For The "Strong Ones"

A practice for the strong ones, or the ones who wear the cape and brave face day after day, prioritizing others over themselves. This mindfulness practice invites you to redefine what it means to be strong and re-imagine strength in a way that serves you.

Transcript

Aren't you tired?

Tired of being strong?

The strong one that over extends,

Back bends,

And pretends that everything is alright.

I'm fine.

But aren't you tired?

From overpouring and emptying your cup,

Running on the reserves of your spirit and the remnants of your energy's reservoir.

I know you must be.

Lay down your armor.

Remove the cape.

Because right now,

The only one that needs saving is you.

All of you is safe here.

You are welcome here.

You are accepted here to be saved.

You are accepted here just as you are.

So closing your eyes.

And as the eyes close,

Becoming aware of our bodies and our breath.

We have arrived.

All of you.

Your sadness,

Your joy,

Your happiness,

Your anger,

Your rage,

Your exhaustion.

All of you is present here.

Softening the eyebrows.

Unclenching the jaw.

Releasing the tension from your shoulders.

Taking a moment to check in with your body and notice how you are feeling in this moment.

And by noticing,

We are allowing whatever it is that we are feeling in this moment to be there.

What is there?

What are you holding on to?

What's holding on to you?

Noticing the breath and notice how you are breathing in this moment.

See where the breath goes and see where it doesn't.

The breath is our greatest resource.

And so with every in-breath,

We are welcoming life and stillness,

Nourishment for our minds,

Our bodies,

And our spirits.

And on the exhale,

Releasing everything and everyone and anything that no longer serves us in this present moment.

Again,

Because you are safe here.

Breathing in through the nose,

Expanding the lungs,

Filling the belly.

On the exhale,

Letting it all go.

Breathing in deeply.

Breathing out effortlessly.

Breathing in.

Breathing out.

Breathing in.

Breathing out.

I want you now to think back,

Back in time,

Or maybe it's even your present reality of when you had to be strong.

Maybe you remember the first time that you had to deny yourself feelings,

Expression,

Just to comfort others.

Shrinking yourself,

Hiding yourself.

Allowing yourself not to be seen.

Notice how this made you feel.

And how it makes you feel in the present moment.

Who told you that you had to be strong?

Or maybe there was things that you experienced where being strong was the only choice.

And that's okay.

Because in this moment,

You are safe here.

You are welcome here.

And you are accepted here just as you are.

And if the mind begins to wander,

That's okay.

Just bringing it back home to the present moment.

Now I invite you to ask yourself what it means to be strong.

Up until this moment,

What did strong look like?

Just allowing whatever arises to be there.

Having compassion for ourselves.

Showing ourselves kindness.

Where did we learn our strength from?

And as these things come up,

We can begin to think of strong in a way that supports us.

In a way that nurtures us,

Mind,

Body,

And spirit.

What else can strength look like?

Maybe it's boundaries.

Maybe it's putting ourselves first.

Maybe it's rest,

Speaking our truth,

Being honest.

What do you want strength to look like for you?

Continuing to breathe.

Continuing to reimagine strength.

Rethink what it means to be the strong one.

And together,

Taking a deep breath in through the nose.

Letting it all go through the mouth.

As this practice comes to an end,

Take your time here to come back into the present moment.

Come back to the breath.

Come back to your body.

Come back.

Inviting movement into your hands and your toes.

Whatever feels right for you.

Slowly and gently opening your eyes.

Thanking yourself for being in practice.

If you have a few moments to spare,

I invite you just to journal or write in your notes in your phone.

How you've been being strong or how you've been playing the strong one in your life.

And in the lives of others.

And see how you can begin to honor yourself by changing the way that you play strong.

What's needed.

What can you let go of?

How can you begin to soften,

But yet still stay firm in what it is that you believe in?

Until next time,

Friends.

Sending you love.

Reviews

An Absolutely Beautiful meditation for my spirit.

My strength feels like ignoring, getting through, walling off, or masking while being totally shut down. Thank you for holding me and my heart through these realizations

Beautiful, soothing, relaxing and very much needed.
I feel so renewed after listening to your kind voice. Thank you! 🙏🏼♥️

Oh my Dora. This one came up when I searched gratitude and wow. Didn't know I needed it. Thank you 💛

Every moment and aspect of this track resonated with me. From your soothing voice to the steady rhythm and bass in the background, accompanied by the rain outside my window in this moment... An absolutely peaceful and lovely ambiance to sit in a place of stillness and healing. I am very grateful and will be bookmarking this track. 💕 Many thanks. 🙏🕊️

Thank you so much!🙏🏾 I was able to accept myself as I am in my journey, honor my boundaries, and let go of some of the pain I am feeling at this moment.....

One of my very favorite teachers on this app. Thank you so much for this meditation. I spent a long time after journaling about the ways that I have been strong and played strong and perceived to be strong. When really all I want is Grace. Thank you for this lovely reminder. Namaste.

Her soothing voice and gentle guidance is a wonderful way to start my day.

Thank you for this gentle but FIRM practice helping me reframe. ❤️💪🏽

Thank you for helping me to redifine what strength really is. Namaste

Thank you, Dora, for this apt meditation on redefining what strong means.

Nora, this was a powerful session. Thanks for sharing this practice with our community.

Absolutely beautiful. This meditation goes perfectly with my life situation. Your comforting voice & words & even the bass in the background struck a chord in me. Thank you. ❤️

Excellent! It completely resonated. I'm saving this one. Thank you.

Thank you for this mediation.

I feel like I am stronger because I am sometimes weak, imperfect and perfect, joy and sorrow, pain and suffering, light and darkness. In this moment I still rise and I love who I am becoming each moment. I am strongest when I am for myself and not against myself. I am weakned trying to be the person the world created. 🙌🏾 ❤️ 🙏🏿 I chose me I am proud of Lashandria

Dora, your eyes saw into my heart like searchlights. But I was safe with you. And I wished you didn't have to leave at the end. 🙏🏼✨

For those of us who find ourselves carrying the burdens of other people in our lives, who give emotional support to our family, this meditation is for us. For the ones who say ‘I’m fine’ when we’re not, when the burden of that support is crushing us, this is a perfect meditation.

This was the first time I felt compelled to review. I love the cadence of her voice and subtly of the background but the message was definitely well received as well. Thank you.

Thank you! This is beautiful. I needed to hear this and plan on “removing the cape” for awhile🙏

Such a soothing voice and a lovely exploration that helped me relax even deeper and commit once again to choose compassiin for self. Thank you!