Mindful Resilience: Lessons from a Tai Chi Balance Training

Today's episode of the podcast is about mindful resilience, inspired by a Tai Chi balance training that I took last week. The TaiJi Quan Moving for Better Balance training is a program developed by Dr. Fuzhong Li, a scientist at the Oregon Research Institute. It is based on traditional Tai Chi, but with some significant adaptations that tailor this program to balance training and fall prevention. What really struck me about this program was how it emphasizes capacity-building, neuroplasticity, and physical resilience. To improve balance, this training gently (but consistently) challenges your edges of stability. You practice leaning, stepping, wobbling, and simulating some instability so that you can learn to catch yourself before falling. (This program has been heavily researched on fall-risk populations, and the results are impressive.)  Resilience means that we can handle challenges and bounce back to a healthy baseline state - whether we're talking about emotional resilience, nervous system resilience, or physical resilience.  Mindful Resilience Topics You'll Hear About:  key mindfulness teachings about relating to challenges turning towards our experiences with kindness and awareness, rather than avoidance or trying to control our circumstances how this balance training echoed those lessons, by preparing for stumbles and in-the-moment balance recovery the Window of Tolerance model, which explains how we can work with the nervous system to better manage our response to stressors So, today's episode is all about connecting the dots on the theme of resilience! There are many ways this principle shows up in mindful movement practice, where we have the opportunity to develop resilience on each of these different levels. Over time, this translates into trusting yourself more and more, and knowing that "you've got this"...whatever "this" is.  -- For more links and resources mentioned in this episode, find the show notes at movedtomeditate.yoga/podcast. Don't forget to check out the NEW Moved To Meditate course, starting on May 30th!  Ease In To Meditation: A Movement-Based Mindfulness Course is an 8-week program that covers many of the same principles you would learn in any introductory mindfulness meditation program, but with a key difference in method. You'll be learning the mindfulness skills FIRST through movement, getting familiar with what mindfulness feels like, calming your nervous system, and gaining confidence that you can apply those techniques in sitting meditation. More Info here: https://movedtomeditate.yoga/movement-based-mindfulness-course-ease-in-to-meditation/ Feel free to reach out through my website with your thoughts on this episode. You can also connect with me on Instagram at @addie_movedtomeditate (for mindfulness, movement, yoga, and pictures of PNW nature and my adorable kitty, Mustache).