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Know Your Kids’ Strengths

Lea Waters, Ph.D., the Gerry Higgins Chair in Positive Psychology at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and the president of the International Positive Psychology Association, has witnessed the powerful effects of strengths on students through her award-winning work with schools over the past decade. Lea knew that using strengths at home could be even more powerful and began applying them with her kids to help foster optimism and resilience. Her book is The Strength Switch: How the New Science of Strength-Based Parenting Can Help Your Child and Your Teen to Flourish. LIVE HAPPY: What is strength-based parenting? LEA WATERS: Strength-based parenting (SBP) is an approach that focuses first on your child’s strengths—their talents, positive qualities, what your child does well—before attending to their faults and shortcomings. Rather than putting your attention on fixing what’s wrong with your kids, it’s about switching your focus to amplify what’s right. LH: How did you come up with the strength switch and how does it work? LW: Once I trained myself what to look for, I could see strengths easily and everywhere. This was when life was calm and happy and my brain could focus. However, when I was stressed and tired or when my kids were acting out, I found it hard to see their strengths. I needed a real-time mental tool to short-circuit the negativity. I came up with the strength switch. I literally picture a switch and watch it flick inside my head to turn the spotlight off the negative and on the positive. It reminds me that to be a successful strength-based parent, I need to look at what my kids have done right before I look at what they’ve done wrong. LH:What results have you found? LW: My parenting is more intentional, coherent and consistent. My children understand they have strengths that can be used to help them navigate tough times and make the most of the good times. They can also see the strengths in others, enabling them to form strong relationships and help others shine. My research shows that when teenagers have strength-focused parents, they report better psychological outcomes, including greater life satisfaction, increased positive emotions such as joy and hope, enhanced understanding of their own strengths and decreased stress. Strengths help teens meet homework deadlines, deal with friendship issues and cope better with stress. Listen to our podcast with Lea Waters: Read more about strengths: Put Your Strengths to Work! Read more about parenting: What Great Parents Do Differently Suzann Pileggi Pawelsiholds a master's in applied positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and is a contributing editor toLiveHappy. Her first book,Happy Together: Using the Science of Positive Psychology to Build Love That Lasts,written with her husband, James Pawelski, Ph.D., comes out in January 2018.

science

New Studies Boost Yoga’s Role in Fighting Depression

Research is finally catching up with what many practitioners believed all along: Yoga helps lessen the symptoms of depression. Multiple studies backing this theory were presented at the 125th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in Washington, D.C., this week. New scientific data “Yoga has become so popular in the West, and everyone who practices knows it’s beneficial, but there hasn’t been a lot of scientific backing yet,” says Lindsey Hopkins, Ph.D., of the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center. She chaired a session on yoga and depression at the event. One of her presented studies focused on the acceptability and antidepressant benefits of Hatha yoga among 23 male veterans. They took twice-weekly yoga classes for eight weeks. Participants with higher depression scores before the study had a significant reduction in symptoms at the end. Plus, all in the group said they would recommend the program to other vets. Lindsey was also a co-author on another study with Sarah Shallit of Alliant University in San Francisco. This one followed women ages 25–45 who did twice-weekly Bikram yoga classes for eight weeks. At the end, participants had significantly reduced symptoms of depression compared with the control group. Focus on consistency over time So how much does the style of yoga you choose matter in lessening depression symptoms? Not much, according to Lindsey. Instead, focus on consistency. “What we have seen for all those studies is there’s a relationship between the number of classes and how much they improved,” she says. “The more they went, the more their symptoms improved.” Lindsey stresses that this research doesn’t suggest that yoga is a first-line treatment for treating depression. But, she says with excitement in her voice, “there is definitely enough evidence that yoga is a complementary intervention.” More promising results Other research presented at the convention agrees. Highlights of those studies include the following: Twenty-nine adults who did eight weeks of Bikram yoga had significantly reduced symptoms of depression, according to researchers Maren Nyer, Ph.D., and Maya Nauphal of Massachusetts General Hospital. The participants practiced at least twice a week. They also showed improvement in secondary measures, such as quality of life, optimism and cognitive and physical functioning. Nina Vollbehr of the Center for Integrative Psychiatry in the Netherlands explored the potential for yoga to address chronic and/or treatment-resistant depression. She studied 12 patients who had experienced depression for an average of 11 years. They participated in nine weekly yoga sessions of approximately 2.5 hours each. Scores for depression, anxiety and stress decreased during the program and continued for four months. Nina and her colleagues also studied 74 mildly depressed university students, who were asked to perform either yoga or another relaxation technique at home for eight days using an instructional video. Results taken after the treatment showed yoga and relaxation equally reduced symptoms. But, two months later, the yoga group had significantly lower scores for depression, anxiety and stress than the other group. Read more: Four Yoga Poses to Try Right Now Listen to our podcast: Yoga: Not Just for Adults Anymore With Susan Verde Mary Dunklin is a writer and editor who specializes in family, fitness and travel. She is also a registered yoga teacher and personal trainer.

