When talking about the envied celebrities in the entertainment industry, Kelly Chen is undoubtedly among them. She was born into a wealthy family, with her father renowned in the Hong Kong jewelry business. It is rumored that he owns about eighty percent of the jewelry retail business in Hong Kong. Not only does Kelly Chen excel academically, but her career has also been smooth sailing.
In terms of appearance, Kelly Chen is naturally beautiful with a business mind. Although she was not satisfied with her face shape in her early years, she has not made any changes to it over the years. It turns out that this face shape helps her maintain a youthful appearance. Even at the age of fifty-one, she still maintains a strikingly youthful look, with tight and natural skin on her face, without any signs of excessive artificial intervention. Recent photos of her, without any explanation, who would guess that they span eight years? In addition, she has always maintained her body in the best shape, and even the rapid recovery of her figure after childbirth has made people wonder if a surrogate was involved, which she indignantly denied.
Kelly Chen’s marriage is also enviable, with her husband also coming from an affluent family, and their marital relationship is stable. If one must speak of setbacks, perhaps the only one is a miscarriage she once suffered. Fortunately, with the company of her family and husband, she successfully emerged from that period of darkness. In fact, Kelly Chen’s success in beauty, career, family, and figure is inseparably linked to her positive attitude. As the saying goes, “The face is a reflection of the heart,” whether one’s interior is happy or clouded with worry is often reflected in one’s complexion and spirit. If the heart is open and unblocked, the internal consumption is correspondingly reduced, which in turn reflects on one’s appearance, making one look more nourished and younger. And inner clarity often works better than medical beauty treatments.
So, how do we cultivate inner strength and maintain a positive mindset? Here, I strongly recommend the practice of yoga. Yoga can help us become more resilient physically, psychologically, and emotionally.
What is the ideal physical state? Is it having enough strength to lift heavy objects? Of course not. The ideal physical state refers to the ability to function efficiently in various environments, so you can enjoy any activity you want to engage in happily. Whether it’s dancing, hiking, skiing, or cycling, you should be able to use your body freely in various postures. If you want to excel in a particular activity, specialized training is beneficial, but it may not be applicable to other types of activities. This is why yoga is particularly important because it involves your body in a variety of postures to enhance overall fitness effects.
How yoga makes you stronger: Yoga involves multiple muscle groups at once. Through practices like flow yoga, yoga provides adaptive changes for muscles. Yoga also helps you utilize and resist gravity to increase strength. Yoga is also greatly beneficial for the recovery of the nervous system, one of the key reasons we can’t precisely activate specific muscles is due to our lack of neurological approach in practice. While provoking your biceps may be simple, many movements involve muscle groups we might not even know we have, let alone be able to think and move with ease. With cumulative practice, we can strengthen neural pathways and activate more muscles as needed.
Mental strength refers to the ability to use one’s thinking efficiently. It’s not only about basic intelligence but also reflects in our decision-making and executive power. In an era when the pace of work and life is constantly accelerating, cultivating mental strength becomes increasingly important. Yoga training helps us concentrate our attention purposefully, make decisions and act according to our will, which requires continuous practice and self-improvement.
Through regular yoga practice, especially meditation, the impact of yoga on the mind becomes evident. In the philosophy of yoga, the power of emotions is often seen as a significant intrinsic force. Humans are essentially emotional beings; without emotions, we lose the vitality of life. With this understanding, yoga encourages us to deeply comprehend our emotions and our reactions to them, advocating for awareness rather than being controlled by emotions, thereby having a more comfortable emotional experience and eliminating obstacles caused by emotions.
How can we enhance our emotional resilience through yoga? Yoga provides us with many tools, such as breathing and meditation. The combination of breath and movement is very effective for relieving stress, and twists, arm extensions, and whole-body stretches allow us to explore parts of our body that are rarely active. Through yoga, we can observe our patterns of reaction under stress, and yoga’s mind-body practices also help us to raise our level of self-awareness.
Furthermore, how to practice to cultivate a strong inner self and maintain a positive mindset is crucial. Practicing at least one yoga posture weekly is greatly beneficial for the release of deep emotions. For example, the pelvis is the cornerstone of the body. If the pelvis is not strong, lower back pain may frequently bother us and dramatic events in life are more likely to provoke our emotional reactions, and we may be making decisions more out of fear and habitual patterns.
By directing the breath to the pelvis, we not only strengthen this area but also bring our thoughts to the center, providing more rest space for the mind. A stable pelvis leads to clearer emotional perception, making our speech more thoughtful and enhancing the quality of life by being more calm and content. Therefore, we need to invest more time in strengthening and stabilizing the pelvis, practicing breathing techniques, engaging in hip exercises, and fortifying the muscles that support the pelvis, which will help us calm down and make decisions based on real feelings instead of fear or entanglements, making emotions a vivid sensation of life rather than an overwhelming storm.
The first step to starting pelvic exercises is to ensure comfort. Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the ground. On an exhalation, tighten the pelvic floor muscles, including the anal sphincter, urethral sphincter, and perineum, as though you are stopping urination or a bowel movement. Continue full breaths, and then relax on the next inhalation. Alternate between tightening and relaxing, holding the contraction for half a breath. Breathe deeply and evenly throughout the exercise, repeating the sequence five times (avoid this exercise during menstruation, urination, or forward bends).
Shift your focus from the pelvic floor to the transverse abdominal muscles. Gently press the pelvic area, feeling the tension of the transverse abs between the pubic bone and the anterior hip. This layer of muscle horizontally covers the deepest part of the abdomen. Try to feel the tightening of these muscles; you should be able to sense their tension under your hand. Now begin to relax. Once these muscles are strong, they can not only provide support for the pelvic organs but also help us better regulate emotional energies in life, including desire and libido, without feeling suppressed. Conversely, if we habitually tighten our abdomen, it may lead to a spillover of suppressed emotional energy, which not only weakens the muscles supporting the organs but can also harm mental health.
