Really Real Joy All Year 'Round

“The purpose of life is to be happy.” – The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso The Art of Happiness 

“. . . positive emotions are not about suppressing or covering pain, anxiety, or outrage on behalf of others. Positive feelings can be present in the mind alongside negative ones. In fact, they help us cope with the hard things and hard feelings of life and fuel us to keep on going for the sake of others.” – Rick Hanson, Ph.D.

Joy is our birthright

Joy is the buoyancy or exhilaration that comes from well-being or a state of satisfaction. According to Awakening Joy authors James Baraz and Shoshana Alexander, joy is an inherent, innate capacity inside all of us. “As innocent babies we come into this world with a natural joy, and we can discover it again.”

If the words joy and happiness don't resonate with you, think of other words that are meaningful. There's contentment, delight, ease, bliss, blessedness, gladness, delight, or even “warm fuzzies.”

Joy has two aspects: passive and active. Passive joy is peacefulness and contentment with things just as they are. Active joy means sharing uplifted feelings with others. ‘Both passive and active joy are associated with increased energy and feelings of confidence and self-esteem.’ – American Psychological Association

“Joy is a general feeling of aliveness and well-being that is characterized by meeting the ups and downs of life with authenticity and purpose . . . As we awaken to all that is good in ourselves and in others around us, we are reminded of how much we love life and care about this planet. Cultivating our goodness, aliveness, and joy not only feels good, it also helps us express our love more and awaken it in others. Our own joy becomes a gift to everyone we meet.” – James Baraz and Shoshana Alexander

Joy has a place in yoga philosophy and practice

In yoga philosophy, joy (ananda in Sanskrit) is intrinsic in each of us. Yoga practice helps us to access our resident joy, so that we can experience it fully. Because yoga philosophy and practice involve exploration of values, meaning, and purpose -- and experiences like connection to others and the universe -- yoga can have profound effects on our happiness and overall health.

Yoga Nidra practitioners tap into what's known as the “bliss body” layer of our consciousness. Touching this layer of consciousness, yogis discover the “instinctive sense that life is worth living, that to be alive is good.” (Yoga Journal) Additionally, “welcoming our whole experience, everything in our lives feels seen and heard. All the layers of consciousness, the body, the breath, feelings and emotions, beliefs, all have been felt and experienced [during the yoga session and beyond]. When we fully welcome our human experience, bliss starts to naturally arise.” - Avani Yoga Academy

“Joy is our natural state of being when we are connected and present. When we are fully present and connected to a moment [with mindfulness and suspension of judgement], there is a natural joy that arises, even if that experience is a painful one . . . Joy can arise from allowing ourselves to really experience the entirety of a moment, be it a positive or challenging moment. We suffer when we disconnect. We find harmony when we connect completely.” – Avani Yoga Academy You can cultivate joy Everyone has their own emotional “set point” which is your personal default setting for joy and sorrow and everything else you may feel. However, if you'd like to invite more joy into your life, there are things you can do! Read about steps you can take to practice joy, and increase your experience of contentment, delight, ease, bliss, blessedness, gladness, delight, or even “warm fuzzies.” Find my article, “Try It! Practices to Help Cultivate Joy” when you click on the button below.

Click for Practices to Help Cultivate Joy

Sources:

"How to Embrace Joy," by Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Psychology Today, March 2023

Awakening Joy, by James Baraz and Shoshana Alexander, Paralax Press, 2012

Definition of joy, American Psychological Association Dictionary of Psychology

"Discovering Uncaused Joy," Avani Yoga Academy website

"Get to Know the 5 Koshas—And Learn More About Yourself," by Sally Kempton, Yoga International, April 2022