your life’s mantra. Exercising increases all the happy chemicals like endorphins, adrenaline, endocannabinoid, and others in your brains. All these chemicals are associated with feeling happy, confident, and capable, stress, and anxiety-free. A fit body staring back every day from the mirror will boost your confidence. Fitness with the help of Yoga is the way to start. Yoga increases flexibility, is energy-efficient, focuses on developing muscles evenly over the bone surface, and focuses on body relaxation. Yoga helps boost your muscle system, respiratory system, immune system, your heart and reduces stress levels.
Mind Yoga is beyond exercises (asanas); it involves clearing all mental modifications and fluctuations by following eight-fold path of Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga.
The list of advantages can go on. But I think by now you have got the gist of the importance of the above TRIPOD – the core three elements that give you happiness. Make sure you balance out the above three aspects in your life for a Happy life!
