As the weather continues to change, 3 tips to help keep (or find :)) your zen:

1. Start your morning with a glass of warm/hot water with a little bit of lemon. 

• This is a great way to hydrate (replenish from the night's sleep) and get your digestive system moving. 
• You may also feel it helps relax your brain -- there is something comforting about a warm glass -- especially as the weather continues to get cooler!

2. Take 5 minutes each day (I like to do this first thing in the morning and then again before bed) to just find a quiet place and breathe. 

• Close your eyes, play some soft music maybe.... and just focus on listening to your breathe. 
• If you can - practice taking a deep inhale for a count of 4 and then exhale for the same count.
• allow yourself to indulge and even get lost in the moment! (set an alarm or play a song that is 5 minutes if you are really worried about getting too lost in the moment :))

3. Practice smiling throughout the day. 

• It may sound silly -- but I realized for myself -- I thought I'm a pretty easy-going person, but it seems as if there are less opportunities to smile through the day. I noticed that I would spend a lot of my time at work wanting to come across as serious - and didn't realize that it by default I was smiling less and less... Then I would go grocery shopping and I had to get through the aisles -- head down and no small talk -- OR smiling... and then I had to finish all my errands.... and so on and so on... and at the end of the day I was exhausted.... 
• So now, I try and smile - once every hour at least -- and my day is much more pleasurable. 
• Try it yourself -- smile once a day, then progress to 2x a day...

Homework for those inclined to master their zen and happiness:

• once you have mastered smiling therapy -- graduate to laughter therapy -- laugh for 1 minute a day... then progress to 2... and keep going -- how long can you laugh for...
• Sounds silly right? But why do we hold ourselves back from being happy -- allowing ourselves to experience happiness?

Cheers to being happy and keeping/finding our zen - as the weather changes -- and always!