Hello community,
It's Jax,
Your habits coach and stress-releasing yoga teacher,
And I'm so excited to be talking about our happiness hormones.
These hormones have such an impact and really contribute to positive emotions and feelings of well-being.
The main happiness hormones include dopamine,
Serotonin,
Endorphins,
And oxytocin,
And today we're gonna be talking about dopamine,
And we're also gonna be doing an activity that will increase your dopamine levels.
First and foremost,
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter and a hormone that plays a vital role in the brain's reward and pleasure centers.
It is associated with feelings of motivation,
Pleasure,
And reinforcement,
As well as regulating mood and movement.
One of the primary functions of dopamine is to regulate the brain's reward and pleasure centers.
Dopamine is released in response to pleasurable experiences,
Reinforcing behaviors that lead towards reward,
And it encourages you to seek out those experiences again.
This system plays a critical role in motivation,
Learning,
And reinforcing positive behaviors.
When I think about dopamine,
I think about pleasure,
Reward,
Getting things done,
Having that feeling of I got this,
I got this done,
Completing something,
And just really enjoying that completion,
Enjoying that reward.
We can be really intentional about what we want to see as reward and what we want to view as pleasure by becoming aware of ourselves and conscious of the choice that we want to make.
No better way to do that than doing a visualization meditation.
This meditation can be a helpful practice to potentially increase dopamine levels by engaging in activities that stimulate the brain's reward system.
With meditation,
It's associated with emotional benefits,
Cognitive benefits,
And having it in your lifestyle will bring a balance.
And this can be such a valuable component of maintaining a healthy mind and body,
So come back to this anytime you want to have a positive impact on dopamine levels and the brain's reward system.
So let's go ahead and do that now.
If you need to,
Pause,
Find a quiet place,
A comfortable space where you won't be disturbed,
Where you can shut the door and just have a moment for you.
And go ahead and get into a relaxed but alert position,
So sitting on the floor in a chair,
On the sofa,
Upright in your bed.
And I want you to do a little shoulder shrug for me.
So squeeze your shoulders up to your ears,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze.
And then exhale,
Roll them down back.
And give me two more like that.
So squeeze your shoulders up to your ears,
Feel some tension there.
And then on the exhale,
Just release it down and back one more.
Inhale,
Squeeze the shoulders,
Maybe even squeeze your face here,
Maybe even squeeze your hands,
Your whole body.
And then exhale,
Just let it go.
Let your exhale slowly release any tension in your body.
Now take two long deep breaths in through the nose.
And then exhale out the mouth,
Let it go.
And on this exhale,
We'll do it two more times.
And on the exhale,
I want you to imagine that your breath is like water flowing down a rock,
Really slow.
Take two deep breaths in through the nose.
Exhale.
One more time.
Inhale twice.
Exhale.
And then I want you to direct your attention to the top of your head.
So notice any sensations,
Warmth or tingling,
Temperature,
Maybe just neutral.
Just start to notice the top of your head.
And then begin to slowly move your focus down to your forehead,
Relaxing any furrows or tension,
Letting your facial muscles soften.
And then continue to scan down to your eyes,
Your cheeks and jaw,
Releasing any tightness and allowing your whole face to relax.
And then like that water slowly moving down a rock,
Bring your awareness to your neck and shoulders,
Letting go of any tightness or stress.
So use those inhales to bring the awareness to your body.
And then use those exhales to let go of any tension or stress with each breath.
Find your awareness moving down to your chest and abdomen,
Feeling the rise and fall of your breath and releasing any tension as you exhale.
Shift your attention to your arms or hands and fingers.
Letting go of any residual tension and feeling a sense of ease as you release the tightness in the thumbs,
The pointer fingers,
The middle fingers,
The ring fingers,
Pinky fingers.
Then find that awareness scanning down to your hips,
The front and back of the thighs and calves,
Allowing your legs to feel heavy and supported by the surface beneath you.
And finally,
Just start to bring your focus to your feet and noticing any sensations in your toes and take a few moments to feel rooted and grounded.
So gentle,
Easeful,
Slow breaths in and gentle releasing exhales out.
And now I want you to think about something you're pursuing.
This could be running daily,
Meditating more,
Being kinder to yourself,
Aspiring to complete a project,
Mastering a skill.
This can be anything you're improving on.
So imagine a scenario.
This can be anything you're improving on.
And start to imagine a scenario where you are pursuing that passion,
That thing that brings immense joy,
What it feels like when you feel content.
And then I want you to start to visualize yourself actively working towards this intention.
So what does it look like when you follow through on this intention?
When you choose to be patient when you're traveling instead of reacting?
When you choose what's going to benefit you and not the other person?
When you choose peace and really start to see yourself making progress,
Facing challenges with determination and experiencing moments of success and accomplishment.
And as you continue the visualization,
Focus on the positive emotions associated with each step of your journey.
Feel the excitement,
Satisfaction,
The happiness that comes with your efforts.
And even imagine receiving recognition from yourself for your efforts.
Does it feel like when you celebrate you and you allow yourself to bask in the feelings of fulfillment?
And really engage all your senses to make this visualization more vivid.
What are you wearing?
What do your eyes look like?
Where are you?
What do you see?
What colors?
And let yourself feel the sensations in your body now.
So hear the encouraging words,
See the vivid colors,
And experience the positive emotions as if they were happening in the present moment.
Even if you come up to setbacks or obstacles,
You encounter any of those,
Picture yourself overcoming them with that resilience and determination.
Not letting those be the end of the journey,
But just allowing those to be little detours,
Little roadblocks.
Seeing those challenges as opportunities for growth,
Getting to know yourself better,
Getting to progress,
No longer staying in the same place.
But now,
Now you're in this new environment because you've put the effort in to achieve what you want to achieve,
To be the kind of person you say you are.
So know that that is possible.
And the more that we believe it,
The more we take action,
And then we realize it's just a behavior.
We can shape and influence our behaviors and beliefs through our mind.
So I'll leave you here for a little bit longer in silence so that you can stay immersed in this visualization.
And just let those positive feelings of accomplishment and happiness flow through you.
Slowly and gently hearing the sound of my voice,
Take a deep breath in through your nose.
And as you exhale,
Just let out with a gentle sigh.
Again,
Take a deep breath in through your nose.
And exhale.
Start to gently wiggle your fingers and toes,
Reawakening the sensations in your extremities.
If you feel like stretching,
Go ahead and reach your arms overhead,
Lengthening your body from fingertips to toes.
Take a moment to stretch,
Move the neck,
Yawn if it feels good.
And before we finish,
I want you to take a moment to express gratitude for this practice and the time that you set aside for self-care and rejuvenation.
Mmm,
Gratitude,
Yes.
When you're ready,
Gently open your eyes,
Bringing your practice to a close.
And before you move on to the rest of your day,
Your evening,
Whatever it looks like for you,
Do so slowly.
I invite you to be mindful as you transition back into an active state.
And know that you can always come back to this practice anytime you want to support your dopamine and increase your happiness hormones.
This is Jax,
Your habits coach and stress-releasing yoga teacher,
And I'll see you next time.
