Written by Aviva Tulasi
Resilience is the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity. It is a term used to gauge a person’s capacity to recover, to cope, from stressful and traumatic experiences. The American Psychological Association (APA) defines resilience as “the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.” In short, resilience is the ability to recover. Resiliency is not a static state of being nor is it a personality trait that only some people possess. The development of resilience is a process to be cultivated and practiced.
We are living through trauma on a daily basis. We have seen second and third waves of Covid-19. After two years of restrictions many of us have burnt out numerous times as we find we have filled our surge capacity and others are simply tired due to pandemic fatigue. And this is on top of all the other stressful events in our lives. The world is experiencing numerous natural disasters and uncertainty surrounding politics. Plus we are in the middle of the holiday season with all of its associated tensions, memories and activity. Needless to say there’s a lot going on. Our plates are filled. Again, resiliency is not a static state of being nor is it a personality trait that only some people possess. The development of resilience is a process to be cultivated and practiced.
Therefore, it is important for us to pause and reflect on our current state of resiliency. Resiliency is not a static state of being nor is it a personality trait that only some people possess. The development of resilience is a process to be cultivated and practiced. The definition of resilience from APA continues, “A number of factors contribute to how well people adapt to adversities, predominant among them (a) the ways in which individuals view and engage with the world, (b) the availability and quality of social resources, and (c) specific coping strategies.” Resilience just like the trauma we face does not encompass one part of our lives; rather it is a full body experience. This suggests that resilience is a state of positive adaptation that needs to be cultivated through a multi faceted approach.
Tom Myers, of Anatomy Trains and a beloved teacher of the Dogwood team, approaches resilience in a straightforward and practical manner that resonates deeply with us. He says, “Resilience is a state of the body that reflects into your state of mind. New understandings of how our whole systems act and interact gives us new methods of self-regulation and energy management.” In a recent lecture, he provided a clear and inspiring roadmap towards resilience. According to Tom Myers, the key to building resilience is a 5 pronged full body approach. Resiliency includes mindful movement, stretching, humor, service and pranayama!
Mindful Movement - being aware of how we move and do not move grounds us into our body.
Stretching - lengthening, gliding and relaxing our fascia resets how we hold our bodies promoting optimal functioning systems.
Humor - fills our minds with positivity to help us see clearly.
Service - helping others restores purpose and connection in our community.
Pranayama - focused breathing that keeps us in the present moment.
Practicing Tom Myers approach to resiliency isn’t a quick fix to life’s problems. It is a lifelong practice that develops mental strength. While practicing resiliency, you are not suppressing the bad things that happen in our lives nor does it stop traumas from happening. It acknowledges what is happening right now and helps you take a step back to be more objective about the situation. In this full body approach, resiliency is more than a toolset for coping. Resiliency is a set of skills for healthy living.
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Aviva Chaye Tulasi is a staff member at Dogwood Studios. She is a certified yoga therapist (C-IYAT). She applies the teachings of classical yoga to reduce the effects of negative stress and to balance the nervous system. Aviva will be teaching Mindful Movement and Yoga Mondays at 10 am in January and is available for private sessions. Email Aviva at yogawithtulasi@gmail.com. She is here to help.
SAM Sather, founder of Dogwood Studios, is a certified yoga therapist (C-IAYT), individualizes the yoga practice with appropriate modifications for participants’ unique bodies and medical histories with a focus on finding calm and improving health. She offers several live, online class in yoga as private sessions so you can focus on your needs one-on-one.