Art © A Cummins
When I was invited recently to write an article for Yoga Therapy Ireland Magazine, on the theme of ‘resilience’, I walked with that word to see what arose for me. Most of my writing ideas spring up when I am engaged with the natural world and this time was no different. When I feel into the word ‘resilience’, the natural world comes to me in my bones, cells and blood.
All of my work in the world is bound up in some way with resilience because it is about re-membering who I am, who we are and that resilience is our nature. Just as the momentum of all life is towards living, resilience is a pivotal piece of our Source Code and to re-member that piece whole again, is to understand the incredible power we hold, in the creation of our own lives and by extension, the world around us.
Of course, this is not to say we can fully control the circumstances within which we live but we can most certainly take responsibility for the story we tell ourselves about our own lives and how we shape our worldview.
Thomas Hanna, who developed the practice of ‘Somatics’, taught that what can be felt and sensed, can be changed. First, tension must be recognised and acknowledged, before it can be released. We gain knowledge of an existing state in the present moment. Then, If we can accept it, without judgement or resistance, we have a choice either to change or continue living with the tension, be it physical, mental or spiritual. Crucially, choice is predicated on first accepting what is.
Thomas Hanna was a philosopher at heart, who believed that it is our birthright to remain free throughout our lives. Given that our body-mind-spirit is a continuum, he recognised somatic movement as an accessible key to freedom of the whole. I concur and believe that freedom flows from choice. We must choose it for ourselves in every moment with our thoughts, words and actions, rather than abdicating responsibility to any perceived force outside of us, through which we can be easily deluded into reaction and weakness rather than choice and strength.
Once I have accepted that something is, I can choose to yield to it, surrendering myself to the flow of possibility that opens up when resistance falls away, thereby releasing tension and freeing up more energy for creation.
There is a natural movement process, described in some somatic practices as Yield, Push, Reach, Pull. This is so innate to us that for the most part, we don’t notice how we engage it in our everyday lives. For instance, with each step, I yield my weight to the earth, finding a push back that reaches me forwards, pulling my body through the air in a movement that dissolves into the next yield seamlessly. It is no wonder that one of the best-loved spiritual guides of our time, Thich Nhat-Hanh, so whole-heartedly recommended walking as a meditation practice
The same process of Yield, Push, Reach, Pull, can be observed in the movement of animals and also in plants, which yield or surrender to the darkness as seeds in Winter, pushing roots through the soil in Spring, so that branches and leaves can reach for the increasing sunlight, to pull nutrients into their fibres through photosynthesis. Trees allow the wind to blow through branches and drop their leaves in Winter to ensure minimum energy loss and resistance to wind. Our built environment imitates this with flex designed into tall buildings.
The ancients knew well that all of life begins in the darkness and so, the Celtic Wheel turns first to Samhain in November, when the natural cycle of life in the northern hemisphere yields to darkness.
Many movement practices, including the martial arts employ yield, to find resilience against attack. To resist, depletes precious energy - the antithesis of resilience. Acceptance on the other hand, is not the opposite of resistance, rather, an acknowledgement that something is so - the base point from which choice arises. To yield, can be understood as to ‘give way’. In giving way, we allow something to pass, so that it does not crash into us but rather, flows on by. It can also be understood as to ‘give weight’ - releasing the burden.
There is so much fear in the world today, it is hard not to be swept up in it and to believe that we cannot change it. Like the warrior Arjuna, in the much-loved ‘Bhagavad Gita’, we must engage but the question is - how? Do we continually resist our current reality or, conversely, behave as passive recipients?
Alternatively, we can become architects of our own lives, knowing that each time we make a choice, we build resilience, thereby energising belief in our innate ability to create the reality we inhabit. For example, one powerful choice we can all make, is to switch off from screens and tune into the living world around us - human and otherwise. The more attention we give to what is real in our lives, as opposed to what is portrayed on-screen, the greater is our capacity for intentionally creating our own reality.
In creating the lives we desire for ourselves, one choice at a time, by extension, we are adding to the change we desire in the world around us. This is true and enduring power. This is resilience.
The poems below (text & audio) weave around the theme of yielding to find resilience.