science

4 Ways to Live Each Day With Intention

“I want to move through life with energy and a sense of discovery, achievement, joy and engagement.” That is my intention. My hope is that living according to it would be the antidote to the uneasy feeling I often have at the end of the day when I flop into bed, filled with self-reproach, and wonder where my time went. My intent is to be guided by purpose instead of feeling that I’m spending my time haphazardly, succumbing to whim or distraction. According to expert Mallika Chopra, creator of the website Intent.com, and psychologist Elliot Berkman, head of the Social & Affective Neuroscience Lab at the University of Oregon, setting intentions can function as a kind of internal North Star, lighting the path to greater fulfillment and life satisfaction. These are the changes I’ve made in the few weeks since setting my intention 1. I meditate (almost) daily. It has taken me years to commit to a meditation habit, but the 10 or 15 minutes I spend doing a guided meditation on the Calm app has been transformative. The turning point was a workshop I took with Zokestu Norman Fischer, a poet and Zen Buddhist priest. “When people say they don’t have time to meditate,” he said, “I ask them, how do you have time to not meditate.” With a regular mindfulness practice, he went on, you’ll have fewer accidents, you’ll lose things less frequently, your focus will improve, making decisions will become easier.” Remarkably, I’ve found all these things to be true. And when I’m feeling stressed, I summon the image I visualize during my meditation—I imagine my breath as a long string of pearls, and it helps me reconnect with that experience of stillness. Yet, as good as meditation makes me feel, I will skip it unless I keep to a schedule. So, I make sure to meditate daily at 11 a.m. with 4 p.m. as a backup. 2. I’ve stopped bingeing on the news. More than ever, I feel it’s important to stay informed. But watching news show after news show wasn’t bringing greater insight into the issues I cared about; it was only fueling a sense of outrage. And though I’m happy to have added the Washington Post to my beloved New York Times subscription, reading either one in bed was only deepening my chronic insomnia. So, I’ve made some rules: No news shows or newspapers after 9 p.m. Instead, I think about how I want to feel—inspired, amused, transported, enlightened. And I choose what I want to read, watch or listen to based on that. This has led to fewer hours with CNN and more with GLOW, the Netflix comedy about a real-life women’s wrestling league from the ’80s, the On Being with Krista Tippett podcast and Elena Ferrante’s beautiful Neapolitan novels. 3. I cook more. I’d like to lose five (or 10) pounds. But resolving to lose weight is usually both joyless and unsuccessful. So instead, I think about nourishing myself in ways that will align with my intention to feel more energized. And that helps steer me away from takeout Chinese food and into my kitchen when I cook up pots of farro and braised Swiss chard, practice poaching the perfect egg, and dig into cookbooks like Paula Wolfert’s The Food of Morocco and What to Eat for How You Feel: The New Ayurvedic Kitchen by Divya Alter. In trying new dishes, like Paula’s eggplant zaalouk or Divya’s sprouted mung salad, I also experience that sense of discovery and achievement that I’m looking for. 4. I do at least one new thing each weekend. I’ve been having all sorts of new experiences and meeting interesting people: volunteering to do kitchen prep at a food pantry, hiking a new trail, taking a class in brewing kombucha, walking the Los Angeles River in a meetup led by long-distance swimming champion Diana Nyad, attending a talk by Noah Levine, author of Dharma Punx, at the inaugural BuddhaFest in LA. Some outings have turned out to be less than inspired (the less said about the mass meditation held at a Conscious Life Expo the better), but I always feel like I’m following through on my intention to step outside my comfort zone. I’m far from living completely in line with my intentions. There are countless ways I stray from the path. But I feel encouraged rather than defeated. I have more clarity about the way in which small things—a far-too-messy desk, an unmade bed—can undermine your vision of how you want your life to unfold, and I think I’ll be able to put some new habits in place soon. To learn more about living with intention, look for Shelley Levitt's feature article "The Best of Intentions" in the October 2017 issue of Live Happy magazine. Shelley Levitt is a freelance journalist based in Los Angeles and editor at large for Live Happy. Her work has appeared in Real Simple, People, SUCCESS and more.

