Each of us has within us a reservoir of inner strength, resilience and power. By turning inward, we can access this inner strength and power and utilize it to support our own well-being.
We can develop strength and resilience by recalling and focusing our attention on moments in which we have felt strong. In recalling past moments of strength and getting through difficult times, we bring a greater sense of strength and agency to the present moment situation.
Research has also shown that empowered postures can activate a sense of personal strength. We can can engage in yoga poses that embody a sense of strength and personal power, such as standing mountain pose or warrior II pose. Once we engage in the physical pose, we can nurture a sense of strength and power by focusing awareness on the sense of strength in the body as we maintain the pose.
We can learn to use our yoga and mindfulness practice to cleanse and replenish our inner supply of energy and strength to sustain us on a daily basis and also during times of challenge or difficulty. We might imagine, for instance, in standing mountain pose, that as we stand tall and strong like a mountain, we are drawing energy from the earth. Imagine energy moving from the earth, through the bottom of the feet, and up into the entire body, cleansing and renewing the body and energy system.
If you are familiar with the chakra energy system in the body, you might also imagine each of these energy centers being cleansed and renewed as you imagine the energy moving up from the Earth.
Pause for a moment, and turn your attention toward the breath. See if you can connect with a sense of where the energy in your body feels alive and where it feels drained or blocked. Imagine directing the breath into those areas that feel blocked, and see if you can sense the breath cleansing, purifying and replenishing the energy. As we learn to care for our own well-being in these and other ways, we begin to build self-trust.
Go within every day and find the inner strength so that the world will not blow your candle out. –Katherine Dunham
Warmly,
Jen
Jen Johnson is a mindfulness teacher, coach, and therapist teaching meditation for healing, creativity, and resilience. If you want to learn mindfulness or how to develop a regular mindfulness practice, register for the MBSR online Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course.