Inside: A Guide to the Resources Within to Stay Connected to Your Truth, Even in Trying Times With 40 Self-Care Practices That You Can Use Today

by Sarah Brassard

Overview

THE JOURNEY TO TRUE HEALING REQUIRES THAT WE TAKE THE MOST CHALLENGING PATH THERE IS: THE PATH WITHIN

It is tempting to hope that someone will do the hard work of your life for you, but no one else can. Inside takes your hand and helps you find your way.

The book's strong yet gentle counsel will help you construct a self-care practice to bring well-being to your life. With this foundation in place, you will be able to move beyond the cycle of fear, anxiety, and blame.

Drawing on ancient wisdom and modern practicality, the book offers a selection of soul-nourishing exercises to awaken your ability to make lasting change. From this new place of self-awareness and self-healing, you will learn to listen deeply-not to the noise of your surroundings, but to the ever-present peace that lives inside you. With a clear path you will be free to grow and realize the unlimited potential of self-healing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780997712711
Publisher:	Sarah Brassard
Publication date:	08/08/2018
Pages:	252
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.53(d)

About the Author

Sarah's passion lies in teaching people how to create a foundation for self-care, a method of wellness that brings profound opportunities for transformation.

Sarah has been practicing massage therapy, myofascial release therapy, and cranial sacral therapy for the past twenty-three years, and she is a certified level 2 Reiki practitioner. She is also a KRI Kundalini Yoga instructor and Power Yoga instructor.

Table of Contents

foreword

author’s note

introduction

PART ONE THE HEALING JOURNEY: IT STARTS WITH SELF-CARE

1 BECOME THE EXPLORER OF YOUR INNER WORLD

Opening Yourself Up to Self-Healing

Starting with Self-Care

You Are the Expert on You

Finding a New Relationship with Pain

Connecting to Your Energetic Self

Thank the Discomfort and Start Fresh

Practice: Grounding

Embark on a Journaling Practice

Practice: Journaling

Practice: Creating a Vision Board

2 WAKING UP TO MYSELF

Illumination

Building Life on a Foundation of Pain

Reawakening My Inner Child

Understanding Suffering Gifts

Listening to My Body

Releasing Blame, Accepting Responsibility

Taking Ownership of My Life

Practice: Safe Haven

Practice: What Makes You Feel Joyful?

Practice: Validation

The Inner Child Returns Home

Awareness of Old, Worn-Out Habits

How Challenge Made Me Stronger

3 TRAUMA COMES IN ALL SHAPES AND FORMS

Distinguishing between Hard Trauma and Soft Trauma

Identifying Trauma in Your Life

Practice: Unwinding Your Body

Seeking Help in the Wrong Places

Getting Stuck in the Survival Mind-Set

Cycling through Trauma Again and Again

Practice: Finding Your Relationship to Trauma

Disconnecting from the Body, Mind, and Spirit When Trauma Hits

Discovering a New Way of Being After Anxiety

Learning that It’s Never Too Late to Heal

Finding Forgiveness

Healing through Trauma Is a Heroic Act

4 PUTTING A PLAN FOR SELF-HEALING IN PLACE

Preparing the Way for Self-Healing

Finding the Teacher Within

Becoming a Devoted Listener

Creating a Place of Rest Inside Yourself

Practice: Finding a Safe Place Within

Your Healing Journey Has No Timetable

Reconnecting When Life Takes You Off Course

Tuning in to Our Energy through the Chakras

Practice: Laying Your Energetic Foundation

Building a Foundation Strong Enough to Handle Change

Conquering Instant Gratification

Learning Patience

Asking for Help

Thinking about Therapy

Finding a Broader Sense of Self

Self-Care Is Not Self-Indulgence

Start Small, Go Easy

Understanding that There Is No Failure

5 GROWING YOUR BEGINNER’S MIND

What Is a Beginner’s Mind?

Embracing Yourself as a Beginner

Feeling Your Tenderfeet

Practice: Tenderfoot Journaling

Nurturing Yourself as a Child

Being Kind to Yourself

Bringing Awareness into Your Life

Practice: Self-Kindness

Noticing Friendships Built on Wounds

The Honeymoon Period

Preserving Your Energy

Practice: Morning Reflection

Becoming Vulnerable, Opening Up

Listening to Your Heart

6 CULTIVATING THE WITNESS IN YOU

The Storm and the Observer

Detecting the Storm Inside Us

Becoming the Observer

Practice: Seeing Life through the Observer Lens

Who Are You When Nobody’s Watching?

