4 Natural Ways to Improve Your Mood

Psychologists know that what we think has a strong correlation to how we feel. And holistic health practitioners believe that mood is also influenced by what we eat, how we breathe, how we move, and the kind of company we keep.

In other words, we have considerable control over the conditions that help or harm our emotional state. This matters. Why? Because according to the World Health Organization , depression is one of the leading causes of chronic illness, and the most common cause of disability worldwide, impacting more than 264 million people.

Mental health experts will tell you that major depression should be monitored and treated by a physician. But if you’re struggling with mild to moderate depressive feelings, your symptoms can often be eased, or even alleviated, with some modifications to your lifestyle.

One of the causes we support at Sahoja is peace and well-being, so we spoke to Blair Lewis-a holistic health practitioner who is the founder of Alive and Healthy Institute and the author of five books, including The Happiness Revolution. Here are 4 strategies he recommends to improve your mood and help prevent the blues from taking hold of you.

1. Quiet Your Mind With Breath Meditation

“The mind can either have a conversation or feel a sensation, but it can’t do both at once,” Lewis says.

When negative or worried thoughts take over, we can redirect our attention by engaging our senses, he explains. This can be done through taste, touch, hearing, sight, or scent.

But the impulse to distract the mind through sensation can also lead to excess, he warns. Think overeating, engaging in adrenaline-pumping risk-taking behaviors, or trying to numb out by taking drugs or alcohol.

There’s a safer way to quiet the mind: by using the breath. With breath meditation you simply rest your attention on the sensation of air as it passes in and out through your nostrils-cool on the inhalation and warm on the exhalation.

“By just following the breath, within a few moments, the conversation in our mind comes to a much quieter level and even eventually can stop completely,” Lewis says.

Try this:

Exhale all the air through your mouth, and then lightly close your lips. Take a slow, full breath in through your nose, paying attention to the sensation of cool air entering your nostrils. When ready, exhale through your nose, and notice the warmth of the air passing out of your body. Continue doing this, noticing the cool air at the nostrils as you inhale, and the warm air at your nostrils as you exhale, for a few minutes.

2. Eat Your Way Happy

Food is medicine, and whole, fresh organic foods are the holistic health equivalent of a multivitamin for your body and your mind.

The opposite is also true. “When our diet is comprised mostly of foods that are not fresh, not full of life, [from an Ayurvedic perspective,] these foods can provoke a sense of mental dullness, hopelessness, and despair,” Lewis says.

For low or depressed mood states, Lewis recommends a diet that’s rich in fresh leafy greens, whole grains, and cow’s milk (for those who include dairy in their diets).

These foods support strong digestion and stable blood-sugar levels, and also contain vitamins and minerals that are essential for healthy brain and nerve function. They may also help boost the production of the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine, which impact our mood.

3. Choose Your Friends Wisely

Research shows that having friends is one of the greatest predictors of well-being throughout our lives. But when it comes to supporting a healthy mind state, who your friends are may be even more important.

“If we hang around people who are constantly expressing their hopelessness and sense of despair about their life and the world, the diet of what we take in cognitively [reflects that],” says Lewis.

Seek out people who inspire and uplift you, he recommends, and build community with those who “inspire and empower you to face daily challenges in a hopeful and skillful way.”

4. Move Your Emotions

The role of exercise in managing depressive symptoms is well studied. In fact, it’s been shown to spur the release of endorphins, and also to cause nerve cells in the hippocampus to grow and make new connections.

Exercise can also help “move” low or stuck feelings.

“The root word of ‘emotion’ is motion,” says Lewis, “and the more motions you make, the more emotions you can experience. If a person’s emotional experience is limited to 2 or 3 feelings, such as sad and despairing, then they’re not making enough ‘motions’ with their mind.

“We all feel sad from time to time, but we should also feel connected, safe, empowered, curious, creative and comfortable.”

Now, that sounds like a recipe for a happy life, doesn’t it?

Originally published at https://blog.sahoja.co.