Where Does Strength Really Come From?
Where Does Strength Really Come From?
I went to lift my daughter one day and received an alert signal from my body “not today you don’t.” I could tell my knees couldn’t take it. Interesting, because I had carried her just fine the day before. What happened?
We all know what happens when we get our beauty sleep, or fall in love for that matter. Our skin firms up and even glows a little, or a lot!
Well, our faces aren’t the only thing that shifts states rapidly. So do the other tissues in the body. Depending on our stress level, our level of depletion AND our level of contentment, within a matter of hours, sometimes even minutes, we can go from Herculean to . . . well . . . not.
The thing is, when our nervous system is in vigilance, our chemistry orients to survival and disorients to growth. And, when the physiology that accompanies this state has been around a while, our tissues can become very lax and hypermobile. Less tangibly we call this the “blahs.”
What I’m comparing here is “offline” and “online” in relation to bodies.
Online refers to that state of being fully present, engaged and in our ‘flow.” Some call this “The Zone.” Neurologically speaking, we’re talking about the dynamic state of balance between the calming and mobilizing functions of the autonomic nervous system – the very restorative “setting” that translates to both tissue integrity and personal power.
When our spirits, inspiration and creativity are high, we can better weather the stressors of life, too little exercise and even some level of dehydration and eating the “wrong” foods. After all, research shows that states of deep enjoyment and connection to ourselves and to life can impart more restoration, and more healing, than sleep itself.
Real strength and true resilience, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, is achieved when we rest, body, mind and spirit, in a state of flow; a state achieved by connecting with who and what we love such that we’re rendered fully present, able and willing to feel deeply and engage fully with life. That’s what we’re going for!