Self-Care

4 Ways to Stay Engaged With Lifelong Learning

Learning shouldn’t stop when you graduate from high school or get a college diploma. While it’s true that our brains go through a period of rapid growth and development during our late teens and early 20s, we continue to mature, understand the world and, hopefully, learn new skills throughout our entire lives. The more nourishment we give our brains in the form of experiences and information—whether that means taking a class in French cooking, learning origami or becoming addicted to a smart political podcast—the more it keeps us nimble and youthful. When we engage in lifelong learning, not only do we gain insight about the wider world, we also get a better understanding of ourselves. Plus, we reap other benefits, such as a sense of vitality, meaning and fulfillment. Lifelong learning doesn’t just mean going back to school to get a Ph.D. (though some people may choose to do that). Don’t know where to start? Here are four options to consider. Just follow your interests and see where they take you. 1. Listen and learn. We are living through a golden age of audio with multiple options for every listener. Podcasts have opened up a new world of listening and learning, and the best part is that they’re available anytime, anywhere. If you are new to the podcast world, it can be overwhelming; there are just so many to choose from, including comedy shows and plenty of true crime. But lots of podcasts are truly educational. You’ll find options for grammar geeks, history hounds and classic film buffs. Start with names and media outlets you may already know, such as the TED Radio Hour, The New York Times, Malcolm Gladwell or our own Live Happy Podcast. The only limit is your free time. Before podcasts there were audio books, which are still going strong thanks to Audible and other streaming programs. Local libraries also offer a selection to borrow for free. Sometimes it is just easier to listen to a book than to read one—especially if you have a long commute, or spend a lot of time cooking and folding laundry. Read more: 8 Ways to Find Your Own Tribe 2. Watch and learn. Some of us are visual learners, and watching a human being talk helps us assimilate information better than if we just listened to a disembodied voice. We watch their expressions and body language; we take a journey along with this person. There are now thousands of TED Talks on innumerable subjects, from how to recycle Styrofoam to how computers will grow our food in the future. Instead of looking to user’s manuals for instructions, we now look to YouTube videos for everything from tips for riding your new road bike to DIY green cleaning. Education can be as close as your phone. Download an app such as Duolingo to begin learning a new language. A longtime proponent of lifelong learning, The Learning Company offers The Great Courses, a series of long-term classes on subjects that range from the Ottoman Empire to Optimizing Brain Fitness, taught by Ph.D.s who are leaders in their fields. For most of the courses, you have a choice of media: DVD, CD, audio, or video download, priced accordingly. Here is a TED Talk from Live Happy contributor Amy Blankson about how to maintain your happiness in the digital era. 3. Find an online course. Digital learning is now easier than ever thanks to MOOCs: Massive Open Online Courses. These are varied in scope, convenient and usually inexpensive. You can take a one-time class online, sign up for a professional certificate, or even earn a degree. For example, if you are looking for an online course in positive psychology, we’ve got you covered. Start here for an online education: Founded by Harvard and MIT in 2012, EDx is a non-profit clearinghouse of high-quality online courses offered for free (with additional certificates at a cost). It is a pretty amazing resource. Coursera is another large MOOC clearinghouse offering courses from Duke, Stanford, UPenn and other prestigious universities. You register to pay monthly and can take any course. Recently bought by LinkedIn, which was gobbled up by Microsoft, Lynda.com offers tons of useful professional video courses—mainly in computer, web, business and related fields. Learn to edit video, use WordPress or code in HTML. Lynda is a great resource for those who want to polish their digital skills, or even your grandmother who would like to use Word shortcuts. Sign up for a yearly fee and take as many classes as you like. Read more: 5 Ways to Get in Touch With Your Higher Calling 4. Attend a class in the ‘real world.’ Online courses have made staying home a tempting option for adult education, but in truth, nothing beats being there in person, in the presence of the teacher and other students where, at its best, you’ll find an atmosphere of intellectual dialogue. Many universities, colleges and community colleges offer some form of continuing education. The Bernard Osher Foundation has made an incredible commitment to lifelong learning, helping to fund specialized institutes at more than 100 universities. (Check this list to see if there is one near you.) Courses are most often taught by Ph.D.s and other specialists in their fields. Churches, Jewish Community Centers and community recreation centers sometimes offer classes such as bible study, religious history, and computer literacy for seniors at low or no cost. Taking a class is not the only way to continue learning. Developing a hobby or pursuing a passionate interest such as yoga or dance can produce the same life-enhancing effects. Seek out a local crafts guild to take a pottery or painting class, or a 4H or university extension that teaches gardening or animal husbandry. Another way to learn and grow in the real world: volunteering. If you are passionate about books, volunteer at the library, or read to someone who is vision-impaired. You love to cook? Volunteer at your local Meals on Wheels. You’ll learn as much about the other volunteers—from all walks of life—as you will about food. To understand why lifelong learning is so important for our well-being, check out the feature article in the October 2017 issue of Live Happy magazine. Emily Wise Miller is the Web Editor for Live Happy.

