Such a beautiful, nourishing read, Vicki. Similar to you, yoga and meditation, along with time spent walking in the woods or by the sea, have been the doorway to this deeper joy for me. How miraculous that it lives in us and is part of us. ❤️
I read every word of this with gratitude. For some reason it is easier for me to visualize the path by thinking of the nervous system the way you've concisely and clearly laid out. I then began to realize that I have pockets of the experience you describe to recall and draw upon all over again. Thank you for sharing both your story and your knowledge.
Thanks for sharing that Elizabeth, and yes those pockets of experience feel like a gift we can revisit, a resource we carry with us internally. I'm so glad to hear this resonated with you 😊
I love this!! Beautifully said. I've long felt contentment was more of a goal over being happy or striving for more and more. The world matching up to that is hard. Jobs, inflation, living in a city, traffic, the amount of emails schools send parents, tax returns. Finding ways to make the world slow down feels like an important cultural step??
Yes, I absolutely agree Helen. Joy is so much more accessible when we slow down, and in modern life that feels so challenging and counter-cultural! Thanks for sharing your thoughts here 😊
Thank you, Vicky, for this thoughtful exploration of joy and its deeper roots. What stands out is how joy is not just a fleeting experience but a systemic phenomenon. The layers that obscure our innate joy are mirrored in the systems we live within—structures often shaped by fear, disconnection, and survival instincts.
Accessing joy, as you describe, is transformative not only for the individual but for the collective. When we pause to recalibrate our nervous systems and step out of conditioned responses, we disrupt the cycles of fear and division that sustain these systems. This inner work becomes a quiet, powerful act of systemic change.
Your insights highlight how uncaused joy offers a grounded, expansive way of being that transcends external circumstances. It’s a reminder that fostering connection within ourselves is foundational to creating compassionate, resilient communities. Thank you for sharing this lens—it’s both grounding and hopeful.
Thanks for getting it Jay and for sharing your thoughts here. Yes, this is so much the medicine our ailing world needs I think. I do believe that by doing the work within ourselves we are sending those ripples out into the wider world ❤️
Such a good explanation of joy. I had a similar experience when I did a Vipassana meditation course. Similarly it was a couple days in when I felt it. Makes you wonder how many layers are on top of that joy that it takes several days of quiet meditation to unlock it 😳 Is the iRest retreat being done in NZ or only overseas?
Yes, we've accumulated a lot of layers for sure!! That particular iRest immersion was here in NZ 5 years or so ago, but sadly they don't happen here very often. I've been trying to persuade Fuyuko Toyota, who's a senior iRest trainer in Australia to come and do another one.
I've done some iRest, it really is profound. Restorative, yin and yoga nidra are such powerful practices and I've had real moments of release and 'questions answered' during these moments which look like you're just lying on the floor. Thank you for reminding me I can access the practice any time. I had forgotten 🙏
One has to love that, aha moment while you were lying on that floor. I find that meditation and quiet time to myself to read, write and study does this for me. Accessing our inner nervous system and calming that down, is such an awesome feeling. As you said, your body vibrated!!! Thank you for this informative read.
Such a beautiful piece, Vicky. I’ve been embracing contentment as joy instead of happiness. We are conditioned to believe in happiness, yet it’s obscured by disconnection. I cultivate a joyful life because living in this way means balance for me. 🙏🏽
This was deeply moving and inspiring. I have long recognized my privilege of accessing joy and don’t take the ability for granted- for as you shared, it can become so buried under the stressors of life. I am now even more inspired to continue incorporating yoga and meditation practices into my daily and weekly routines, especially due to the power they hold you highlighted so beautifully in this piece!
Thank you for this. I had a recent experience like your retreat one - thanks for naming it so I too could see it for the blip of joy it was. Yoga nidra has been a salve for me too.
We are joy. Yes, this is it. Any person I look to as a guiding light to joy, has become joy. You can see it in their eyes. You can see it in their face muscles. You can feel it shining towards you when in their presence. This is what I aspire to become. Joy. No matter what is going on around me, let the sun shine in through and around. Because I have learned to be fully present to all aspects of myself, my life, and this world. Thank you. ❤️
Thank you for this - I also learnt in a retreat setting that joy emerges from stillness and interestingly the enforced stillness that chronic illness can bring has taught me even more. In Buddhism we also have the practice of rejoicing https://www.lionsroar.com/how-to-practice-sympathetic-joy/
Beautiful Emaho. And interesting to hear how chronic illness has been a teacher in this too. I think that is also true for me - chronic illness has led me to a lot of these practices. Teachers and guides come in interesting disguises!
Thanks Vicki, I agree. I enjoy a quiet joy, which is a mix of contentment and acceptance I think (in the sense of accepting the best you can create, not accepting unacceptable things), and of course, nature / environment.
