Inner Actions

Hard Muscles, Soft Hearts and the Inner Gym
By Blair Glaser

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Recently I was at a physical therapy-like session with my Pilates teacher who knows more about muscles, tissues, ligaments and fascia than I thought possible. She asked me to lift a bar without using the muscles I would normally engage to do so. A strain in my shoulder had developed from overusing the same reliable muscles, and there were other muscles, ones I barely knew existed, that, if used, could give rest to the stressed ones and bring balance to the system. But, try as I might, I found this to be impossible. I closed my eyes, breathed and focused on relaxing the muscles I normally used, and tried to lift the bar. But nothing happened. The bar stood still, until I finally moved it ¼ of an inch. I felt impossibly weak. I tried again.

"It won’t budge," I said. "I am envisioning my muscles relaxing but they remain braced for action -- and nothing else is moving."

"Of course not," she replied, as though my failure made perfect sense to her. "Your body isn’t going to be able to let go if it doesn’t know there is another muscle there that can support it. That’s what we’re working on."

This made sense to me on so many levels.

It invited me to reflect on my inner work, and how difficult it can be to open to the vulnerability and "not knowing" that exists underneath all that surface strength. It also reminded me of how unrealistic it is that we expect ourselves to change and grow without giving ourselves a chance to really develop new ways of being. Even though my muscles remained braced, my heart softened with compassion.

Spiritual teachers who speak with authority or live in a realm of transcendence can make enlightened living seem so simple that they convince us that true change is easy. But the rest of us must face how deeply our identity is tied up in others, how little connection to our true Self we actually possess, and how many years it takes to cultivate it. Just like the body, our being will not easily relinquish the patterns that have been operating for years. We must patiently develop new muscle, cultivating a deeper sense of Self and connection to who we really are in order to be strong enough to let the old, well-rehearsed shapes relax and fall away.

Can you be patient with yourself as you awaken and strengthen the muscle of Self, in service of letting go of your conditioned ways of being? Can you fill the gap between who you are and who you strive to be with the softness of your heart?

Then, you simply need to get thyself to the Inner Gym. To do this, you have to spend focused time alone. Although guidance is an important part of the process, ultimately, your sense of Self must be developed by you, with you, for you. Can and do you spend time by yourself without watching TV, interneting, or falling into a collapsed state?

Here is a fresh twist on some very familiar ways of being alone, one that identifies the pros and cons of practice so you can better select a workout tool that will work best for you, a little at a time. If you don’t see one you like, create one that works!

1) Meditation can be impossible for some. It just doesn’t work for many to sit there and essentially do nothing. However, sitting and focusing on your breath, watching the world of thought weave its worry and spin its stories over and over, with time, creates space from it. This space is where your Self dwells. The more you strengthen the muscle of stillness and forge a path to the part of you watching the feelings and stories, the more you will be able to access the Self in times of real-life turmoil, when you are not sitting on the mat. Meditation can be healing and magically transformative. But it also takes time, effort and consistent practice, and is easily avoided. In addition, for some it may be "too easy," as when they are using meditation to escape, to disassociate, rather than to develop presence.

2) Walking outside is a better practice for the sitting-still challenged, and it also engages the body, which I love. When you walk, you can bring your awareness outside of yourself. If you notice what’s around you and allow yourself to be inspired by your surroundings, with each step your chatter can become background noise, and allow the colors, your breathing, and your active body to come into focus. The downside is that you have to walk long enough (I’d say at least 40 minutes) to quiet the mind. The upside is, you exercise the mind and the body.

3) Contemplation can be done while meditating, but you can also do this by doing nothing. No TV, no internet, no reading, no eating, just lying on a lawn chair, watching the clouds go by, or simply watching the snow fall outside your window. You can daydream and relax, or engage in meaningful inner dialogue, or simply focus intently on something; a question, a fable, a problem. Listening to music is ok, but anything more engaging won’t leave enough space for your Self to speak to you. Requires the ability to "be" rather than "do".

3) Creating art, food, music, etc. is a way to open to deeper parts of You. There is a journey with each creation, usually interspersed with feelings of inspiration, doubt, commitment, frustration, flow, feeling blocked and that wonderful sense of breakthrough and accomplishment. The more times you go through a creative process, the more distance you have from it, and you realize that, no matter what, FEELINGS PASS and THINGS GET CREATED. By persevering through doubt, frustration and even severe stuckness, you strengthen your confidence, sense of self, and faith. But careful: in order to get the strengthening benefits, you can’t do something you are either so familiar you can do it with your eyes closed, or that you need to do for work.

Be with yourself. Exercise in the inner gym. Strengthen your sense of Self so you can tolerate more joy, and love more deeply, because that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?

And remember love yourself no matter what.

Please, as always, feel free to contact me through my site at www.blairglaser.com/contact/ and let me know your thoughts!

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BLAIR GLASER, MA, LCAT, RDT has taught women around the country innovative skills and new ways of thinking to improve their experience in their bodies, at work and in relationship. She has run workshops at retreat centers around the country, including Omega in Rhinebeck, NY and at her studio in Woodstock, NY. She is a New York licensed creative arts therapist, teaches drama therapy at a graduate level at Pratt Institute, and has guest-lectured about drama therapy at New Rochelle College, The New School, and New York University. She has run drama therapy groups with several different populations, including a group for teenage girls that she was recruited to facilitate by actor-activist Jane Fonda . She is in private practice and also speaks at conferences and gatherings.

Blair also worked from 1998 to 2004 as part of the core staff of Eve Ensler's V-Day, a movement to stop violence against women and girls, corresponding with women all over the world about issues of empowerment. Blair's articles have appeared online in UK's feminist e-zine, FLOW, at Sexual Health.com, and in the Hudson Valley Arts/ Spirit / Culture publication; Chronogram. You can visit Blair's web site at www.blairglaser.com.

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