Well-Being

Become Your Own Health Hero

Growing up in India, Partha Nandi was like any 6-year-old boy until he woke up one day and didn’t want to do anything. He had pain in his ankle and stopped playing his favorite game, cricket. Doctors were stumped. It wasn’t until his parents found a caring specialist that everything changed. Partha was diagnosed with rheumatic fever and hospitalized for 10 days. Partha’s parents had taken decisive action and his doctor saved him from a potentially life-threatening illness. These events helped Partha find his life’s purpose: He wanted to be a health hero for others like his parents and doctor were for him. Today Dr. Nandi is living that purpose. With a larger-than-life personality, Dr. Nandi is a practicing gastroenterologist and internal medicine physician with a television show, Ask Dr. Nandi, which airs internationally. We talked with Dr. Nandi about his first book, Ask Dr. Nandi, and his mission to inspire people to take charge of their health. Live Happy: How do you define a health hero? It means becoming a hero of your story. What if you made your health the most important part of your life? When you have your health, you have everything. Why do you think people take their health for granted? Often what is going on inside your body doesn’t give you symptoms. All of us know we feel terrible due to a head cold. But when things happen that don’t give us symptoms, like hypertension, we don’t see disaster coming until it is critical. Maybe you have a headache, maybe stress is causing cortisol levels to increase at a microscopic level so your cells are becoming damaged. The health hero learns the best route and pivots away from the extremely stressful life. In your book, you focus on finding your purpose. If you have purpose in your life, you can increase your life span by five years. Science shows us this is true. You have to work at finding your purpose, but everyone has the capacity. Finding your purpose has more efficacy than thousands of the medical procedures people have. Listen to our podcast with Dr.Nandi: Your tips combine Western and Eastern medicine. I was raised in India where people pray and practice yoga every day. We use acupuncture and meditation. In my opinion, why not combine all the technologies and advancements with what has worked for thousands of years? How is spirituality connected to health? Spirituality is a cultivation of the mind, having a sense of purpose and belonging. Today there is so much social isolation. A lack of spirituality in our culture is overtaking us. When you have spirituality, your need for pain medication or blood pressure medication goes down because stress hormones are in check. Spirituality is meditation, prayer, a walk in nature, the tranquility that comes from a beautiful view. Some forms of exercise give you peace, such as yoga and tai chi. Find something that works for you. You say people should identify their ‘Why?’ for exercise. It’s not magic. When you have a purpose or a goal—to be the best parent, the best gardener, the best rocket scientist—then your activities are purposeful. You don’t have to make yourself lift a thousand pounds or run a thousand miles. If you love gardening, then that activity becomes a purposeful movement and you don’t have to work at it. Mind and body are connected. You don’t seem to be a fan of diets. The word ‘diet’ should simply disappear and be replaced with the word ‘failure.’ I started a failure today. There isn’t a single diet in history that has ever worked. I call myself the un-diet doctor because it’s always lifestyle change that works. Plant-based eating can be delicious. Follow the 80/20 rule, where you make the healthy choice most of the time. You don’t have to act like it’s kryptonite to eat cake. Have the cake but don’t have it every day. Eat until you are two-thirds full. What do you say to people who think they are too busy to exercise? Give me five minutes and I will change your mind. Everyone has something they could give up for exercise. Here is one trick: Park far away from the gym and warm up by walking to the door. Don’t think to yourself, ‘Oh, I worked out so I’m done.’ Movement should be fluid—a part of your life. Is there any doubt why heart disease is the No. 1 killer today? People say, ‘What should we do?’ We should get up and move! What’s the one thing you want readers to take away from your book? Make simple changes that yield big results, transforming you and your family. Read more: 10 Must-Read Books for Happy, Healthy Eating Read more: Give Yourself a Mindfulness Makeover Sandra Bilbray is a contributing editor to Live Happyand Founder and CEO of themediaconcierge.net.