I have found that reflexology has settled my nervous system when nothing else could. It started deep changes in my whole self. Changes that my conscious self really objected too (like forgiving my awful ex), but which in the end benefited me rather than him. I will never forget the day when I was sweeping the front verandah and I felt a clunk in my chest, like a gear change, and I knew deep in my being that something had changed! Everything seemed calmer after that, and joy was easier to find. 🤷🏼♀️🪷☺️
Oh that's a wonderful description of the gear change Sarah. And interesting that reflexology helped you get there. It's a modality I have not really explored, but I'm curious about it. And yes, quiet joy, acceptance and contentment feels key. We can't find our way to joy while we're arguing with reality 😀 This has been a big learning for me too.
Ah! The word finally filtered up - it was kinesiology rather than reflexology that did the big shifts. Reflexology was a gentler thing, more like maintenance.
It is - and the power of saying out loud of something despite objecting to what you are saying 😂. I remember my lovely kinesiologist making me repeat a number of times “I forgive him”, even though I was muttering at her, “I will never forgive him, I hate him”. Hence the surprise when, a few days later, that gear shift moment happened and I realised it wasn’t about him - the forgiveness- it was about my wellbeing. One of those lightbulb moments. I find “energy work” fascinating.
Sorry - my ADHD brain is like a funnel with a bottleneck - all the things are there, they just trickle through in their own time (which is not when I am actively trying to think of them 🤣)
Vicki, This piece is eye-opening for me. I never thought about the connection of joy to a balanced nervous system and how joy is impossible if one is in fight or flight all the time. As a long-time meditator, I do connect it with meditation. At this stage in my life, I feel like meditation is the most healing practice I can do for my body and nervous system. Thank you.
Such a beautiful, nourishing read, Vicki. Similar to you, yoga and meditation, along with time spent walking in the woods or by the sea, have been the doorway to this deeper joy for me. How miraculous that it lives in us and is part of us. ❤️
Yes. And we continue to look for it in all the wrong places! Thanks for sharing your experiences Dana 😊
I read every word of this with gratitude. For some reason it is easier for me to visualize the path by thinking of the nervous system the way you've concisely and clearly laid out. I then began to realize that I have pockets of the experience you describe to recall and draw upon all over again. Thank you for sharing both your story and your knowledge.
Thanks for sharing that Elizabeth, and yes those pockets of experience feel like a gift we can revisit, a resource we carry with us internally. I'm so glad to hear this resonated with you 😊
I love this!! Beautifully said. I've long felt contentment was more of a goal over being happy or striving for more and more. The world matching up to that is hard. Jobs, inflation, living in a city, traffic, the amount of emails schools send parents, tax returns. Finding ways to make the world slow down feels like an important cultural step??
Yes, I absolutely agree Helen. Joy is so much more accessible when we slow down, and in modern life that feels so challenging and counter-cultural! Thanks for sharing your thoughts here 😊
Thank you, Vicky, for this thoughtful exploration of joy and its deeper roots. What stands out is how joy is not just a fleeting experience but a systemic phenomenon. The layers that obscure our innate joy are mirrored in the systems we live within—structures often shaped by fear, disconnection, and survival instincts.
Accessing joy, as you describe, is transformative not only for the individual but for the collective. When we pause to recalibrate our nervous systems and step out of conditioned responses, we disrupt the cycles of fear and division that sustain these systems. This inner work becomes a quiet, powerful act of systemic change.
Your insights highlight how uncaused joy offers a grounded, expansive way of being that transcends external circumstances. It’s a reminder that fostering connection within ourselves is foundational to creating compassionate, resilient communities. Thank you for sharing this lens—it’s both grounding and hopeful.
Thanks for getting it Jay and for sharing your thoughts here. Yes, this is so much the medicine our ailing world needs I think. I do believe that by doing the work within ourselves we are sending those ripples out into the wider world ❤️
Lovely piece, thank you for bringing safety & unwinding into the conversation
Thanks Maya 🙏
Such a good explanation of joy. I had a similar experience when I did a Vipassana meditation course. Similarly it was a couple days in when I felt it. Makes you wonder how many layers are on top of that joy that it takes several days of quiet meditation to unlock it 😳 Is the iRest retreat being done in NZ or only overseas?
Yes, we've accumulated a lot of layers for sure!! That particular iRest immersion was here in NZ 5 years or so ago, but sadly they don't happen here very often. I've been trying to persuade Fuyuko Toyota, who's a senior iRest trainer in Australia to come and do another one.
I'd definitely be interested if it ever comes here!
If I hear anything, I’ll let you know
I've done some iRest, it really is profound. Restorative, yin and yoga nidra are such powerful practices and I've had real moments of release and 'questions answered' during these moments which look like you're just lying on the floor. Thank you for reminding me I can access the practice any time. I had forgotten 🙏
Wonderful 😃 Yes, it really is a profound practice, and one I return to over and over.