Understanding the Law of Karma

Finding the Common Denominator

Stepping away from Blame

Owning It All

Practice: Stop, Look, and Listen

Guiding the Ego with the Observer

Nurturing the Observer with Self-Care

Moving Ahead

7 MAKING SPACE FOR THE SACRED

Letting the Sacred In

Your Sacred Space and Daily Rituals

My Sacred Space

Practice: Create Your Sacred Space

Peeling Back the Onion

PART TWO CONNECTING THE FOUR ELEMENTS

OF HUMAN LIFE: BODY, MIND, HEART, AND SPIRIT

Practice: Meeting the Four Elements: Body, Mind, Heart, and Spirit

Practice: Taking a Personal Inventory

8 THE BODY

The Body Is Life’s Vehicle

Learning to Breathe to Heal the Body

The Healing Breath

The Long Deep Breath

Body Practice #1: The Long Deep Breath

Body Practice #2: Alternate Nostril Breathing

Body Practice #3: Breath of Fire

How Yoga Became a Messenger for Healing

Bringing Yoga into Your Life

Body Practice #4: Yoga for Posture (Starting Pose)

Body Practice #5: Yoga for Opening (Cat/Cow)

Body Practice #6: Yoga for Balance (Marching)

Body Practice #7: Yoga for Cleansing (Twisting)

9 THE MIND

Finding the Middle Road of Mindfulness

Shining Light on Your Mind

Making Meditation Work for You

Claiming Your Power through Meditation

Mind Practice #1: The Introductory Meditation

Trusting the Brevity and Consistency of the Basic Practice

Looking for Dedication, Not Perfection

Committing to Yourself with Discipline and Devotion

Training a Stronger Mind

The Four Gifts of Meditation

Renewing the Mind with Healing Sleep

Mind Practice #2: Single Nostril Breathing (Relaxation/Energizing)

Mind Practice #3: A Beautiful Place to Rest

Mind Practice #4: Restful Transitions

Mind Practice #5: Awareness in Waking Up

Appreciating the Gifts of a Balanced Mind

Working with Mantras

Mind Practice #6: Protective Mantras

10 THE HEART

Facing Vulnerability

Trusting the Energy of the Heart

Feeling the Effects of Love on the Four Elements

Heart Practice #1: What Does Your Heart Say?

Heart Practice #2: Self-Soothing

Heart Practice #3: Look in the Mirror

Heart Practice #4: Write a Letter to Your Future Self

Becoming a Warrior of Love

Heart Practice #5: Warrior of Love

Heart Practice #6: Tapping into the Present Moment

Recognizing the Threats to Love

Threat to Love #1: Judgment

Threat to Love #2: Jealousy

Threat to Love #3: Loneliness

Threat to Love #4: Shame

Empowering the Protectors of Love

Protector of Love #1: Perfect Imperfection

Protector of Love #2: Truth

Protector of Love #3: Gratitude

Protector of Love #4: Bravery

Protector of Love #5: Mutually Loving Relationships

Trusting Your Heart

11 THE SPIRIT

Disconnecting from the Spirit

Spirit Practice #1: The Sensitivity Scale

Listening to the Whispers and Warnings of the Spirit

Following the Spirit’s Guidance

Spirit Practice #2: One Happy Thing

Connecting the Spirit with Body, Mind, and Heart

Spirit and the Body

Spirit and the Mind

Spirit and the Heart

Self-Care and the Spirit

Spirit Practice #3: Spiritual Savings Account

Finding Spontaneous Inspiration

Fueling the Spirit with Faith

conclusion: sitting at the feet of your life

list of practices

acknowledgments

index

Editorial Reviews

2018-10-22

A debut author tells of leaving the fashion industry to pursue a journey of self-care and healing.

Driven, perfectionist achievers, Brassard says, may project a facade of success to the world while hiding, and denying, their own tendencies toward anxiety, anger, and self-blame. The author changed careers in 1990, selling her fashion boutique in order to spend more time with her family. Still, she had unresolved pain—about her father's death when she was 16 and about her "competitive nature"—that would no longer stay hidden. Seeking peace and a healthier sense of self, she explored yoga (later becoming an instructor), chakras, meditation, and mantras, and she eventually founded a healing center. In this self-help book, she clearly articulates her thoughts on how and why one's protective impulses thwart one's goals and cause further strife. It's divided into two parts, with the first dealing with the difficulty of accepting imperfection, vulnerability, honesty, and trust, which may go against one's hard-driving instincts. The second part demonstrates how going on this journey affects one's body, mind, heart, and spirit. Her 40 practices aim to train readers to slow down, listen, feel, think, and question. Brassard's advice is consistently down-to-earth in tone; for example, she says that rituals "can be as simple as your daily run to the coffee shop…or the walk you go on with your dog," and many of the exercises, including the introductory meditation, take only three minutes to do. The author also practically warns against trying to do too much at once, emphasizing not execution but consistency: "More does not necessarily mean better, but always does mean better." The book does take too long to get started, however; an initial note from the author, an introduction, and a summary of Part 1 before the first chapter could have been cut. It is nice to see a subject index, though—a helpful feature that's often neglected in similar books. (Terry Walters, author of 2009's Clean Food, provides a foreword.)

An insightful and realistic self-help text.

Kirkus Reviews