With mindful and wise guidance, yoga is not merely a physical exercise. It can also enhance our understanding of our inner world, thereby reducing dependency on external validation and recognition. After all, these external evaluations are unstable and unpredictable. Our inner self-awareness is supported by muscles, especially in the lower abdominal region.
Once you gradually become aware of these muscles, the next step is to strengthen the deeper abdominal muscles. Lie flat on a yoga mat with knees bent, maintaining the natural curve of the spine. Next, as you exhale, tighten the lower abdomen in a controlled manner, being careful not to flatten your back. Place your hands over the abdomen, feeling the impact of the tightening of the lower abs.
While keeping the lower abs tight, exhale and gently lift one foot off the ground. Inhale and switch to the other foot. Practice this alternately for at least 8 to 10 rounds.
As you tighten your abdomen and lift your leg, make sure it is on the exhale. Inhale and keep the tension, slowly lowering your foot back to the ground. Be mindful to keep the pelvis stable; any wobbling may indicate that your transverse abdominal muscles are not solid, and your emotions may fluctuate as a result. At this point, you need to strengthen your training to make the contraction more powerful and slow. After practicing for 8 to 10 rounds, relax your body, let your back lie comfortably on the floor, and also relax your abdominal muscles.
Breathe deeply, letting the exhale fill the entire pelvic area—bones, muscles, organs, etc. Repeat this practice 2 to 3 times. At the end of the training, release the tension in the lower abdomen, spread your feet apart, and gently shake your knees to relieve tension in the lower back.
Then, without relaxing the tight abs, stretch and lift the raised leg until it extends straight and hovers above the floor. Gently retract the leg and switch to the other side. Alternate like this, about 4 times on each side, always keeping the abdominal contraction tight.
Remember in the exercise process, when extending the legs on the exhale, tighten the abdomen; continue to keep it tight when lowering the foot on the inhale. Keep the natural curve in your back. Afterwards, breathe normally and release the abdominal muscles completely.
Repeat this exercise sequence with the hips slightly raised. Keep the natural curve of the spine while the deep abdominal muscles continue to contract strongly. The pelvis should not wobble when one leg is straightened and suspended in the air and then slowly falls back to the ground. Alternate left and right for 6 to 8 times.
If the pelvis wobbles during the process, do not force yourself to stretch the leg on the other side. Strengthening the pelvic floor and deep abdominal muscles can effectively reduce pressure on the lower back. Wobbling may mean that these muscles are not yet strong enough to keep the pelvis stable, and you should return to basic muscle exercises and practice until you can keep your pelvis stable while moving your legs and feet.
Recognize your limitations and respect your body. After completing these exercises aimed at strengthening the transverse abdominal muscles, relax and take a deep breath, allowing the pelvis to stretch fully. Gently swing your knees from left to right, which helps with relaxation. When you can focus on the pelvic area, you will begin to feel more comfortable with your body and inner self. As you build a sturdier “container,” you will find that your emotions become more stable and your thoughts easier to manage.
Lastly, it is worth mentioning that although the buttocks are often overlooked in the practice of yoga, they receive a lot of attention in popular culture, being the rear pivot point of the pelvis.
The shape and size of the buttocks have long attracted a great deal of attention, but this attention often does not help individuals in understanding their bodies or building confidence. In fact, gluteal muscles play an extremely important role in supporting our pelvis and spine. They are crucial for the healthy functioning of our legs, pelvis, and spine, and it is unfortunate that much of the attention we pay to the glutes is focused only on their visual impact.
When we start to recognize the importance of the gluteal muscles for their contribution to our bodily integrity, we will begin to appreciate our bodies more. This understanding should be based on intrinsic value rather than external appearance. Moreover, exercising the buttocks can not only optimize their shape but also have a positive effect on the lumbar muscles. The lumbar muscles are a core muscle group that is often overworked, connecting our lower back to the hip bones and femur. With stable and strong glutes, the lumbar muscles can be liberated, not having to overwork to maintain the balance of the pelvis.
To strengthen the gluteal muscles, you can perform the following exercise: Lie on your back with knees bent, feet apart, and as close to the buttocks as possible. Slowly raise the pelvis until it lifts off the ground. If you feel pressure in your head, neck, or shoulders, adjust the position of the pelvis to release the pressure. Hold the stable pose while slightly bringing the knees together to challenge the muscles on the inner thighs. Keep the buttocks tight and slightly lifted; breathe deeply twice while maintaining this tense state. Maintain deep breathing and again release the pelvis. Repeat this movement 10 times, each time holding for the duration of two deep breaths and making sure the knees stay close. Fully relax and let the buttocks feel full.
After that, lift the thighs up to above the abdomen, wrap your hands around the thighs, and gently stretch the back, thighs, and gluteal muscles to relieve tension. Then relax back to lying flat, release stored tension in the neck or head by turning the head from side to side. Next, lie down with your feet together, knees apart and a pillow or blanket under each thigh to rest the legs comfortably. Relax your breath, directing it towards the back of the body, allowing it to flow through the lower back to nourish our pelvis. Lie there, enjoy the fruits of your earlier exercise, and enter a deep relaxation state, maintaining it for 5 to 10 minutes.
In the end, assume the corpse pose as the concluding position. You can roll a blanket and place it under your knees for additional support, which will help you relax better and feel the benefits of the practice.
