This holiday season, let’s prioritize the things that matter the most with the help of this Danish “way of life!”

This week in particular, I am bringing you a health and well-being practice you can implement in your own life. As a huge proponent of health, I believe it is important to take time to focus on yourself and well-being. Allow me to share with you an ancient cultural tradition I began to incorporate in my own life.

It’s amazing how adopting a certain culture’s “way of life” can have major effects on your mental, physical and emotional health. Aside from that, this method also broadens your worldview and appreciation for other cultures.

Keep reading to know why I’ve adopted some Danish habits to improve major areas of my health and well-being. Here’s why you should consider adopting them as well, especially around the holidays.

CEO, MBO Partners
Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute

This holiday season, let’s prioritize the things that matter the most with the help of this Danish “way of life!”

I’m sure many of you are well aware of the global craze over the Danish concept “hygge” (pronounced “hoo-gah”). However, for those of you who are not familiar with the concept, which has now been defined in the Oxford dictionary as “a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being,” I want to fill you in on its benefits for well being and mental health, especially during this season of holiday hustle.

In general, most Danes say hygge is more than a simple word to be defined. Instead, hygge encapsulates rather, a feeling or an experience. For the Danish hygge has been a long practiced cultural norm. And unlike in America, where it’s simply seen to be more of a trend encapsulating card games called Hygge and even dinner parties which host a variety of Danish food, in Denmark hygge is a part of everyday life.

The way to live with a hygge state of mind means being grateful and content with the present, taking time to slow down and truly appreciate the world around you, and of course meeting with close friends over good, homecooked, food and conversation. They continue this emphasis on less extravagance and deep appreciation by even bringing it into their home decor. Instead of buying the latest home fads, they limit their space to the basics, but add in touches of family life and meaningful objects. If you go to a home in Denmark, you’ll behold the creation of a warm, relaxing atmosphere. The goal: to feel whole even with less.

When I first encountered hygge, it reminded me of Sisu, which is the Finnish method of achieving happiness. A cultural trait which I began to adopt more fervently in my life a year ago. Which is why Hygge caught my eye immediately when my daughter came home from teaching yoga to speak to us about it. Intrigued by her explanation of this new American fad, I decided to look a little more deeply into it and see if there were any takeaways from this Danish cultural concept that I could incorporate into my own sense of wellbeing.

Today, I’d like to share with you my the top two most impactful takeaways from implementing Hygge into both my own wellbeing and the wellbeing of those around me:

1. Be Present:
   You’ve heard it before, “Live in the Moment.” Yet, as Americans, and especially during the holiday season, slowing down is not in our everyday vocabulary. Especially living in a world where our tablets constantly buzz and beep at us to click on the latest news story, or respond to so and so’s message immediately, our mind never truly ever seems to get a chance to just turn off. However, once I started paying attention to and practicing Hygge I began to feel healthier once I did take time to pause, slow down, and enjoy. The reason for this is because I realized that once I decided to be present, I made more intuitive decisions towards my workouts and eating habits.

   For instance, instead of starting off each morning on my phone I instead tuned into how I felt upon waking up. Realizing how my body felt in the space around me, aided in my choice of work outs for that day. Knowing and taking the time to tune into yourself and be present, I believe can save you from either pushing yourself too hard or not pushing yourself enough. I knew whether or not my body felt up to a Krav Maga class, a spin class, or a day of yoga simply by taking the time to be present and notice.

   Being present also reaped extreme benefits on my eating habits. Danes themselves practice truly appreciating their food. They create a great amount of emphasis on how, where, when, and what you eat. By adopting this way of thinking into my own life I made conscious decisions about what I was putting into my body as fuel for that day. I would allow myself the time to make a great cup of coffee and a filling breakfast, a meal I normally skipped. By allowing myself space and time to shut off my work and enjoy, and appreciate the food I was giving myself, I noticed immediately even with the first two days that I wasn’t gobbling down a quick lunch or reaching for a bag of chips in the afternoon. I especially encourage you to take time during the holidays to have filling and nutritious meals because as we all know too well, the Holidays are loaded with a handful of chestnuts here, two sugar cookies there, and some peppermint bark to top it off. If you become more aware, I promise you this January you will not be frantically trying to find the newest and latest weight loss regimen.

2. Truly Communicate:
   The second most important takeaway I took away from my dive into Hygge was their emphasis on truly communicating and appreciating the people around you. Yes, the holiday season has you thinking of others and gifting half your savings account away, but are you truly taking the time to appreciate and communicate with the people in your life that mean the most to you?

   Originally, I didn’t think I had a problem in this area. None-the-less, I decided to start paying attention to it more so than I would have if I hadn’t decided to start incorporating Hygge into my life. By doing so I quickly learned how rushed, or how little I actually did tune into conversations with the people who were close to me. And while yes, I have been blessed with a family that is closely tied together and who all love one another, I realized that at the family get togethers many of us were scrolling on our phones, myself included, even when we were answering one another. Sometimes we didn’t even look up at one another but simply said a word or two.

   It was then that I decided to start practicing true connection by turning my phone off in person, practicing better eye contact with everyone around me, and by asking at least three personal questions each time I interacted with them. These questions could be simple like, “What are your plans for the weekend?” or they could be more personal like how I’d ask my son “Tell me about your own Krav Maga teacher or if you’ve met anyone there?”

   Once, I started incorporating these questions and my focus on building and communicating with my loved ones I saw a shift. Not only do we talk or call each other more, but I feel like I’ve learned more about each of my family members, and also have more intuitiveness towards their feelings and emotions than I did before practicing Hygge.

   If there’s one thing I encourage you to do around the family table this season, a time where family turmoil can be most prevalent, it is to focus more on effective communication as well as appreciation for the other person. Once you combine both, I guarantee you’ll feel more connected to them and have a better mental and emotional state yourself, but they too will feel more loved this holiday season.

And though there are many benefits you can reap by practicing Hygge, I hope you found these three takeaways useful for your own wellbeing. If you do incorporate any of these practices, be sure to let me know either by emailing me or commenting on any of my social feeds. But until next Friday, I hope you and your families remain healthy, happy, and excited for the holiday season among us.

Hope you’ve found this week’s insights interesting and helpful.

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Stay tuned for next Friday!