THIS APRIL: BUILD RESILIENCE THROUGH YOGA
In last month’s theme intention we honed in on what it means to set an intention, and worked on actively planting the seed of intention in our mind. Throughout our practices we made our intentions clear, but the question that follows is: what happens next?
Simply setting an intention does not magically create change, however as we continue our daily life, our intention becomes like a touchstone - it’s something that you can come back to at any point in time especially when you’re wavering in your emotions, thoughts or actions. Just like the breath, we have to turn the awareness back to our intention time and time again until it becomes more natural and easy for us to connect to that present awareness.
But this process is not easy. Just like a seed growing into a flower, it must first break and be covered by dirt, before it reaches the light. And it’s exactly in these wavering moments, the moments of darkness, difficulty and challenges that we grow and learn the most.
“Flowers grow back, even after they are stepped on. So will I. Resilience. ”
All of us will face challenges in life - none of us are immune - but how we deal with them, is what sets us apart. In the current climate where there are divided opinions, ongoing wars, mass fear and separation, it is more than ever important to cultivate our own trust and resilience in ourselves, to prevent becoming overwhelmed, burned out or pessimistic.
That’s why I’ve chosen for this month’s theme in The Heart Journey to revolve around building Resilience.
Being resilient means dealing with pain without getting caught in the suffering. In other words, we learn to recognise any outside or internal influences on our wellbeing, and are able to return back to our original equilibrium or balance sooner.
How do we get resilient? Is this something you are born with, or can it be cultivated? The answer is yes to both questions. Some people are naturally born with more resilient traits than others. But we can also cultivate resiliency by trying to create more inner-awareness using various tools. Fortunately, yoga is great for building stress resilience. Here’s why.
Achieving resilience means bouncing back from adversity by developing a strong mind, body, and spiritual or faith connection. The practice of yoga is a perfect tool to achieve this connection. All forms of exercise can help us feel better, but yoga is the only form of exercise that helps us connect the three important aspects of resilience: body, mind, and spirit.
Yoga literally means “union” of the body with mind and spirit via the breath. Our breath is the cord or the connection between our physical body and consciousness. Yoga facilitates this connection, and is the most ancient form of exercise, originating in India 5000 years ago. It is now widely known that doing yogic postures, also called asanas, with breath control helps to control anxiety and develop positivity.
The combination of physical postures, breath control, and concentration helps to build your resilience. Pushing ourselves during yoga practice to hold a pose when it seems we have reached our limit helps develop emotional resilience over time, and we become more confident and bold in our decisions.
Yoga is the perfect tool to teach us how our minds respond in the face of adversity. It’s easy to be happy when we enjoy a nice and easy yoga practice, but what happens when we face a pose we struggle with or loose balance and stumble on our mat? Do you laugh it off or do you get frustrated?
Your response can teach you a lot about how you would respond to other similar (stressful) events and it may just give insight into whether or not you experience the ups and downs in life as more stressful. That’s useful information!
By becoming more self-aware, we learn to observe without judgement, to change our perspective rather than trying to change the situation, and to be more introspective, all of which help develop resilience over time.
“Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient”
So, during the month of April, we’ll be working more with the practice of breathwork (to learn how to calm our nervous system whenever we face stressful situations) and challenge ourselves with a difficult pose or two, to help bring to surface our subconscious response. As we practice, we learn to strengthen our resilience and hopefully be ready to bloom by the end of the month.
If you’re interested in working on your resilience, then I invite you to try out one of The Heart Journey classes, whether you are already a member or you are just seeking to start your journey of the heart.
You can join drop-in classes starting as low as 10€/class. Or save by becoming a member and pay €21/monthly to join 4 live classes.
There is a 7- day FREE trial here in which you get your first 3 classes for free.
You can find the weekly and monthly class schedules on the website here.
I look forward to seeing you in class!
NAMASTÉ MARIJKE
Dutchie • Digital Nomad • Travel Junkie
Ocean Lover • Yoga Enthusiast