stretch the social to-do list

Hi beauties! Hope you're having an upbeat Wednesday. Sure humpday is the middle of the week, but that doesn't mean you should smile any less; each day is another opportunity to live joyously. Where did all of this obnoxious optimism come from? Let's start from the beginning :).

After eating such a fabulous lunch yesterday, you'd think I would have had a good afternoon, right? Eh, wrong. Not for any particular reason, of course, I was just feeling sorry for myself, and the general stressed frustration when you have a million things to do and yet can't seem to focus on any one of them. But by the time nighttime fell, things were starting to turn around. Dinner was followed by Mario Kart (it's been too long) and before I knew it, I'd tweeted, "Just decided that I'm going out tonight. This may or may not be my worst decision of the day..." 

Instead, it was a slam dunk. Earlier this morning I read Natural Healing magazine and discovered why: Research from UCLA found that the mere thought of a loved one can take the edge off pain. "This study demonstrates how much of an impact our social ties can have on our experience and fits with other work emphasizing the importance of social support for physical and mental health," says the study's co-author and assistant professor of psychology and director of UCLA's Social and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Naomi Eisenberger.

Emotional pain must be thrown into the mix somewhere because it was certainly not the drinks that were making me feel better; to be honest, I really only had one. It's also probably worth mentioning that we were celebrating Allie's 21st (pictured on the right), and everyone knows that a birthday party, especially the two-one kind, is bound to be a feel-good time :).

I awoke this morning still on that happy high, despite, or perhaps because of, the fact that it was later than usual, 9:30 instead of 6:30. Woah, I so crazy ;). I then drank water, ate breakfast, read about Communication Law, finished up my French assignment, took a long shower, and scampered off to classes for the day. Yes indeed, productivity at it's best, and all following a weeknight on the town.

Could it be that the more I smile, the more I get done? Have you ever tried to opt out of a social activity because of a to-do list, only to find that socializing actually improved your mood and your efficiency? Or, on the other hand, have you made the "mistake" of putting play before work?

Around noon I ran home for this gorgeous green lunch, which was promptly thrown into a bag to eat in class. Gotta do what you gotta do ;). Now I'm off to yoga before I buckle down with my academic to-dos. We know exercise => endorphins, but how does yoga fall into this happy sphere?

Many studies suggest that yoga can effect positive states of mind, despite life's highs and lows. In 1993, a British team measured the effects of three relaxation techniques--chair sitting, visualization, and yoga--and found that yoga resulted in the greatest increase in alertness, mental and physical energy, and lust for life. Likewise, a 1994 German study, which compared a group of women practicing hatha yoga to a second group that did not, found that the yoginis showed markedly higher scores in life satisfaction, and lower scores in aggressiveness, emotionality, and sleep problems."

Thank you Yoga Journal. Take care everyone, I'll see you tomorrow!