Are You Feeling a Lot of Fear?
Fear is up for so many people. I feel it in the collective. Just listening to the news elicits fear.
Fear manifests in different ways. It can appear guarded and defensive, snippy, or impatient. Stress and anxiety are symptoms of fear.
Knowing this can change how we relate to others who express these off-putting reactions. It's not personal; it's their way of trying to feel safe.
Fear depletes our kidney chi, our life force. The kidneys are our bio-batteries, and they weaken with fear. The true nature of balanced kidney chi provides us with willpower and endurance.
Yesterday, I felt fearful before I taught a class. I made the mistake of listening to the news in the morning and noticed how it shifted me into stress.
Knowing that breathwork can shift my emotions, I spent several minutes clearing my fear with pranayama, which always brings me back to my center.
The way we breathe affects the way we think.
And when we regulate our breath, we regulate our emotions.
The lungs are the energetic mother of the kidneys. The lungs receive chi, which the kidneys store. Strong lung chi makes us feel courageous.
When the lungs are weak and shallow breathing occurs, anxiety arises, and anxiety creates fear.
I felt stress and fear from students as they came in, so I added much-needed breathwork and courage-building poses into the class, which shifted the energy in the room.
Handstands, or the standing split, energize the lung meridians that flow through the arms. When the lung chi is stimulated and strengthened, we naturally feel courageous!
To focus the mind with meridian breathing (which relieves anxiety) in the standing split:
Inhale along the kidney meridians: from the feet, up the inner legs to the collarbones.
Exhale through the lung meridians: from the collarbones down the inner arms to the thumbs.
Typically, we resist and reject our fears to make them disappear. However, the more we resist, the more we become entangled with them.
Underneath the sensation of fear lies the feeling of courage; the two are interconnected. Being courageous can evoke fear, and any sense of fear carries courage on its flip side.
Curiosity, compassion, and kindness serve as gateways to courage. Although we often believe that to be courageous, we must be hard and strong, true courage is gentle—much like water melting and flowing around a stone. It is soft, powerful, and feminine.
Now is the time to transform your fear into courage with your breath. Embody the endurance and willpower of the kidneys to face challenging times and support those who need our strength.
Practice the video below to elicit a sense of endurance by activating the kidney meridians through a yin series on the wall. Hold poses as long as possible while breathing through the meridians. This will help regulate your kidney chi and transform your fear into calm, centered courage and resilience.
From my heart to yours~
Namaste,
Maggie