Just before I finished our four-part series on adapting to change, my dear friend Wangechi sent me an article by Wisdom Flow Yoga about Hara – I’d never heard this Japanese word before.
Interestingly, hara means ‘belly’ – and the series we just finished focused on the 3H Approach – head, heart and hands. My introduction to Hara was timely. The terms we’ve all heard: “I have a gut feeling” or “follow your instincts” are at the core of the hara energy center. It takes us beyond our logical thinking head, and, like the heart, is another vital center which helps us access our inner wisdom, understand, and transform our lives at a deeper level.
We don’t often trust our whole selves to guide us in the right direction. If anything, we have been conditioned to look outside ourselves for the answers to our questions and concerns.
Yet, many of us have recognized that western world philosophies and institutions are exploring the full powers of the human body. We are being offered a more progressive education which is opening us up to the potential that lies within us.
I have explored ‘beyond the physical’ since I was 18 years old. However, these very concepts, and more, are far more mainstream now and the subject of many more books, research, and conferences than in the past. Luckily for me, I didn’t ignore my ‘hara-based instincts’ and continued to learn despite some push back.
There are feelings and a knowing that most of us may not be able to explain in words. Indigenous people have always embraced nature’s resources and innate intelligence – contrary to western ways of thinking and doing – and Yes! this includes the complete scope of natural resources with which your body is fully equipped. And, quiet as it may be kept, progressive companies have begun to encourage their leaders, in various ways, to trust that which is not readily seen.
May you access the best of your Head, Heart, Hands … and Hara too!
In my follow-up video, which I’m excited to be shooting from St. Lucia — the location of our Summer 2022 It’s Possible Retreat — I will share some of the ways you can practice your Hara instincts.
