Discover your resilience and inner strength with Yogamatters

Life is tough at times, so prepare yourself by developing your resilience through yoga and meditation.

Life is sometimes tough. There are no guarantees and no-one can promise you a life free from stresses and difficulties. Some events in our lives are unwanted, unexpected, painful and completely beyond our control. That’s the reality. Coping with difficult times is challenging for everyone; that’s why developing resilience is so important.

Resilience is the capacity to withstand whatever life throws at us. It’s the ability to bounce back, to pick ourselves up again when we get knocked down. Resilience works on all levels: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual, and they're all interlinked. How long does it take to recover from illness, heartache and despair? How easy is it to deal with injury, grief, negativity and doubt? Developing resilience and inner strength can help us survive those inevitable tough times.

Resilience takes practice

Resilient people know that however bad things appear right now, it will not always be that way. Resilient people thrive on optimism. Resilient people have a healthy attitude to setbacks and failure. Resilient people trust in their ability to regulate their emotions. This kind of resilience can be learned, but it takes practice and that’s where yoga and Pilates, mindfulness and meditation come in. At Yogamatters, we wholeheartedly believe that these lifegiving practices build both inner and outer strength.

I bend so I do not break

Practised regularly, yoga can enhance flexibility, balance, calm, optimism and resilience. Yoga practitioners learn what it means to be bendy in life, as well as in yoga. In the bend of a pose, we discover the stability and balance we need for our yoga practice. In the bend of emotion, we discover the stability and balance we need for life. Grounded movement on the mat can lead to a grounded approach to the whole of life. Intentional breathing on the mat unlocks the power of the breath in our lives. As we get to know ourselves better inside and out through a regular yoga practice, we become comfortable in our own skin and more confident in dealing with what life throws at us.

Yoga enables us to always act from a place of care and compassion for self and for others to ensure these potentially stressful and painful situations are met with grace and an open mind. Deep inside you is more strength than you will ever know, but it’s hard to feel strong on the inside if you’re unhealthy on the outside. Practising yoga and Pilates can help you gain control of your body and cultivate confidence in your resilience and strength.

Be proactive about your health by making life-giving choices about what you eat and how you exercise. In tough times, practise self-care by identifying one thing you really like to do and do it a lot. Just as Pilates and yoga develop physical core strength, so mindfulness and meditation develop mental and spiritual core strength. Cultivate silence. The world is a noisy place. Take time to rejuvenate and calm your inner chaos.

As you sit with yourself in the silence, you’ll discover how to connect with the spiritual source of your power and inner strength. By centring yourself in the universe, you’ll come to understand your place and your role in something far bigger than yourself. Let Yogamatters accompany you on your journey towards a healthy, happy, strong and resilient life.

Enhance your yoga practice

Yogamatters.com has a wonderful collection of meditation cushions, incense, candles, books and other equipment to enhance your practice.

This is a sponsored post for Yogamatters.