Footnote: On proof-reading this piece, I noticed I had typed ‘marital’ instead of ‘martial’ arts by mistake, but I was tempted to leave it because the same could be said of the marital arts ;)
My Personal Gita
Anger consumes the depths of me
in places where light once shone
and soul-eclipse enshrouds this night
as blackened, heavy shawl.
I want to connect with wisdom
the goodness I know is there
yet the smallest fragile sense of it
lies extinguished by despair.
I try to quell the ego
allow this sword to drop
but the gaping, wounded hollow it holds
does not heed the call to stop.
'tis true that love not fear will win
the battle every time
but demons in a frightened mind
are cruel as tightening vise
they speak of deeds so evil
and humans inhumane
sowing seeds of doubt and dread
a world gone up in flames.
I know I do not stand alone
upon the battlefield
but tone of mind is chiming loud
that destiny is sealed.
Frozen like Arjuna now
my chariot stuck in mud
without some proof of outcome
my horse, she will not run.
And so I call on Durga
beseeching her to come
to aid my cause and steer me on
for the battle must be won.
What should I do, I ask her
to win this bloody war
the muddy field awash with it
since battle lines were drawn?
Pause she says and take a breath
before you join the fray
approach of death may scare you
but to win, you must yet stay.
All warriors feel this anguish
the seeping fear of pain
but weeping for what has gone before
will not bring you any gain.
So take the breath you need
and then survey the field
while you do, remember when
I taught you how to yield.
Surrender is most sure the key
to winning any fight
no enemy can harm the one
who gives herself to light
accept what is and from that place
assess the battle scene
blessed with sight, clear of mind
and heart remains serene
that the way might unfold itself to you
as many times before
with true and focused purpose then
engage yourself in war
when day is done and battle fought
remember, you must rest
the mantle can be taken off
its weight is not the quest
for the road is long with many turns
leading different ways
but she who burns too fierce at once
will surely go astray.
I thank her for this wisdom
the gifts that she imparts
my vision clear, my mind at rest
a strong and steady heart.
Turning then to face the field
that seemed so dark before
I wield my sword with purpose
and let a mighty roar.
The demons turn to face me
aware of something new
a prayer that echoes through the trees
and whispers what is true
they cannot look at light
it blinds them every time
and frightened by its splendour
they scurry off to hide
so now I stand here
once again, seemingly alone
but landing softly like a bird
my soul returns back home.
© Áine Fortune 2021
Saoirse - A Journey Back to Freedom
It could never happen, I heard myself say
though fear grew louder with each passing day
and thoughts of mind I sought refuge from
on hallowed grounds of soul
burial mounds made of stone
for queens who walked the forests of old
handfast in blood with Tuatha Dé Danann
through éiriú, Goddess of land.
Hearing the cries of her people again
suffering through lies of inglorious men
we wept on the shores of her pity
we prayed for respite from this treacherous blight
infecting our towns and our cities.
Fear not! she said and bowing our heads
we kneeled before her to listen
What you might perceive as plague of evil
is no more than light shining through
what was already there, has been fully laid bare
so that you may at last see the truth.
The world of things is not where I live
though shiny and bright, it brings not same delight
you feel when you touch my skin
of earth and clay, stone and slate
crystalline rivers and lakes
the salty taste of sea on your tongue
when you dive in deep and swim under
forgotten have you, the millions of hues
that adorn my many creations
no man-made thing could ever compare
with these elements' manifestations.
You stand with bowl out at my door now
but the choice has always been yours
a life of enslavement, death and repayment
with justice distorted and maimed
or a life in harmony with all that is
your soul, through freedom, reclaimed.
Take this chance to be who you are
oh sons and daughters of éiriú
heed the birds' call, leave those four walls
come play and dance in my fields
where once you sang and laughed and worked
together for harvest's yield
freedom is found in remembering your birth
not as a number but child of earth
precious and loved and worthy
yet those who would steal your birthright away
hide behind false coercion
for you are sovereign as the day you were born
and loss of freedom by which they deceive
is mourned only by those who believe them
so feel your heart, let its wisdom impart
the seeds that need to be sown
come together, create something better
and surrender yourselves to my flow.
© Áine Fortune 2022