Find Your Inner Resource
This is a time of stress and uncertainty. The national election is only days away. The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East continue to rage. With the world in chaos around us, it’s important to find an inner refuge within ourselves. Finding your inner resource is a proven way to find a safe haven within your body and or your mind where you experience feeling calm, peaceful and a sense of wellbeing.
Richard Miller, Ph.D., founder and executive director of the Integrative Restoration Institute (IRI), developed a yoga program (iRest yoga nidra) to rehabilitate soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from PTSD. The iRest protocol includes 10 steps, including finding your Inner Resource. I invite you to find your Inner Resource - allow me to be your guide.
Bring yourself into a comfortable position. You can be seated or lying down. Your eyes can be closed or your gaze soft. Begin to adjust your body so you can fully relax into a deep state of self-reflection. You might cover up with a soft blanket, bring a pillow under your head or your knees. Bring an eye pillow over your eyes - move your arms away from your body - adjusting your body in any way that brings a sense of calm and ease.
Begin to notice sounds in the room around you. Aware of the surface your body is resting on. Notice your body breathing - aware of the rise and fall of your chest and your belly - your body as it breaths itself.
Bring to mind your inner resource. An anchor within your body or a place that you imagine in your mind where you feel calm and relaxed. Able to be yourself without concern. You might imagine a special room, a place at the Bay or the ocean, an image of the woods or mountains. Using all of your senses, bring to mind smells, tastes, and sounds that you associate with a sense of well-being. Imagine people who value you for who you are. Bring to mind people, animals, objects, or other resources that help you to feel peaceful and relaxed.
Know that anytime during your daily life, anytime day or night, should you desire to feel peaceful and relaxed, bring to mind your inner resource.