Feeling blue? Is the universe conspiring to put your spirits down? Before author Paulo Coelho can advice you to wait it out while the universe works hard to restore your happiness back, these simple quick-fixes for the soul will help you find your tao.
Soul booster # 1
Spend time among nature and animals
Natureopathy: For Sanctuary Asia magazine editor Bittu Sahgal, the best way to deal with the lows is to make a date with nature.
"I seek out something natural -- the sea, a patch of green, or if I can, a forest to visit. In moments goodness pervades my soul, “he shares.
In fact, Sahgal has made nature visits a priority to keep himself sane in this chaotic world.
"Not a month goes by without me being able to commune with wild nature. More than anything else I enjoy the quiet and the organised beauty and economy of nature," he says.
Cuddle therapy: While Sahgal seeks calm and beauty in nature, HR manager Shalini Duggal Jha seeks solace in utter chaos.
She returns from work everyday to a mad volley of barks and jumping around by her two dogs. Goran and Simba as they welcome her home. Adopted a year back from a nearby animal shelter, these two bundles of energy give Duggal Jha enough of a workout to feel as good as new.
Mood elevators: If you cant find a forest or a patch of green anywhere in sight create your own green lung right at home. Use your balcony or window sill to plant easy-to-grow aromatic herbs like lemon grass and basil or flowering plants like marigold and geranium.
Don't have your own pet to cuddle to? Why not volunteer at the nearest animal shelter. Most animal shelters have facilities which allow volunteers to spend time with or walk dogs as part of their activities.
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Soul booster # 2
Re-read your favourite book or watch a funny film
Get bookish: Whether it is your favourite self help book that you reach out for from time-to-time or the dog-eared copy of Bridget Jones Diary by Helen Fielding that has you in splits every time you read about a single girl’s woes and mis-adventures in London, turning to our favourite books when life doesn’t seem very fair could be a way to beat the lows.
CineTherapy: For others like Suranjan Das, Senior VP & Managing Partner, Fortune Communications Ltd, a JWT group advertising agency, watching mindless comedy and action films is a great way of de-stressing.
"The cult comedy series Monty Python is what I usually end up watching when I am a little down. Martial arts, Science fiction and action are the other genres which help me keep my troubles at bay with their mindless action," says Das.
Mood elevators: Dim your room lights, keep your chilled canned drink and a bowl of popcorn handy while you watch your favourite Martians invading earth in Mars Attac or Aamir and Salman competing with each other in the bufoonery department in the mindless comic caper Andaaz Apna Apna.
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Soul Booster # 3
Get a makeover
Tress de-stress: Don’t just hit the cosmetics counter at your nearest mall with a vengeance yet. Instead get yourself a brand new haircut at half the price. Go for a haircut that you have never had before.
Consult the stylist and get a smart, new edgy or messy bob or get side swept bangs to compliment your long hair. If you are not feeling too adventurous about a haircut, streak your hair instead with an interesting colour.
A chop here and a streak there can do wonders for the depressed you. Though a radical hairstyle may or may not be the antidote to all your problems, it will definitely make you feel like a new person every time you look into the mirror for sometime at least.
Pain therapy: But for some like S Vinita, who works for a non profit organisation CREA in New Delhi, choosing to inflict further pain on herself was the way she chose to cheer herself. On a whim one day, when she was not particularly feeling too upbeat, Vinita decided to get a tattoo done on her ankle.
"I had been toying with the idea of getting a tattoo done but never really got down to it. One weekend when I was alone at home and feeling a little out, I decided to go and get my favourite fish pattern tattooed on my ankle," says Vinita.
Mood elevators: Can’t afford to colour your hair in your favourite shade of plum red because of stringent office guidelines, then try on some temporary hair mascara during your evening out or even while you chill in front of the television.
Available in adventurous hues like pinks, blues, silvers, reds and golds, it takes just one wash to remove them and bring your good old hair back.
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Soul booster # 4
Spend an afternoon at a spa
Get spa-ed: Head for a day spa if you want to feel pampered and get rejuvenated. As the massueau vigorously works on your muscles and tendons, kneads into your pressure points and relaxes your ligaments, feel the calm and peace seeping back into your body.
And while you are being pounded about, you can choose from an astonishing range of exotic oils and essences to make your massage experience totally worthwhile.
Pamper therapy: From an anti-oxidant promising green tea body polish to a cooling herbal mint-cucumber massage to mango or lavender essence infused oil body massage or even getting drenched in a wine or chocolate infused body massage, the sky is the limit.
And for those who neither have the time, energy nor funds to drag themselves down to a spa on a particularly gloomy day, help is at hand. If you can’t go to a spa, create one right at home, advices Delhi-based marketing executive Anita Bora. Even a bath tub is not required.
Just put together a few colourful tea lights, throw in some fragrant rose petals in your bath water, use a heady aromatic body wash or just soak your feet in a relaxing foot soak. And while you are at it don't forget to put on the soothing French music on your iPod.
Mood elevators: Fancy a fig and walnut bath soak or maybe a delicious vanilla and cardamom body soufflé? Brands like Forest Essentials, the Umi Spa range by Waitrose and the handmade range by Lush are good aids to begin your spa-at-home experiment.
And your grandmother's age old whip-up-right-at-home recipes for beautiful sparkling skin will always come in handy too.
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Soul booster # 5
Cook or eat your favourite comfort food
Live-to-eat: Most of us chomp down on our favourite comfort foods without even being aware that we are doing it. Whenever we feel lonely or bored, reaching out for our favourite bag of chips or a chocolate bar almost seems like a reflex action.
Research says that comfort eating makes us feel safe and secure and helps us feel much better. It makes us go back in time to a more peaceful occasion when there were no worries.
Gastro therapy: Consuming your favourite food has got nothing to do with feeling hungry. While some like to just microwave their favourite food or buy them off the supermarket racks, for some painstakingly cooking their favourite dish from scratch is the way to nirvana.
The whole idea of choosing what to make, chopping, grinding, tossing and cooking can be an important cathartic experience.
Mood elevators: When you are in a fix about what to cook with the three oddball ingredients left over in the refrigerator, reach for the keyboard and google your favourite blogs to find a solution. Food blogs are all about comfort cooking and eating.
Every foodie blogger has their own take on popular or traditional recipes and usually provide their personal touches while making it. Get inspired by blogs like Chocolate and Zucchini, Limes and Lycopene, 80 Breakfasts or Quick Indian Cooking.
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Soul Booster # 6
Go for a long walk or run
Fun-on-the run: A long walk or run when you are feeling a bit rundown may give you aching muscles, blinding sweat and smelly clothes, but will also help release enough endorphines to bring back the zing in your life instantly.
Adrenaline therapy: Chicago-based Shivani Ramnath likes to do her two km run every day come hell or highwater. Whenever Ramnath feels a little down and out she puts on her running shoes, plugs on her earphones and takes off for a long run.
"There can be no greater feeling than the wind in my hair and the sweat that I work up everyday," she says. What Ramnath maybe talking about is the “Running High” or the euphoria experienced by seasoned runners. Studies have shown that running like exercising, especially outside in the open air leads to a release of endorphines that causes a high or a general sense of well being.
Ramnath also says that jogging or running allows her to mull over the reasons she might be feeling low for and get down to the solution. "More often than not after a good sweaty run I am raring to go once more," she says.
Mood elevators: Choose your favourite music before setting out for a walk or run.
Running on the beach can be fun as well as exercise for the leg muscles. The sand works like a tough gym instructor forcing you to exercise your rusted muscles and the brisk wind works like a permanent air cooler making you feel fresh.
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