Last week we jumped into April, and began our month of focus on developing core strength. This week I was curious if anyone else had ideas about about the connection between core strength and courage. The first link that came up when I did a google search … Nude Partner Yoga: Discovering Courage and Core Strength. That’s an idea for sure, but not the direction I was heading.
The last two years of my life have required courage beyond what I thought I possessed. As I look back I can see there were two main sources. The first stream of courage came from a small group of friends. People who are in my life by choice and love me unconditionally. A few were old friends and some appeared at just the right moment as if in a carefully crafted novel. Each had their own stories about making it through trying times. They spooned these stories out like medicine as I needed it along the way.
The other stream of courage came through continuing to get my body moving every day. It was not a period of my finest athletic feats for sure. But I rarely missed getting to the gym or my yoga mat. The daily core work and movement was like the center board in a small boat. The few times I felt too exhausted to get myself moving, the corresponding mood dip was close behind and then I’d remember. If I could keep my body strong, it would pull my mind, and heart, and life through.
“Core work is associated with an awareness in the solar plexus area, which is the biophysical zone that dictates how centered you feel at any given moment.”
It is the area just above the navel. Many cultures have understood the power of this area for many centuries, as the third chakra is associated with the will and identity, the perception of who you are. The mind, where your sense of courage abides, and the physical body each support a piece of the whole equation.
“When your physical core gets stronger, your clarity of mind will soar with courage. And then anything is possible.”
Here is a great core workout that you can do in a chair at your desk, in your car while driving and when your mind is slipping away in a meeting.
Here’s to cultivating some courage this week!