You’re having one of those days. You know the ones, where life just doesn’t seem to be going the way you want it to. And you’re not in a good mood to put it mildly. In fact, you’re feeling irritated and downright grumpy. And the last thing you need is someone suggesting that you welcome life, this moment, these emotions just as they are….Right?
Welcoming Life Just As It Is…
I totally get it. I do, it can sound trite or fine as long as what you’re experiencing/feeling is good but what if it’s a distressing emotion? What then? This happened to me the other day. I didn’t think I handled a situation very well and was feeling anxious and upset. There were all sorts of thoughts like “I should have done/said this, known better etc” (sound familiar?) and I dearly wished I could go back in time and change things.
However, in the midst of this angst I was also able to stay connected to a felt-sense that everything was OK (I was OK) and that these thoughts and emotions would pass. I also knew from past experience that if I welcomed them in and experienced them as sensations in my body, that they would have their own cycle of life and death – that would flow through me with less conflict.
Did this make the process easy? No, I had a pretty torrid night of it. But what enabled me to be with it and ride it out was this internalised felt-sense of feeling safe and secure just as I am. This is a quality I have nourished through my daily practise of iRest® Yoga Nidra, especially through developing what is known as our Inner Resource.
Feeling Safe, Secure and At Ease With Yourself
The Inner Resource is all about creating this felt-sense in your body of feeling relaxed, secure and at
ease: A sense of well-being and peace that is always available to you, and which you can draw upon especially during difficult times. In iRest, we spend time helping you develop and embed your own unique Inner Resource, using all of your senses.
You can begin to create this now for yourself by bringing to mind a special place (maybe somewhere in nature) or room that embodies a sense of well-being, peace and calm for you (it can be real or imagined). Take a moment to really visualise, feel, taste, hear and smell this place and drop down into the felt-sense it creates in your body.
Over time, as you nourish your Inner Resource on a daily basis you may find that when those distressing, challenging moments in life occur, this deep sense of peace and well-being will be there to nourish you through the hard times.
Restoring, Relaxing and Healing
Discovering and embodying your Inner Resource is one stage in the ten stage deeply relaxing practice of iRest Yoga Nidra. A process that enables you to experience the essence of your Nature as whole and at peace. If you would like to explore how iRest can help you navigate life with greater ease and contentment then please join me in my next iRest Yoga Nidra workshop on the 30th May 2015. If you’ve attended in the past, you are always welcome to rejoin as a way to refresh your experience.
Over To You
I’m curious as to what kind of place creates this sense of safety, security and peacefulness for you? My sense is that nature will feature strongly but I may be wrong. Also, what words for well-being resonate most for you? I’d love it if you would share your experiences in the comments below.
PS…
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