It was depression that introduced me to the visceral experience of resistance.

I did not want to go to work. I played games with myself to get out of the house. At times, it felt as if there was an energetic wall between my body and the door to leave. I’d bribe myself with Starbucks. It worked most of the time. I knew the problem was becoming more significant when the feelings didn’t lift by the next day if I did stay home. This means that staying home for a ‘mental health’ day did not necessarily reduce the symptoms of dullness and despair, or change the ‘hard no’ response to moving toward the demands of day. 

It sounds dramatic, but anyone who experiences depression most likely can relate. 

When I heard resistance described as the force pushing against an airplane as it begins its descent to land, is when I made the connection to what I experienced in those dark days…months…years. 

Resistance exists. Resistance is important. Identifying the felt experience of resistance in one’s body in response to discomfort (ie. change) is a skill that levels up day and makes one feel empowered as to how they want to show up and express themselves.

As for today’s blog and the January 23, 2021 excerpt resistance, I started using the skillset recognize resistance as a way to begin a professional development presentation. For more about storyitell pt III – tips, see attached.

Here are three reflective questions for the Sunday abetterway bookclub post. If you are confused, but have been interested in my content, stick with it. I was confused when I reread the post in preparation for today’s blog. I had to break it down to basic skillsets.

1. Can you recognize the experience of resistance in your body (mind space, heart space, belly space, muscles, skin)? Can you name what it feels like? For practice, perhaps you have had a recent experience of being introduced to a new way of doing something. The introduction might have been at a time of day that feels busy, where you may be tired or feel easily distracted. At this time, when someone suggests a new workout, recipe, podcast, show, author, etc, your ability to be curious and interested is blocked on the inside, even if on the outside you are shaking your head yes and smiling. This is resistance. It could be communicating to you that you are tired, it’s not time to make a decision, you have feelings about the topic that you didn’t realize based on the size of your reaction, you need to rest and reset and then consider the suggestion. Resistance is an indicator to observe and let go of any immediate need to respond.
2. Are you open to noticing how resistance may show up in the experience of day? (are you resistant to the question?)
3. Are you open to connecting the skill of awareness, or ‘the noticer,’ as what observes one’s response to the situation, circumstance, event that presents as new information? For now, just notice the inner resource of awareness is what observes resistance. Resistance can be helpful. Unobserved resistance is what keeps one from initiating, or moving toward discomfort to problem solve. Are you open to noticing and naming resistance as a skill to practice?