You’ve probably heard of the age-old saying that happiness lies in little things. And now, science testifies the same. If reports are to be believed, ‘hygge’ is the buzzword doing the rounds (on social media and otherwise) of late. For the uninitiated, here’s what the term means — a concept, which encompasses a feeling of cozy contentment and enjoying the simple things in life.
More to do with a feeling or rather a state of mind, than a mere word; ygge(pronounced hoo-ga or hue-ga) dates back to the 19th century, where the concept was developed as a way of living by the Danish. Hygge is all about employing the five senses to absorb the joy of simplest things in life. We ask city-based experts to give us their take, as we dig deeper...
“Hygge as an ‘art of creating intimacy’ is a concept, which in itself may not be complete,” opines Acharya Samita Rathore, a yoga-vedanta teacher, mentor, clinical hypnotherapist, psychologist and spiritual educator. Loneliness is a big issue these days and hygge has a potential to combat that to a great extent.”
Is it all about comfort? Adds Acharya Rathore: “We need to remember it could create strong dependency and addiction to comfort and life is not always about comfort! It is a means and not an end in itself. Remember happiness and sadness are two sides of the same coin and part of life, so all cosy may not always be possible!”
Considering how a whopping 56 million Indians are diagnosed with clinical depression and another 38 million are battling anxiety-related issues, Sachin A.Tantry, a meditator and new-media professor, believes the concept is probably the most relevant among today’s Indian youth. “Hygge is a wonderful concept and I feel it is relevant to anyone on this planet,” says he. “We can call it ‘simple pleasures of life’. To me, as a meditator, I feel hygge when I take deep complete breaths which energise while inhaling and relax while exhaling.
During meditation, the stillness we feel without any thoughts or feelings and being in the present moment is the best hygge moment. The whole point of practisinghygge boils down to three words: following your bliss. With much being said and spoken about, what one needs to know is that it’s pivotal to live in the now. Irrespective of whether you’re capable of employing all the five senses or not, the message is to adopt and train your mind to relish the moment. The best is to stop a moment and be more receptive towards your thoughts and needs.”
With the concept being discussed at length, Namita Kulkarni, a Bengaluru-based holistic yoga practitioner enthuses how not having hygge is not feasible in today’s context. “Most of us need frequent reminders that there’s more to the human experience than being smartphone-dependent life forms, so give yourself some hygge at every chance you get! The first time I heard the Danish word, I remember thinking it sounds a whole lot like ‘hug’. For good reason, as it turns out. To me, hygge is that relaxed, warm feeling of ‘all I need is this’ when I curl up with a book and a blanket under dim lights just bright enough to read, or when I’m doing yoga in the outdoors on a breezy day.”
