A Simple Way to Be More Gentle with Yourself

A few months ago, I read Mud, Sweat and Tears by Bear Grylls (which was a great read; adventure and inspiration mixed with life lessons; always a great combo).

One of the key points I took away was something that one of his friends said to him. To paraphrase, it went along the lines of: If it’s in your heart, when something is important, there is often a birth, a death and a resurrection.

Boy, can I relate to that! I’ve had so many births and deaths when it comes to projects, self-care activities, and other commitments I’ve made to myself. 

What I really love is the idea of the resurrection. If something that has “died” keeps coming back to you as an idea or an awareness, it’s meant to be resurrected. 

For example, yoga is important to me. I’ve built up the capacity to get on the mat every day for at least a few sun salutations. And yet, for a few weeks, I just didn’t have it in me to do longer classes. It was kind of like that part of me died. (And it wasn’t dramatic, it kind of just slipped away in the night, barely noticeable.)

Eventually, it became evident that there was a desire to get back to it and I started doing some longer classes again. 

Here’s the important part. I could have used the death of the longer classes to get all hard on myself and beat myself up for ‘failing’ at something that’s important to me. Instead, using the wisdom of Bear’s friend, I just trusted that at some point, if it was in my heart to continue, there would be a resurrection.

I didn’t have to force myself; I allowed my energy to evolve. Trusting in the resurrection ensured that the lull didn’t last all that long. Listening to my intuition created an opportunity to be gentle with myself. 

Unlike the yoga, there have been other parts of my life that had just a birth and a death. The magazine I ran, for example. The web TV show I did for a year. Barre class. The difference with those endeavours is that there is no desire for resurrection. They feel complete. 

Allowing that feeling of completion is another way to be gentle rather than dictatorial. No need to beat myself up for not following through or letting them go. It’s just acknowledging that there’s a different kind of experience here that doesn’t have the resurrection (for now at least). 

How to know if a resurrection is wanting to come through? Intuition is a quiet, persistent experience. It’s an idea that comes back over and over. And it comes in like a cloud. It’s neutral or positive in its tone. If you’re having a thought like that repeatedly, what inspired action can you take?

It might be as simple as scheduling in a time to make it happen (like my yoga class) and then doing it. Or it might be more complex, which would entail looking at the most baby step you can take. 

Is there a whisper of a resurrection wanting to happen in your life right now? You’re invited to get curious, listen with your heart and see what inspired action is wanting to come through.

May you have many opportunities this week to be gentle with yourself. 

With tender love and peaceful courage,

Christina

>Creator of Courageous Self-Care

>Fun fact #1: has never had a sip of coffee

>Fun fact #2: has eaten fire (it was hot) (and not delicious) (won’t be doing that again)

PS - The BodyAwake Yoga Community will be free for another month. Hooray! Join us this Friday for a livestream class at 9am Mountain, or do the replay at your own convenience. Click the image below to join if you’re not already a member. You’ll also get access to the library of classes to do whenever you like.