Can Yoga Make Us Happier? How to Overcome Negativity Bias
I’m sure we all remember being told we should strive to be a “glass half full” person regarding our outlook on life. I don’t know about you, but life experiences taught me quickly that this is more than just a choice we have control over.
There are good reasons for this based on the science of how our brain works, namely the amygdala, but we can also sensitize this part of our brain to seek and attach to positive experiences. Our yoga practice can help!
Read On
What is the Negativity Bias?
The negativity bias is the result of an outdated drive for survival. The human species is wired for survival. Over millions of years of evolution, early humans and creatures of all kinds have faced constant challenges to their survival that are very different and much harsher than those most of us face today.
Our brains evolved to manage the constant prospect of life-threatening dangers. Events like being attacked and eaten by predators, dealing with an unpredictable food supply, or managing childbirth without painkillers or medical attention were just some of the threats that wired our brains to expect the worst.
When so many things were a matter of life and death, survival depended on detecting and avoiding danger. As a result, the brain evolved a built-in negativity bias.
We live in very different circumstances today, and our brains are designed to be changed by our experiences. Lucky for us, although our lives are absolutely not without stress, most of us are not managing day-to-day, moment-to-moment threats to our survival. We have time and space to choose how we respond to life’s events and to cultivate ease in our lives.
However, the negativity bias is still working away in the background, scanning for something to be pessimistic about. It taps into the reactive setting in our brains—the same one that kept our ancestors alive when their core needs were being threatened.
There wasn’t as much time to intentionally balance this reactivity with the brain’s more responsive side because
In his book “ Hardwiring for Happiness” Rick Hanson writes: “Knowing how our brains work can help us shape how we experience and use the world around us.”
If we accept there are science-based reasons for our brain’s inclination to negativity, we stand a better chance of deriving empowerment, strength, and confidence from lived experiences of all kinds and choose to take in more of the good than the bad.
He offers a four-step process for recognizing the good in our lives and internalizing positive experiences. They have the acronym H.E.A.L.
What is H.E.A.L., and how can it tip the balance away from negativity?
Have a positive experience: Centering our awareness on pleasant sensations in our current experience, the feelings of relaxation as the muscles in our face soften, the sounds of music, and the energy in the room:
Enrich it. Cultivating a sense of gratitude for experiences, both positive and negative, from which you have learned and grown stronger;
Absorb it, focusing on experiences that bring memories of when you felt most cared for, connected or competent, solid and grounded.
Link it.
How Can Our Yoga Practice Hardwire Us for Happiness?
Our yoga practice teaches us that hardships and challenges in life are inevitable. It offers us tools of awareness and presence that allow us to navigate all of it.
This can only enhance and strengthen our lived experiences of all kinds.
Join me in healing & H.E.A.L.ing, won’t you?