Are You Creating Your Own Resistance?
/The other morning I was completing a Yoga Glo class and I had the awareness that I was lost in thoughts about how annoying it is that traveling from Alaska often involves flying a red eye. My next thought was, “Wow, you are really in resistance!”
A moment later the Yoga Glo instructor cheerfully announced, “Create your own resistance!” and I couldn’t help but laugh at the coincidence, which then led to this topic inspiration.
Let me ask you, are you creating your own resistance?
And now I will answer for you. If you feel resistance, then, yes, you are.
What is resistance?
Resistance, in a simple definition, is resisting or denying what is. It often involves imbuing a situation with negativity.
Resistance often shows up emotions like stress, anxiety, fear, discomfort, worry, unease, annoyance, irritation.
Resistance can manifest as physical stress in the body or in behaviors like avoidance, withdrawal, arguing, blaming, and playing the victim.
Resistance can be witnessed in thoughts like:
“My job really sucks.”
“My in-laws drive me crazy.”
“Life is so hard.”
“S/He hurt my feelings.”
“Why do bad things always happen to me?”
“It’s not fair.”
“So and so is a bad person.”
“Even when I try I fail.”
Resistance can be excavated from the past by ruminating, judging or shoulding events. It can also be projected into the future. In this way we resist imaginary scenarios that haven’t even happened! This seems so crazy, but it is, in my experience, very common.
Eckhart Tolle describes three choices for situations we resist.
-Leave a situation
-Change a situation
-Accept the situation fully
When you release resistance you create the space for flow, inspiration, cocreation, and my favorite word, magic!
Are you inspired to dig a little deeper with your journal? Here you go!
What are you resisting?
How is the resistance showing up in your life? (Emotions, energies, behaviors, thoughts….)
How might you feel, behave and think if the resistance magically disappeared?
Why are you resisting?
What is the resistance potentially blocking?
Are you resisting the past by excavating stories?
Are you resisting potential future scenarios?
Are you open to release resistance?
How might you release resistance?
A few phrases I love for allowing:
“It is what it is.”
“It’s like this right now.”
“I know things always work out in the end.”
“Maybe I can’t see the bigger picture right now. I’m open to seeing it.”
“All is well.”