BodyLogos Blog
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Redefining Strength
I want to change our perception of strength. Strength is the ability to meet resistance and influence an outcome without compromising ourselves. And we already have it.
Strength is not an attribute; it’s a state of being. Gladiators, bodybuilders, and football players demonstrate strength through brute force, sheer willpower, muscle mass, and relentless pursuit. But we’re also quick to identify dancers and martial artists as strong. Their medium taps into a sense of vulnerability, balance, alignment, controlled power, and grace—but no one can deny their strength. Strength may look different on each of us, but it is an inherent part of who we are.
You are not weak by nature; you are stronger than you think. Your strength is not something you need to kill yourself to gain—it is already within you, waiting to be excavated. The key is to stop chasing something you already have and tap into it, so you can manifest that strength in your everyday life.
Because we don’t think we’re strong, we approach resistance with the idea that we’re not enough. We throw everything we have at it and push past our physical, mental, and emotional limitations. We see strength as domination, but it’s not.
When you learn to listen to your body’s divine wisdom, you cultivate a sense of where your body is developing tension instead of standing in its strength. You end the vicious cycle of unrealistic expectations, injury, and self-criticism and learn how to consciously embrace responsible growth. You stop compartmentalizing your strength into emotional, physical, and mental pieces and operate from the strength of your being at all times.
You learn how to align yourself with gravity—instead of working against it—so you can channel your strength to meet life’s resistance. As you meet resistance with equal parts power and alignment, you transform tension into strength
As in the sword dance above, the power lies in bringing just the right amount of force—not too little and not too much. By meeting the sword’s weight, I meet gravity. I am tapped into a larger source of energy, free of tension, and discover a strength that is wholly and uniquely mine.
About Tammy Wise
Resolution to Transformation!
by Tammy WiseI mean this in the most superficial and deep-seated ways: Whether you want to lose weight or shed the behaviors that are keeping you stuck, you have to get really clear on what’s holding you back inside and out. Because the truth is, what is within is without. Transformation is about aligning the mind and body so they work together to achieve your goal.
Your resolution may be to attract a new relationship. And you may think you’ve covered all the bases: You joined a dating service–a mental strategy–and updated your wardrobe–a physical makeover. But that’s not what I mean by alignment.
Your body is an emotional template of you. If your emotions, which live in the soft tissues of the body, are creating tension around dating, while your mind is trying to connect with a potential partner, you’re going to send mixed messages. In fact, you may falsely
appear disinterested.
To start the year on the right foot, get really honest about the underlying beliefs related to your goal or resolution—your fears,beliefs, history, and patterns. Transformation begins with knowing what beliefs are unconsciously keeping you stuck from achieving your goal.
Physical tension is your road map to finding emotional misalignment. To learn the intricacies of less accessible emotions, get really interested in areas of physical discomfort or fatigue. When tension creeps into your posture, release it through physical alignment and breath, and pay close attention to what emotions come to the surface as you release tension.
Once you are connected to the emotion, feel into it even more intimately. What is the belief that you have taken on as a reaction to this emotion? Maybe a fear of being rejected has led you to hunch your shoulders in protection. Or a fear of putting yourself out there is
causing tension in your chest.
To transform a belief, break down the tension holding it in tact. Your commitment to this unraveling needs to preside over all else:
Maintain constant ease in your posture. And when that ease breaks down, consider it your body’s invitation to explore the emotions its holding beneath the surface. Recognizing where tension exists and restoring your posture back to ease are the first steps to transforming outgrown beliefs.
Notice when your energy stops flowing. When do you feel resistant to do, say or feel something that would align you with your goal?
Realize you are reinforcing tension against creating it.
Transformation doesn’t happen through external strategies alone, it requires internal resolve. Scouring shops for the perfect outfit is a fun and playful way to connect your unique spirit out into the world. (A world full of potential partners!) But it is in scouring your inner
road map–your emotional blueprint–that you will be inviting that world in.