Coming Home to Your Inner Resource [The Breathing Space]
What it is and how it can benefit you
Hi, I’m Theresa.
👋 A big hello from me to you — especially if you’re new here!
I’m a traveler at heart, yoga teacher, and writer behind Wander, Breathe & Flow. I created this space for anyone longing to feel more grounded in themselves while exploring the world. Whether you're here for mind-body tools, travel reflections, or gentle reminders to come back to your breath — I’m so glad you’re here.
If you enjoy mindful inspiration and practical ways to reconnect with yourself, feel free to subscribe and receive new posts straight to your inbox. 💌
There are moments in life when we experience so much stress, fear, anxiety and overwhelm, that we look for solutions everywhere — reading, researching, consuming anything that could possibly help. It’s then that we forget:
The steadiness and groundedness we’re searching for already lives within us, in that very moment. We just can’t see it yet.
Today, I want to talk about something that I learned during my yoga training and that's been a helpful tool for me over the past years. Something which I wish I had experienced earlier, when I was going through a period of intense stress while moving to Italy. My hope is that by sharing this with you, you can develop that level of self-trust, peace and calm that is so needed when big changes (like moving abroad) are on the horizon.
What Is the Inner Resource?
I first came across the ‘Inner Resource’ during my training with Warriors At Ease, an organization in the U.S. that brings the power of yoga and meditation to military communities. The Inner Resource is a concept that has been integrated in some yoga nidra practices, and particularly, exercises derived from ‘iRest’ developed by Dr. Richard Miller. iRest is a science-backed practice that can help you find ease in highly stressful moments.
Now, what is the Inner Resource?
Your Inner Resource is a personal place of safety, peace, and stability that you can return to at any time.
It might be a memory, a place in nature, a symbol, or simply a feeling — but what matters most is that it's something that makes you feel calm, supported, and at ease.
It’s like an internal refuge you can visit whenever you experience stress and overwhelm.
The best part?
It’s always available, it’s free and it’s fully yours.
You just have to pause for a moment, giving yourself time to reconnect with your Inner Resource.
How It Helped Me
When I was going through periods of anxiety and panic after recovering from a health condition — though my body had healed, but my mind hadn't yet — discovering my inner resource was crucial.
Only when we feel safe and secure, we can find true relaxation.
Even though there were many days where I doubted my ability to find back to calmness, I knew that these opposite sensations were still within me. If there was space for anxiety, there still had to be that place of calm and ease within.
Why It Matters
The Inner Resource invites us to come inward.
Safety isn’t something we have to chase.
It’s something we can cultivate.
It gives us a real, tangible tool for navigating life with more trust and calm, especially in periods of uncertainty.
When you have an Inner Resource, it can help you navigate those uncertain situations, build resilience from the inside out, and help you remember that you are never truly powerless, even on the hardest days.
How to Start
It doesn’t have to be complicated.
You can begin right now, by asking yourself:
When have I felt completely safe, at ease, or deeply peaceful?
Where was I? What did it sound like, smell like, feel like?
Can I invite that memory or feeling into my body right now?
It might be a place in nature.
It might be a childhood memory.
It might be a symbol or a feeling of deep peace.
Whatever it is — it’s yours. And you can return to it, strengthen it, and lean into it whenever you need.
A Gentle Reminder At The End
Your Inner Resource isn't something you have to "get right".
There is no right or wrong with this.
It's just a quiet place you can access, reminding you:
"You are safe."
And the more you visit it, the easier it is to find. Even, or especially, on the days you feel a little lost.
✨ If you'd like to experience it through practice, I created this short 7-minute Inner Resource meditation you can listen to anytime you need.
I would love to hear your thoughts on the practice! Have you heard of the Inner Resource before? What does it look or feel like for you?
Can’t wait to hear your thoughts.
With much love,
Theresa
I love that! Thank you so much for sharing 🤍 sometimes there are events that we just cannot control as expats. But building that internal sanctuary can help us claim back that power 🙌 investing our thoughts in something that lasts, building safety from within, no matter what happens on the outside. So glad that our paths crossed here on Substack!
Theresa, thank you for sharing this resource with the world. As an expat whose mental health has been at the mercy of circumstances outside of my control, I have lived a lot of my adult life in a state of fight or flight, due to visas, moving counties, job loss, etc. Although I love living abroad, I’ve just accepted that my life will never feel truly ‘safe’ and stable, but reading this post has made realise that safety can be cultivated within. Despite my physical address changing, I can always come home to an internal sanctuary.