Yoga is most often defined as "union." Harmony can be defined as many things. The most common definitions for harmony would be agreement and compatibility. It is not difficult to see that Yoga, harmony, and happiness can work together for mental and emotional stability.
This leads to a round of questions for us to ponder. What is happiness? Is happiness being successful? How do you define success? As you know, each of us cannot reach a state of happiness in the same way.
Happiness is a positive emotion that we experience when we are in a state of well-being. We could also state that happiness is bliss, contentment, satisfaction, or joy. Some of us can find this same feeling on a warm beach in the tropics.
Yet, many of us also have family and financial obligations that make living permanently, at a warm tropical beach, difficult. At the same time, not everyone is happy at the beach. Again, we realize that happiness is a choice and a personal decision.
Although success is often linked with happiness, you could say that personal happiness is more dependent on a purposeful life, than a successful life. What do I mean by this? Some people are quite content to sleep all day, avoid work, and let others support them. They have no purpose or goals. A few animals and insects also display this behavior.
As humans, we call this behavior "laziness." Most humans are inherently driven to plan, discover, and create. We consider these qualities admirable, but successful people are not always happy. To be successful and sad at the same time is a strange paradox, but it exists.
How is this possible? A successful person may not be living the happy life that he or she envisions. For example: If you are born into a position of social status that you did not choose, you may feel that you are not a success in life. Whether we are rich or poor, anyone can have these feelings.
We have now gone "full circle" in this discussion. Therefore, I ask you, "How do you define success?" The answer to that question should give you a deep sense of contentment. It is worth the time to practice Yoga, meditation, breathe with purpose, and do some soul searching, before you envision your true picture of happiness and success.
In short, happiness requires balance, agreement, and compatibility, with our surrounding environment. You cannot force yourself to be happy, but each form of Yoga can bring about inner harmony and states of happiness
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