COZY UP YOUR SOUL WITH HYGGE
Article by Ophelie Bottin
Cozy Up Your Soul With Hygge
Contrary to popular belief, Hygge has not taken over the world in 2016 as an infographic on Pinterest to decorate your home for fall, but as the key ingredient to calmness, joy, and hopefulness since circa 1840 in Denmark.
In Western countries, Hygge brings a whole new realm of simple ideas and strategies to tame negative emotions, lower the volume of unwanted noise around, and connect with intuition effortlessly. It’s especially true for the Intuitives, the Sensitives, the Empaths, the Spiritually Gifted who may feel lost at the beginning of their journey.
With no word-for-word translation, Hygge (pronounced [HOO-GA]) is the art of coziness that encapsulates the essence of Danish happiness. Based on simple pleasures, contentment, respect for Nature, and creating memories, it’s more than a cute way to stack up blankets and homemade unscented candles.
Hygge instills deep and gentle mindset shifts through undemanding practice like creating a Hygge Nook.
What is a Hygge Nook?
Like the altar you create to honor your beliefs, a Nook is a sacred space, a haven where you feel safe and secure to be you.
Maybe there’s an armchair where you love to sit or a space where you love spending time… ideally close to natural light. Or, maybe, it’s an outdoor place which you feel connected to.
The sky is really the limit in finding a place that resonates with you. This is where your Nook is.
How to turn your sacred space into a Hygge-proof space?
Basically, the idea is to bring into your Nook the essentials of the Danish way of life:
natural light,
plants/Nature (same goes for the textile, if affordable),
comfort (through blankets, the shade of a tree, or even warmth of a sunny spot in summertime),
coziness (with a mug you love),
togetherness (with a picture frame/ a collage from your loved ones, for instance),
calmness (with a notebook, your diary, some pens, crystals, or your favorite tarot decks)
Hygge Tip: If space is an issue, a convenient trick is to gather all your Hygge items into a tiny box close to your Nook and use them when you’re spending time in your Nook. By doing so, you can keep your space tidy and clean on demand.
A Hygge Nook as a sacred haven for beginners
When a wake up call happens, most of us look for help and support. We avidly seek for answers and/or have a thirst for knowledge.
Yet, until you know how to create connections between all this new material, it can be pointless to spend more time accumulating ideas and concepts. This is where your Nook becomes your invisible best ally.
It’s a place like no other where knowledge can settle, organize, create new connections, make new meanings, connect the dots effortlessly.
A simple alternative to meditation
Whether you’re not used to meditating, or you have a hard time committing to meditation, spending 10 minutes per day in your Hygge Nook (your sacred space) has the potential to:
naturally slow down your ruminating thoughts
tame low vibrational energies
create a safe bubble of pure light around you
experience rush of happy hormones effortlessly
decrease stress-induced reactions on your body (like jaw or fist clenching)
Ten minutes is not a mandatory time, it’s an average range to get benefits without flipping your daily schedule upside down. Start small and praise yourself for trying.
Hygge Tip: if meditation is already in your toolbox, use it while you’re in your Nook. Chances are you’ll reap even more positive outcomes.
A feeling of wholeness
One of the unsuspected benefits of Hygge is to (re)discover your sensory abilities. When you actively stimulate all your five senses through smelling, touching, listening, tasting, observing… your body experiences a flood of untamed emotions.
Your mind rewinds and recalls your old memories: like that day, when you were three or four, playing under an apple tree… with your grandmother. And she was sharing old wisdom with you.
If it’s doable, try to incorporate elements that may stimulate all your senses.
Touching: pet your furry baby, wrap yourself in a fluffy blanket, wearing a special piece of clothes...
Listening: a playlist with natural sounds, open the window to listen to the birds; the crisp of a fountain pen on a page of paper...
Viewing: old pictures, scrapbook, fire crackling in the chimney, frames with your own drawing/ doodles/ art...
Smelling: homemade candles, your favorite tea, hot cocoa, natural pot-pourri, that unique scent of paper, essential oils diffusing (check with your vet, some essential oils are toxic or lethal for animals)
Tasting: drink a glass of water, eat some comfort food,...
A key to access intuition
Taming low vibrational thoughts and connecting the dots between your soul and spirit have a calming effect on your mindset.
But, beyond those results, having a Hygge Nook is like having the key to unlock your intuition on demand. When your consciousness is at a standstill, you feel free to use your biggest asset: daydreaming.
What most people see as “zoning out’ is a deep and profound state where you can receive sparks of genius, bursts of clarity, or pieces of awesomeness. Your intuition may “speak” to you through drawing, scribbling, or (like me) through tarot reading.
The more you can put your soul into this state, the easier it can be to embrace your journey, to walk confidently onto a fresh path, to surrender fears and worries, to be unapologetically you.
Your Nook as a sacred space is a moment where you channel and focus on yourself and your own gifts. Your Nook is a safe place where you can explore your intuition, how it communicates with you, and receive important guidance. Be confident in your own ability to access to it.
Hygge is a way of life. It’s a chance to follow a path where you can craft, plan, and rely on a lifestyle that cares for you first.
