Monthly Practice – September
Strength in softness
Last month, we explored the places where we become stuck.
Looking at the tension we hold in our bodies, as well as the patterns, habits and ways of thinking that can keep us bound.
And throughout the month, we kept coming back to the same idea — we can't force these things to change.
Instead, we have to learn how to be with them, breathe with them and slowly create the space to let go.
So this month our exploration moves into ‘strength in softness.’
My teacher Pema Chödrön often says, ‘we can allow the circumstances of our lives to harden us, or we can allow them to soften us. we always have this choice.’
And I think this is such an important reminder.
Because regardless of how much spiritual practice we do, how much we work on ourselves or how good we try to be, life is still going to give us difficult experiences.
Things won't always go the way we hoped. People will disappoint us. We’ll experience uncertainty, change, loss, frustration and discomfort.
And often, without even realising it, we harden in response.
We tighten. We resist. We become defensive. We push things away. We close ourselves off as a way of protecting ourselves from what feels difficult or painful.
And our practice gives us an opportunity to notice this.
To recognise the moments when we brace, grip or resist — in our bodies, our minds and our lives — and to become curious about whether another response might be possible.
Because softness doesn't mean weakness.
It doesn't mean being passive, having no boundaries or pretending that difficult things aren't difficult.
And really, there is such great strength required to stay open.
To stay present when something is uncomfortable.
To meet ourselves with kindness when we're struggling.
To allow the things we go through to make us more compassionate, rather than more defended.
So this month, we’ll explore what it means to move through life without always needing to protect ourselves from it.
Through movement, breath, meditation and reflection, we’ll practice noticing where we harden and exploring what it might feel like to soften instead.
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