Finding Your Inner Happy Baby: The Secret to Spontaneous Joy (and My Own NDE Story)
- Lana L
- Jul 17
- 2 min read
In a recent Yoga Nidra practice, I was working with a technique I often share in my classes: 'rewinding the tape.' It’s a simple but profound visualization where you consciously play back a joyful memory, immersing yourself in the details to savor the experience and rewire the nervous system for happiness.
I settled into the quiet space of my mind, ready to replay a simple, happy day. But the tape didn't just rewind a few days or weeks. It rewound 43 years.
Suddenly, I was 22 years old again. I was brought right back to the immediate aftermath of a near-death experience I had at that age. The memory that surfaced wasn't of the event itself, but of the day after. I remembered waking up and feeling a quality of joy that I had never experienced before, and perhaps haven't felt with that exact intensity since. It was a pure, spontaneous, vibrating joy just to be breathing, just to be alive. It was the joy of existence itself.
Lying on my mat, I had a sudden, crystal-clear 'aha' moment. I realized exactly why I feel so driven to teach about joy right now. My desire to teach the science of a smile, and to hold space for others to reset their nervous systems... it is all rooted in that 22-year-old girl. My entire curriculum is simply my heart's attempt to share that profound, unconditional joy of life with anyone who will listen.
I realized that the joy I felt at 22 wasn't a miracle that happened to me—it was a state of being that was always there, waiting for me to recognize it. And I have spent the years learning, practicing and teaching yoga in order to be able to have glimpses of that state of consciousness.
I would like to share with you, that you don’t need a near-death experience to reclaim this feeling. You can start today, right in your own body. I’ve recorded a short, 10-minute practice for you—a 'Joy Reset'—that uses the science of the physical smile, expansive diaphragmatic breathing, and a guided visualization to help you reconnect with your own 'inner happy baby.' Science tells us that when we smile - even if we don't feel like that at first - we signal our brain to release dopamine and serotonin. I tell my students 'fake it until you make it'.
When you do this, you are doing more than just changing your brain chemistry. You are reaching across time, past the stress of the present day, and reconnecting with your own true nature. You are reminding yourself that the pure joy of simply being. It is just waiting for you to smile and say hello. Try this short guided meditation and share with me your experience. I sincerely hope you will be able to discover a simple gateway to your inner joy.
Please save a date: July 29 class - Discovering your Inner Joy.
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