Giving

Ruthie’s Rolling Cafe Puts Kindness on the Menu

On the morning of July 8, 2016, news cameras gathered outside the Dallas Police Department’s downtown headquarters following the deadly police shootings that shocked the country the previous night. Amid the frenzy, a brightly painted food truck and purveyor of grilled cheese sandwiches—Ruthie’s Rolling Cafe—scooted past the barricades and crime scene tape to feed officers who had worked through the night after the tragedy. “We were their nourishment for that morning,” says Ashlee Hunt Kleinert, owner of Ruthie’s. “When you feel helpless, a lot of times what you do is bring a meal. The beauty of a food truck is that we’re a restaurant on wheels—we can get up and go.” While serving warm bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches, Ruthie’s team members also offered hugs and words of appreciation to the officers—and their heartfelt gestures didn’t go unnoticed. “It really showed us how much they cared about us and how much they mourned with us,” says Officer Kimberly Mraz. “The officers felt that and really appreciated the support.” Labor of love Caring for the community is part of the company’s DNA: Not only has Ruthie’s—a regular on the Dallas food truck scene—been responding to tragedies since its founding nearly six years ago, but also in January, the company launched Ruthie’s Snacks of Kindness, a program centered on giving back. Each month, Ruthie’s selects an organization, either chosen by a staff member or nominated by the public, to receive a snack of kindness. The team works with a contact at the organization to surprise a specific group of people with gooey grilled cheese variations like The Boss, made with smoky barbecue brisket and melted cheddar. First on its list for 2017 was the Notre Dame School of Dallas, which serves children with developmental disabilities. In February, Ruthie’s surprised the school’s tireless staff to thank them for what they do. “When a business can share their resources, the kindness spreads,” says Elizabeth Garrison, assistant development at the school. “Ruthie’s Snacks of Kindness gave our staff a boost in morale, which in turn, enables our staff to be more positive in the classroom.” Spreading sunshine While the program formally launched this year, Ruthie’s has been surprising women in homeless shelters, passengers at a bus station, military veterans and many other groups over the years. “You can do little things to brighten someone’s day,” Ashlee says. “When your day is brightened, hopefully it carries forward and the person who is affected treats somebody else differently, and it continues. It’s just spreading a little bit of sunshine.” Just ask Jeff Hensley, former Navy fighter pilot and director of clinical and veteran services at Equest, which provides equine therapy for special needs populations. A couple of years ago, Ruthie’s surprised one of the graduating classes of Equest’s Hooves for Heroes, a program designed for military veterans and their families. “This kind of thing restores my faith in other people and reminds me that at our core, we really are all connected,” Jeff says. Amanda Gleason writes regularly for Live Happy magazine. Check out her feature story Make-a-Wish: Where Science and Hope Meet.

Reading

10 Best Travel Books to Inspire Your Wanderlust

Whether you aspire to see as much of the world as possible, or are in desperate need of a change of scene, travel provides a new perspective on life. Arriving in distant places, experiencing other cultures and meeting new people can make the world feel larger and yet more connected—something that gets lost in the hamster wheel of our daily lives. Get inspired to reinvent your routine and radically change your surroundings when you read these 10 rousing tales of danger, romance, courage and discovery—of both faraway lands, and the heart’s true desires. 1. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed After experiencing the loss of her mother, a crumbling marriage and a heroin habit, Cheryl Strayed sets out on a quest to find herself by hiking thousands of miles alone on the Pacific Crest Trail. With zero experience and no training, she faces several nail-biting close calls with danger, both natural and man-made. Along the way, she makes friends, finds romance and gains insight that will help heal the pain of her past. “I knew that if I allowed fear to overtake me, my journey was doomed. Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told. I decided I was safe. I was strong. I was brave. Nothing could vanquish me.”—Cheryl Strayed 2. The Happiness of Pursuit: Finding the Quest That Will Bring Purpose to Your Life by Chris Guillebeau As Chris Guillebeau traveled he became fascinated with people who were in pursuit of their dreams, such as a young widower who completes the tasks his wife would never get to accomplish, and a teenager who crosses an ocean alone. As he finds and writes about these “questers,” Chris realizes that pursuing our extraordinary goals makes us happier than perhaps anything else. Ignite your sense of adventure, he says, by knowing your purpose. “The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure.”—Chris Guillebeau 3. Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert From outward appearances, Elizabeth Gilbert had it all—a successful career, a beautiful home, a loving husband. But her life wasn’t making her happy. The memoir/travelogue Eat, Pray, Love details her transformational journey to three different countries—Italy, India and Indonesia where she learns who she really is from a sensual, spiritual and romantic perspective—and what she really wants out of life. “Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings.”—Elizabeth Gilbert 4. Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe by Bill Bryson Iowan Bill Bryson backpacked through Europe back in the 1970s when he was a young man. As a London-based journalist, he set out to retrace his steps 20 years later in Neither Here Nor There. With his acerbic tone, he recalls old travel memories and explores new ones. “Rome was as wonderful as I had hoped it would be, certainly a step up from Peoria,” he writes.Get ready to laugh out loud as you feel the urge to plan your own adventure. “I can’t think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything.”—Bill Bryson 5. The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner “Change your location and you just may change yourself,” Eric Weiner writes. As he explores countries and towns known to be the “happiest places,” such as Bhutan and Switzerland, he recognizes a fundamental truth: “By relocating ourselves, reorienting ourselves, we shake loose the shackles of expectation.” With humor and insight, Eric offers helpful advice and philosophical musings on where to go and how to be happier once you’re there. “Travel, at its best, transforms us in ways that aren’t always apparent until we’re back home.”—Eric Weiner 6. Breaking Borders: Travels in Pursuit of an Impossible Record by James Asquith James Asquith is recognized by the Guinness World Records as the youngest person to have traveled to all 196 countries in the world, at age 24. In this travel memoir, he shares his adventures over the five years of working his way around the world doing odd jobs in hostels and restaurants. Let his global wanderlust spark yours. If you need more travel momentum, check out his Instagram account, where he has more than 200,000 followers. “Let locals lead you.”—James Asquith 7. No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach by Anthony Bourdain Indulge in food and travel with chef, author and CNN personality Anthony Bourdain. He takes you with him on a gustatory journey around the world, complete with photos and his signature caustic commentary. Experience what it feels like to travel with Anthony, and you will know the best place to get good fatty crab anywhere. “Open your mind, get up off the couch, move.”—Anthony Bourdain 8. The Mystical Backpacker: How to Discover Your Destiny in the Modern World by Hannah Papp Imagine you quit your job, grab your backpack and embark on a journey across Europe with no plan. That’s what Hannah Papp did when she grew tired of trying to live by other people’s expectations, and it drives the narrative of this book. Part memoir, part guidebook, The Mystical Backpacker offers tips for your backpacking trip abroad, as well as your inner journey to discover your authentic self. “The truth is, we don’t need to look to adventurers and heroes as people separate from or better than us. We can choose to make our lives an adventure and to be the heroes of our own stories.” —Hannah Papp 9. Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy by Frances Mayes In 1996, writer and poet Frances Mayes published a memoir about restoring a villa in the Tuscan countryside that was so vivid it inspired thousands of people to embark on their own Italian adventures. There are no romantic entanglements in the book version, but the author writes beautifully about the sights, tastes and sensations of living where the pace is slower, the tomatoes sweeter and the rooftops are lit by a golden sun. “I had the urge to examine my life in another culture and move beyond what I knew.”—Frances Mayes 10. On the Road by Jack Kerouac This classic road novel follows Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty (thinly disguised Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassaday) as they interact with strange characters and try to avoid trouble while driving aimlessly across North America in the 1950s. Fueled by youthful intensity and Benzedrine, Jack's writing is so exhilarating, it spurred a generation of writers and poets in search of freedom—both literary and existential. “Sure baby, mañana. It was always mañana. For the next few weeks that was all I heard––mañana a lovely word and one that probably means heaven.”—Jack Kerouac Read more: 10 Life-Changing Books That Will Stay With You Read more: 10 Best Books to Help Achieve Your Goals Sandra Bilbray is a contributing editor to Live Happy, and Founder and CEO of themediaconcierge.net.

