S1 E32 - For Body and Being - Mobility, Stability, and Strength

This episode will air on Thanksgiving Day. It's a perfect time to thank you so much for listening! I'm grateful for you and for your interest in this material.

Today we cover aspects of our body which can translate into aspects of our being, as I let you in on a recent discovery I had while in a 3-day intensive yoga training.

We use an infinity symbol with three different aspects I ask you to imagine: on the left is MOBILITY. On the right is STABILITY. Right in the middle where they cross is STABILITY.

As I was practicing and learning more about therapeutic approaches to classic asana, my body was hit with the realization that I had been so busy working on my mobility that I was completely neglecting the strength side of the equation. Thus, there is a lack of stability in what I'm doing now because I haven't spent much time on strengthening myself, which ultimately leads to greater resilience in my being.

The body can serve as a metaphor often for what we are doing in our lives, and this one really made the lightbulb go on. I've been running away from challenges that might bring me face to face with rejection, because I wanted to hang out in my safe zone (which is mobility for me, and my busy mind).

I use the metaphor of distance running and my experience with that to demonstrate the slow process of working up to more and more challenging goals (and we all have personal preferences about what is meaningful to us). As a long distance runner, I started with 5ks, then upleveled to 5-milers, 10ks, and 10-milers. I didn't start off wanting to run a half marathon or even a marathon. I have completed one marathon and over 20 half-marathons. It really didn't seem that hard after a while.

At the end of the episode, I ask the following questions for you to consider in your own life. Maybe you think about these on a walk, or maybe you take the time to journal them out:

• In what areas in your life do you lack mobility?
• In what areas, is mobility a little greater than you might want?
• Are there areas in life where you may be shying away from things that build your strength and resilience?
• Are you hanging out in your safety zone rather than your growth zone?
• Avoiding some risks that feel scary?
• What about your stability?
• For those of you who like experimentation and creativity, do you have a source of income that helps you achieve these goals?
• Or is the opposite true? Do you have a job that feels stable, but you are veering on stagnation, because it's not challenging you in the right ways?

Next episode will address some different approaches to these issues, and some thoughts about I like to approach the different aspects.

Resources Mentioned:

Yoga North

Tula Yoga & Wellness

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Music credit: https://www.melodyloops.com/composers/ihsandincer/

Cover art credit: https://www.natalyakolosowsky.com/