One has to love that, aha moment while you were lying on that floor. I find that meditation and quiet time to myself to read, write and study does this for me. Accessing our inner nervous system and calming that down, is such an awesome feeling. As you said, your body vibrated!!! Thank you for this informative read.
Thanks MaryAnn, I'm so glad it resonated with you 😊
Such a beautiful piece, Vicky. I’ve been embracing contentment as joy instead of happiness. We are conditioned to believe in happiness, yet it’s obscured by disconnection. I cultivate a joyful life because living in this way means balance for me. 🙏🏽
Beautiful Yolanda, that's a lovely way to frame it 😊
This was deeply moving and inspiring. I have long recognized my privilege of accessing joy and don’t take the ability for granted- for as you shared, it can become so buried under the stressors of life. I am now even more inspired to continue incorporating yoga and meditation practices into my daily and weekly routines, especially due to the power they hold you highlighted so beautifully in this piece!
Thanks Isabella. Yes, such important (and underrated) work I think 😊
Thank you for this. I had a recent experience like your retreat one - thanks for naming it so I too could see it for the blip of joy it was. Yoga nidra has been a salve for me too.
Glad to hear it resonates with your experience too Sara ❤
We are joy. Yes, this is it. Any person I look to as a guiding light to joy, has become joy. You can see it in their eyes. You can see it in their face muscles. You can feel it shining towards you when in their presence. This is what I aspire to become. Joy. No matter what is going on around me, let the sun shine in through and around. Because I have learned to be fully present to all aspects of myself, my life, and this world. Thank you. ❤️
Beautifully put Danni 😊 And yes, I'm aspiring to move more and more in this direction too ❤
I loved reading this, Vicki. I think this pathway and perspective on joy is so needed and important right now.
I’ve had similar moments of pure joy (also on a yoga mat) and while deep in nature /deep in myself.
Our nervous system is the pathway there (not continuous yanks of the dopamine levers). Thanks for this reminder 🙏🏼
Thank you Allison, and I'm so glad to hear it resonates with your experience too 😊
Thank you for this - I also learnt in a retreat setting that joy emerges from stillness and interestingly the enforced stillness that chronic illness can bring has taught me even more. In Buddhism we also have the practice of rejoicing https://www.lionsroar.com/how-to-practice-sympathetic-joy/
Beautiful Emaho. And interesting to hear how chronic illness has been a teacher in this too. I think that is also true for me - chronic illness has led me to a lot of these practices. Teachers and guides come in interesting disguises!
Thanks Vicki, I agree. I enjoy a quiet joy, which is a mix of contentment and acceptance I think (in the sense of accepting the best you can create, not accepting unacceptable things), and of course, nature / environment.
I have found that reflexology has settled my nervous system when nothing else could. It started deep changes in my whole self. Changes that my conscious self really objected too (like forgiving my awful ex), but which in the end benefited me rather than him. I will never forget the day when I was sweeping the front verandah and I felt a clunk in my chest, like a gear change, and I knew deep in my being that something had changed! Everything seemed calmer after that, and joy was easier to find. 🤷🏼♀️🪷☺️
Oh that's a wonderful description of the gear change Sarah. And interesting that reflexology helped you get there. It's a modality I have not really explored, but I'm curious about it. And yes, quiet joy, acceptance and contentment feels key. We can't find our way to joy while we're arguing with reality 😀 This has been a big learning for me too.
Ah! The word finally filtered up - it was kinesiology rather than reflexology that did the big shifts. Reflexology was a gentler thing, more like maintenance.
Ah yes, kinesiology is also fascinating 😃
It is - and the power of saying out loud of something despite objecting to what you are saying 😂. I remember my lovely kinesiologist making me repeat a number of times “I forgive him”, even though I was muttering at her, “I will never forgive him, I hate him”. Hence the surprise when, a few days later, that gear shift moment happened and I realised it wasn’t about him - the forgiveness- it was about my wellbeing. One of those lightbulb moments. I find “energy work” fascinating.
That's really fascinating. Thanks for sharing that Sarah.
Called NLP / “neurolinguistic programming”
Sorry - my ADHD brain is like a funnel with a bottleneck - all the things are there, they just trickle through in their own time (which is not when I am actively trying to think of them 🤣)
Vicki, This piece is eye-opening for me. I never thought about the connection of joy to a balanced nervous system and how joy is impossible if one is in fight or flight all the time. As a long-time meditator, I do connect it with meditation. At this stage in my life, I feel like meditation is the most healing practice I can do for my body and nervous system. Thank you.
Thanks for sharing that Sandra, yes meditation is so powerful, in all its forms. I'm glad to hear it was useful 😊