work

9 Tips to Be Happier Working From Home

As companies go global and workforces become virtual, more of us find ourselves working from home. On the one hand this is cause for celebration—no more commutes, cubicles or tepid coffee! But when you work from home, the responsibility is all on you. No one is clocking you in or out or constantly checking your work. You need to be organized and self-motivated. Working from home can seem very relaxed, but studies show that those who do it may be more productive than their office park counterparts. If you've landed a work-at-home job but don't feel entirely thrilled about the prospect of being alone with yourself every single day (you may be an extrovert who craves the energy of the workplace, or someone who doesn't like to mix home life and work life), don't worry, you have options. Take your laptop to a friendly cafe with Wifi and pay your rent by buying coffee and scones. In many cities, you can now find groovy coworking spaces, such as WeWork, General Assembly and NeueHouse, that provide camaraderie as well as office amenities. (Do a quick Google search of your city + coworking to find one near you.) For those who are committed to the home office, here are a few tips to maintain productivity and sanity throughout the workweek. 1. Get a room. If you have a choice, put your desk somewhere other than your bedroom. You don’t want your brain’s work and sleep wires to get crossed. A dedicated room that can act as your home office is ideal, but even a nook or large closet can often do the trick. 2. Set a schedule. When you work from home, it’s tempting to sleep late and then work until whenever, but this is not the path to productivity. Our brains like regularity, so set your alarm clock to get up at the same time every day (preferably early). Do some good exercise or meditation, and start the day with gusto. You might even want to take a walk around the block before you start working, not only for the exercise but also to create a mental demarcation between your home and work life. 3. Make your bed. This simple act may correlate with happiness, and it starts your day off on the right foot. But it is especially important to keep your home tidy and at least somewhat organized if you will be working there. Plus an admiral wrote an entire book about how important it is, so maybe you should do it. 4. Shower, brush your teeth and get dressed. This probably goes without saying, but if you stay in your pajamas all day—with mossy teeth and bed head—you’ll feel it. Somewhere deep down your brain is thinking, “Let’s get back in bed” instead of, “Let’s get on that conference call and talk about spreadsheets.” 5. Keep your desk neat. If you don’t keep your desk area organized, your work stuff will flow over into your home stuff and vice versa. You don’t want your house to look like the office on The Office, but invest in a small filing cabinet if you need one. Every month, go through old papers and recycle or file what you don’t need. You don’t want to be featured on the next season of Hoarders: Home Office Edition. 6. Resist the temptation to do house chores. The occasional load of laundry won’t kill you, but you can procrastinate away an entire workday by dusting the den and recaulking the shower. You won’t need a handyman, but you’ll probably need a new job. 7. Take brain breaks. Research shows that we are most productive in 90-minute spurts of creativity, interrupted by short breaks of either relaxation or exercise. Your own body clock may work differently, but the best thing about being at home is being able to get up, stretch, walk around a little—even catch a few z’s if you need to. If you do decide to take a nap, make sure not to go past 20 minutes or so (set an alarm on your phone or clock). 8. Make social plans for after work. Working from home has huge benefits, but let’s face it—you get a little lonely. If you are going to go on social media, schedule it into your day, such as “10 am: 5 min. Facebook break.” Otherwise you will get lost in the ultimate time- and productivity-sucking vortex. If you make plans with friends for dinner or the weekend, you can focus on your work, knowing you’ll have the opportunity to socialize later. 9. Take advantage of not being in an office. You get to be in your happy place all day, so make the most of it. With no coworkers to quibble over your musical taste, you can play tunes in the background while you work. Since you have a full working kitchen at hand (presumably), save money and eat more healthily by making quick salads and sandwiches instead of going out for lunch. And though we encourage you to get dressed—you can still wear anything you want—and that beats “office casual” any day. Read more: Clear Your Desk and Your Mind Will Follow and 6 Secrets to Creating Your Dream Job Emily Wise Miller is the web editor for Live Happy.

