Achieving more happiness through gratitude is a well-documented concept these days. But that doesn’t make it any less worthy of an experiment. In fact, what an improvement to the world it would be if we all experimented with more gratitude in our daily routine. That is what this Axis Yoga Teacher Training student did for […]
Observation: I have a tendency to rush, taking moments, meals and other aspects of my days for granted, which leaves me feeling stressed, impatient and out of balance. Hypothesis: Beginning my day with a gratitude practice and weaving gratitude into my daily routine (with mindful eating and a bedtime gratitude practice), would help me slow […]
I. Begin each day with the following prayer (from my spiritual tradition) by the Dalai Lama: Every day, think as you wake up: Today I am fortunate to have woken up. I am alive. I have a precious human life. I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energy to […]
Daily routine, gratitude, and deliberate (i.e. mindful) eating are all prescribed in Ayurveda for helping create or restore balance. It felt important to me, in designing my experiment, to start at the very beginning of my daily routine and thread the experiment throughout my day, while keeping it simple and avoiding adding too much to […]
I feel that my experiment was successful in slowing me down in general and in increasing my awareness—one, of things I appreciate and two, of how I cultivate doshic imbalance. I plan to continue with the morning and evening gratitude practices and with cultivating awareness of the ingredients and sources of my food, while allowing […]
With a flurry of media messages promoting “exclusive offers” and the next “hot item”, it can be hard to believe that we already have all we need to feel peaceful, content and balanced. But we do. And our breath is our greatest tool for achieving that life. The following paper, written by an Axis Yoga […]
The Ayurveda experiment that I propose entails practicing diaphragmatic breathing, or belly breathing, regularly in the morning, prior to sleep and at times of stress or anxiety. I feel anxious and overwhelmed much of the time and I would like to feel more peaceful and serene. After taking the Dosha quiz, found in The Complete […]
To start my day in a peaceful and grounding manner, I begin by reflecting on my intention for the day and consider what I would like to accomplish, what I have accomplished so far and what still needs to be accomplished. This helps to order my thoughts and to provide a plan of action for […]
Recently, a very stressful situation presented itself where I had the opportunity to test whether belly breathing would help to calm me in an extremely stressful situation. I work for an international company and our team is spread out throughout the United States and abroad, with many of us working remotely. Most of our meetings […]
Since beginning a regular practice of belly breathing, I feel less anxious and much calmer. In a stressful situation, when I start to feel the gripping feelings of anxiety, I find that stopping and taking a few minutes for belly breathing allows me to temporarily remove myself from a troubling situation and clear my mind […]