Living in Harmony with Yoga's Philosophical Guidelines

Living in Harmony with Yoga's Philosophical Guidelines

Get a Grip on the 6th Key to Bliss: Your Lifestyle

Wanna know what's the 6th key to joy? It's all about crafting a bang-up lifestyle, mate! These six keys are your must-have ingredients for a life filled with happiness.

So, you're thinking about sussing out if you're truly content? No worries, you don't need fancy tech or a Himalayan adventure to figure it all out. All you need is a pen, some paper, and this guide.

In this instalment of the 6 Pillars of Bliss journey, we're going to check out your lifestyle and its influence on your happiness. By diving deep into your daily habits, actions, and choices, we'll uncover the recipe for your perfect lifestyle using the proven principles of yoga philosophy.

What’s the Lowdown on the 6th Pillar of Bliss?

In our 6 Pillars of Bliss series, we've explored five elements that make a life brimming with happiness and well-being.

Here they are:

1. Happiness 101 - Health
2. Career Shot: Aim for Success
3. Relatabilities - Building Bridges
4. Unwind – Leisure Time
5. Connect – Spirituality

The sixth and last pillar is lifestyle. It encompasses everything from where you reside, what you eat, and how you snooze to how often you work out.

Tip - Zzz-inducing Yoga Poses for Better Sleep*

Whether it's religion, culture, or yoga philosophy steering your lifestyle, there's one thing for sure: discovering how to live a life balanced and happy is the key to scoring lasting joy.

What’s the Big Deal About Lifestyle and Joy?

The lifestyle pillar is all about synchronizing the five other pillars: health, career, relationships, leisure, and spirituality. The choices you make in each pillar merge to create your lifestyle, which in turn shapes your life vision and leads you to bliss.

In my own experience, I learned about cultivating a vision from my teacher. I started examining my choices, using this tool to dream up my ideal life, such as wanting to be able to speak confidently in front of a crowd without shivering with fear. As I developed a vision of myself, I started making tiny adjustments to make this vision a reality. I realized that imagining your ideal life can, indeed, work!

My teacher gave me a home assignment: whenever I had the chance, chat with an older person, whether I was on the bus or train. If I managed to score a seat next to them, I'd ask them a heartfelt question: "What's the most significant lesson you've learned in your life?"

I hope this inspires you to kickstart your life vision quest!

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How to Get Your Lifestyle in Check

Our diet, career, exercise regime, spirituality, and relationships make up our lifestyle. So, our goal for the sixth pillar isn't to fashion a brand-new lifestyle from scratch but to find harmony among the five pillars of happiness, ensuring they play nicely together to make your life vision come to life.

First, contemplate: "What does my dream day look like?"

This question may seem simple, but the answer will lay the foundation of your life vision. You might see numerous possibilities for yourself. Remember that your life vision is all about striking a balance. If we go overboard on our desires, we'll struggle to achieve balance.

Here are seven steps to creating a harmonious and cheerful lifestyle, along with questions to help you personalize this blueprint for your unique journey.

1. Give the Death-Bed Exercise a Whirl

This is an easy exercise to grasp your priorities. Imagine you're in the latter moments of your life. Maybe it's in a hospital bed or surrounded by loved ones at home. Write down a few sentences about the things that truly matter to you. In doing so, you'll see what you need to focus on daily.

Questions to think about:

• Have I lived a fulfilling life?
• What has contributed to that fulfillment?
• If I depart this world, what would make me feel content?

2. Design Healthy Habits

To score genuine joy, our health must meet our expectations. When assessing what impacts our health and how it shapes our lifestyle, it's important to consider all three bodies: physical, energy, and spiritual. Yoga philosophy suggests different practices to balance each body. For the physical body, we practice asanas and Ayurveda. Pranayama, Pratyahara, and Dharana balance the energy body, and Vivek, Vairagya, and meditation target the spiritual body.

Creating a healthy lifestyle could also be as simple as exercising for an hour a day and eating a balanced diet that suits your doshas. Be reasonable about your aspirations, and keep in mind that you can revise your ambitions over time.

Questions to ponder:

• What does health symbolize for me?
• What routines will help me reach this level of health?
• How much of my day can I realistically dedicate to these routines?

3. Design Your Career Path

Our productive time fuels our lifestyle, providing meaning and purpose for each day. Consequently, our career is a vital brick in creating a satisfied and content life. When choosing a career path, ensure it spurs you to expand, grow, and evolve.

Questions to ponder:

• Does my career jibe with my other responsibilities?
• Does my job support my lifestyle?
• What are the minimum expectations for career satisfaction?
• What impact do I want to make in my field?

4. Foster Meaningful Relationships

Relationships play a significant part in our human experience and play a crucial role in building a content and gratifying life. Yoga philosophy teaches us that relationships are not happening at random but due to karmic bonds. Thus, every relationship we engage in is, in fact, a duty or dharma. Your first duty is to foster healthy relationships that enhance your life.

Questions to ponder:

• What do relationships signify for me?
• Who are the most influential people in my life?
• What role do I play in these relationships?
• What does an ideal relationship look like to me?

5. Choose Rewarding Leisure Activities

A harmonious blend of leisure activities that support our spiritual growth will bring us more tranquillity. Of course, it's essential to include fun leisure activities in our routine, but choose wisely. Leisure activities should be relished in moderation while also positive, rejuvenating, and non-violent.

Questions to ponder:

• What does leisure look like to me?
• What activities do I get a kick out of?
• Do these activities benefit me and the other pillars of my life?

6. Integrate Spiritual Practices into Your Life

Spiritual practices support our personal growth in numerous ways. They can provide a path to self-discovery and realization. These practices will differ for everyone. When adding spirituality to your life, make sure the practices you embrace harmonize with your core beliefs and your other pillars.

Questions to ponder:

• What does spirituality signify for me?
• How do I want to engage in spirituality?
• What practices help me connect to myself?

7. Evaluate and Balance All Five Pillars

Consider your answers and assess if your health, career, relationships, leisure, and spirituality fit in with your lifestyle. For example, does your career pillar vision align with your relationship pillar vision? If your career vision is unrealistic and you put too much pressure on yourself too quickly, the other pillars will crumble.

Questions to ponder:

• What is my lifestyle?
• How does each of these pillars fit into my day-to-day life?
• How many hours a day should I dedicate to each pillar?

If you require more guidance in creating a life vision, join Arhanta's online Happiness Course. This 6-hour guided course delves deep into each of these 6 pillars, teaching you how to design a balanced and content life using simple yogic strategies.

Wrap-up

Create Awesome Aim to fashion a lifestyle that paves the way to a blissful life day after day. Keep on tweaking your vision, that's perfectly fine and typical. The secret is that you must put these pillars into practice daily, and remember that finding the right balance takes time, trial, and error.

As time goes by, you'll see what really matters to you, and unproductive habits will slowly disappear. Once you create your vision, set your sights on it and put in the hard work. Your lifestyle will shift, and you'll find happiness and balance in all parts of your life.

1. In the process of creating a life filled with joy and wellness, the principles of yoga philosophy can guide us in understanding the significance of our lifestyle choices, particularly in terms of health, science, and spirituality.
2. As we refine our life vision, we can consider incorporating various practices from diverse disciplines such as yoga, science, and even our personal relationships, ensuring that every aspect of our lifestyle contributes positively to our overall happiness and well-being.

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