Self-Care

Goat Yoga Draws a Crowd

In many ways, it’s like any other yoga class: the thoughtful reminder to silence cell phones and get in the moment; a quick, quiet meditation designed to let students set their intention; some Ujjayi breathing and a sun salutation before slipping into more challenging poses. But as we stretch out our legs, I look around and can’t help but notice that some participants have four legs. And hooves! In the past year, goat yoga has become a national phenomenon, with its roots tracing back to an Oregon entrepreneur named Lainey Morse, who began offering outdoor yoga sessions at her farm while goats roamed about. The naturally curious animals interacted with the yogis, and as word spread, the farm’s waiting list filled up for what became known as “goat yoga.” It didn’t take long for videos of the adorable baby goats frolicking around (and on) class participants to go viral. Peace, love and goats Today, goat yoga classes have sprung up across the country. They invariably sell out almost as quickly as they are announced. “This all happened very organically for us,” says Jamie Codispoti, who, along with partner Max Knudsen, started Shenanigoats Landscaping earlier this year. Their lawn-care service, based in the eclectic, artsy neighborhood of East Nashville, uses grazing goats instead of gas-powered tools. “Someone on our Facebook page asked if we could do goat yoga, and it immediately went viral,” Jamie explains. “Before we knew it, we had people volunteering their yards; yoga instructors were emailing us offering to teach classes—it seemed like the whole community wanted to make it happen.” And so Shenanigoats Yoga was born. The first class, held in May, sold out in three hours and each subsequent class has sold out, too. More class times—and baby goats—have been added to accommodate demand. No goats, no glory “The goats are making this happen—it’s nothing we’ve created,” says Jamie, adding that one family drove more than two hours on a Saturday morning just to take the class. Some visitors to Nashville have even rearranged their itineraries to experience goat yoga. The classes are taught by certified, experienced yoga instructors, and participants are encouraged to arrive at least 30 minutes early to spend time with the baby goats. Participants may feed the animals from a bottle, offer them hay and pellets of food, or simply cuddle. And while phones are silenced during the class, selfies and photos are absolutely encouraged. As the class quickly learns, baby goats love to jump on surfaces (such as a flat back in a tabletop pose). They wander among—and sometimes under—people in their poses, sometimes laying down and napping on the yoga mat or perhaps hopping on top of someone holding a pose. “This is about more than yoga, it creates a connection that you don’t usually see happen so quickly,” Jamie says. With backgrounds in social work, both she and Max were quick to recognize that goat yoga is good for the soul as well as the body. “I know from the work I do that animals can help calm people down, and we see that in every class,” she says. “You become focused on the goats instead of whatever it was that happened that day. It really brings people together with this awesome sense of community. They’re laughing and talking like old buddies. It’s amazing to watch.” The bleat goes on A 2005 study published in the British Medical Journal confirms that playing with an animal releases dopamine and serotonin in the brain, while at the same time lowers levels of stress-driven cortisol. Other studies have linked playing with animals to helping ADHD and even increasing longevity. These benefits are evident during a recent Shenanigoats class. Watching the baby goats hop and play draws universal smiles and adds a sense of childlike wonder to the class, which is one reason yoga instructor Andi Halbert encourages everyone to “seek joy and happiness” as part of their practice that day. It seems they need look only as far as the nearest baby goat to discover it. Listen to our podcast, Yoga: Not Just For Grown-Ups Anymore, With Susan Verde Read more: 4 Yoga Poses to Try Right Now Paula Felps is the Science Editor for Live Happy magazine.

