We are all journeying through uncharted territories. There is a lot of uncertainty about the future, and regular routines and schedules are gone. This can all feel ungrounding, unsettling, and bring up fear.
How do we navigate the road ahead of us? Develop our inner resilience.
At a basic level, resilience is our ability to recover quickly after a disturbance or something troublesome. Being resilient doesn’t mean that we won’t feel unsettled or stressed, but rather than being stuck in these feelings, we can recover, respond, and adapt to what is happening right now.
Below is one of my favorite practices in building resilience in body, mind, and spirit. This present moment awareness practice supports us in recovering quickly from the multitude of disturbances we are faced with (the news, empty shelves at the store, new responsibilities and systems, as well as social distancing). Repeating this practice throughout the day, particularly when we are troubled, helps us to relax our nervous systems and return to the present movement. Research has demonstrated that prolonged psychological and emotional stresses negatively impact our immune system (Glaser and Kiecolt-Glaser, 2005). Decreasing stress through mindfulness practices can be vital in supporting our health and well being at this time. In addition, as we keep our focus on the present moment, we can make clear, decisive, and sustainable choices. This is resilience.
Present moment awareness practice:
- Notice your feet making contact with the ground (floor) below you. Feel your heel and the ball of your foot making contact with the ground.
- Feeling our feet on the floor helps to ground us and shifts our attention from our thoughts to be in our bodies. Noticing the aliveness of our fee helps us to “drop-in” from the mind to the moment.
- Notice yourself sitting or standing. If you are sitting, notice your sit bones making contact with the chair.
- Notice your breath, the inhalation and exhalation.
- Begin to feel the aliveness of your body; this might be a tingling sensation or feeling of warmth. Start with focusing on your feet, then move to your legs, torso, back, arms, shoulders, neck, and head.
- Feel yourself fully occupying your body, in other words, take up your space. Notice your width dimension in your shoulders and hips, as well as your chest and back.
- Lengthen your spine with ease and allow your shoulders to drop.
- Lean slightly back, which causes your heart to gently take front and center. The action of leaning back lets your body and spirit know that the Universe has your back. This is an open and empowered position.
