Photo: Chloe Crespi/Courtesy of Gabrielle Bernstein. In the midst of busy schedules and managing to-do lists, happiness can become an afterthought and a bad mood can come on quickly. Maybe you didn’t get enough sleep, or maybe your boss is pissing you off. Whatever the case may be, it’s important to know that there's a way out. You have the power to shift your focus and reorganize your energy to change your mood in any given moment. Follow these three steps from my new book, Miracles Now and empower yourself with tools to change your mood quickly.
Step One: Don’t try to change the world around you. Just change the way you see it.
All of the experiences that you have are a direct reflection of your internal beliefs. When you clean up those beliefs, you clean up your life. Take an inventory of the ways that you project negativity into your life: Maybe you spend hours daily complaining about your boss. or, maybe you constantly obsess over your weight. Whatever you focus on grows, so it’s time to shift your focus. Choose one area of your life where you’re the most unhappy. Then, for the next 40 days, commit to focus on the good stuff. Change your thoughts, words, and actions. Be diligent about this practice and you’ll quickly begin to experience miraculous shifts in this area of your life!
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Photo: Chloe Crespi/Courtesy of Gabrielle Bernstein. Step Two: Snap out of it!
To begin your commitment to new perceptions, start by paying attention to attack thoughts toward yourself and others. These negative thoughts are particularly dangerous because they can be so subtle and insidious that we might not even realize how much they’ve taken over our minds and stressed us out. But, as fiendish as they are, they’re surprisingly easy to let go of. All it takes is an ordinary rubber band. Follow this great tool from Miracles Now and get into the practice of shifting your thoughts.
This is a simple exercise for shifting your thoughts back to peace. Wear a rubber band on your wrist. Each time you notice a stressful thought arise promptly flick the rubber band gently against your arm — the purpose is to make you more aware of your behavior, not to actually hurt yourself. Does this seem jarring? Good! It’s exactly what you need to literally snap yourself out of your unconscious stressful thought.
Once you’ve snapped out of the negative cycle, it’s time to clean up the thoughts. Upon snapping the rubber band take a long deep breath and change the thought to, “I choose to release fear now. I choose peace instead.”
This tool will help you become more aware of how your thoughts stress you out and get you into the habit of choosing a new perspective. The more you retrain yourself to choose happiness over fear, the more blissful you will be.
Step Three: Turn your mood upside down.
One of the best ways to get your happy on is with a simple inversion. Turn your negativity upside down with an inversion for one minute (or more) a day. Practice an inversion for one minute or more and you will receive great benefits. Click through for my favorite pose.
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Photo: Chloe Crespi/Courtesy of Gabrielle Bernstein. Plow Pose: Move into a shoulder stand. Lie on your back, and press your legs straight up overhead. Exhale and bend from the hip joints to slowly lower your toes to the floor behind your head. Keep your torso perpendicular to the floor and your legs fully extended. Lightly drop your toes to the floor and lift your thighs and tailbone toward the ceiling. Draw your chin away from the sternum and soften your throat.
To enhance the posture, you can press your hands against the back torso and press your back up toward the ceiling. You can use your hands for support or you can release them away from your back and stretch the arms out behind you on the floor.
To exit the pose, drop your hands onto your back again and raise your legs into a shoulder stand and exhale your way down to the ground.
This simple practice can turn your bad mood, stress or foggy mind upside down and recharge your energy. Most importantly, inversions will lift your spirit and relieve depression. When you increase your circulation and send oxygen to the brain, you release neurotransmitters and endorphins while balancing your hormones. This will make you happier!
Step Four: Change Your Breath Pattern
The moment you change your breath pattern you change your energy, thereby changing your experience. Whenever you notice yourself about to relapse into your negative behavior, take a long, deep breath. As you change your breath you change your energy. Your calm and centered energy will support you in positive behavior and stop you from indulging in your bad habits.
Whenever you notice your mood’s gotten the best of you, practice one of these tools and find your way out. You have have far more power than you think you do. Take your happiness into your own hands and start consciously changing your mood today.
Click here to order's Gabby's newest book, Miracles Now.
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