Self-Care

How to Buy Happiness for Less Than $25

The debate over whether money can buy happiness probably began around 9000 B.C. when our ancestors were swapping cattle as the first form of currency. Today’s experts offer a more nuanced answer to that question (see Daniel Kahneman and the $75,000 plateau); money can be one tool in finding happiness. This is especially true when we spend our cash on experiences and on things that align with our values. I’m here to share my own unscientific findings: Sometimes small, incidental purchases can be life-changing—when they banish chaos and anxiety and replace them with serenity and joy. Over the last few weeks, I’ve spent less than $50 solving problems that were leaving me feeling rushed, disorganized and sometimes even at risk. Here are my providential purchases: 1. Bright cellphone case Simply changing the color of my cellphone case from basic black to red has made my cellphone a lot easier to spot among the papers on my desk or in the depths of my oversized purse. This has spared me hours if you add up the frustrating moments I used to spend searching for my phone. And as a positive side effect, because I’m not running late all the time after looking for my phone, I’m in a better mood overall. Cost: $20 or less. 2. Cellphone car mount Having a mount means I’m no longer gripping my phone in one hand and the steering wheel in the other as I check Google Maps for the exit I should take on the highway (my car does not have a built-in GPS). Inserted into the unused CD slot, the TechMatte MagGrip is easy to install, holds the phone securely with a magnet, and, as blogger The WireCutter notes, it provides an ideal position for the screen without obstructing your view of the road. The fact that I feel safer and more confident while driving is almost priceless. Cost: $10.99. 3. Half-dozen pairs of reading glasses It’s frustrating to reach for a pair of glasses only to find you’ve misplaced them—again. I’ve bought inexpensive readers at my local 99 Cents store and scattered them around my house like breadcrumbs, plus I keep one in my purse and another in my glove compartment. Now, when I need to check a recipe to know how much salt to add to the risotto, a pair of glasses is always handy. Cost: around $17. I also asked some friends what low-cost happiness hacks they’ve discovered. Here’s what they had to say: 4. Single-cup coffee filter Clarissa: After drinking terrible office coffee for three years—or going out for expensive Starbucks—I finally bought a plastic single-cup cone filter and some paper filters. Now I bring in my own ground coffee and I’m happy as a clam. Cost: $14. 5. Good travel mug Joshua: My Contigo travel mug has been a game changer. I used to use up three plastic cups per day at coffee bars. Now I just have baristas fill my screw-top mug. There is no waste. Plus, it keeps hot coffee steaming for hours and cold brew stays ice cold. Cost: $11.99. 6. Subscription to Audible Bonnie: My subscription to Audible, which is like Netflix for books on tape, has been life-changing. It makes my one-hour commute to my new job far less painful. Recently I’ve been listening to Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, narrated by Lin-Manuel Miranda, but they have thousands of titles to choose from. Cost: $14.95 a month. 7. An S bar Michelle: I work out a lot and my body is always sore. I can’t afford to get massages all the time, so I bought the Body Back Buddy and I love it. It looks weird—like a curved baton with knobs—but it reaches everywhere and works out all my knots and stiffness. It costs a little more than $25, but it’s worth it! Cost: $29.95. 8. Guided meditation app Brian: The meditation app has really helped me develop a mindfulness practice and it’s always there when you need to take a de-stress break, whether you have three minutes or 30. While meditation itself is free, I don’t think I would do it regularly without the app. Try Calm, Headspace, or Meditation Studio. Cost varies. 9. Subscription to Live Happy! Whether you subscribe to the print magazine, download the podcast, listen to our weekly radio show or check in regularly with the always-fresh content on our website, Live Happy will lift your spirits, spark your intellect and inspire your soul. Want more? See what's new in the Live Happy store! Read more by Shelley Levitt: 3 Habits to Boost Resilience and 8 Steps to a Happier Home Shelley Levitt is a freelance journalist based in Los Angeles and editor at large for Live Happy. Her work has appeared in Real Simple, People, SUCCESS and more.

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