By Psychotherapist and Focusing Teacher Paula Charnley

Have you ever felt that familiar churning in your stomach before a big presentation, a tight knot of anxiety when life feels overwhelming, or a heavy, sensation in your gut during times of stress? You are not alone. These physical sensations are not to be overlooked; this is the wisdom of the body communicating useful information that would like to receive some attention. When I’m working with clients, I notice that so often these sensations are located around an often-overlooked powerhouse: the solar plexus.

This blog introduces my holistic mini-course designed to help you understand, nurture, and ultimately reclaim your self-confidence. I invite you into a perspective which includes anatomical, energetic, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. The influence of the Solar Plexus is brought into sharp focus as an area which is inextricably linked to the level of our self-confidence.

This course offers you a roadmap to re-connecting with yourself. Whether you are navigating anxiety, work stress, low self-esteem, or simply you feel adrift in the demands of modern life, this approach offers practical, tools to support your journey.

Why a Holistic Approach to Self-Confidence?

Most conventional approaches to building self-confidence focus on the mind, for example — talking therapies or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Whilst these are enormously helpful, they tend to address only one layer of a complex, multidimensional human being.

A truly holistic approach recognises that we are not just thinking machines. We are physical beings with bodies that hold stress and emotional histories stored in our tissues, and an energetic life force that flows — or stagnates — depending on how we live. Drawing on over 25 years of personal practice in yoga and meditation, and a decade of professional experience as a Psychotherapist, Counsellor and Focusing Teacher, I want to support you on your journey to self-empowerment.  

I will introduce knowledge about our anatomical body and nervous system and weave together wisdom from Eastern traditions — particularly Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and yoga philosophy. We will begin to step into the practice of ‘Focusing’ which encourages us to turns towards these signals from the body, so that a deep listening to our inner world is cultivated.

 The World We Live In — And Why It Matters

We exist in a world that demands a great deal from us. We are attempting to balance heavy work schedules, bringing up children, caring for grandchildren or elderly relatives. We are trying to keep up with technological innovation as physical contact with human beings is eroded by technology. On a more personal level we may become aware of developmental issues which may be holding us back or making it increasingly difficult to cope. In this environment, how do we make time for our individual interests, investing in our relationships or simply having fun? Life often hasn’t prepared us with sufficient coping skills to manage all of this, let alone delve into a holistic understanding of our mind body and spirit.

Already bearing a lot, life can catch us off guard through periods of transition; illness, loss, expanding family, menopause and career change. Transitions like these can expose vulnerabilities we did not know existed. Clients who come for psychotherapy regularly describe feelings of overwhelm, disconnection, anxiety and low self-esteem. Those who already work with me will know that I take an embodied approach to Psychotherapy by having you tune into your body and develop a deeper connection with your inner landscape.

The Solar Plexus out of balance: How it presents

We may have a diagnosis on a physical level for example chronic tension or reflux. Or something like stress, which is more widely understood to be a combination of physical/mental and emotional causes. When we address these conditions and their symptoms like anxiety, insomnia, stomach ulcers or digestive sensitivity from a truly holistic perspective, we have much more creative options to turn to for healing.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) asks, how is this person in relation to their environment, diet, stress levels? Is there experience of unresolved grief or loss? Is this person able to digest what life is throwing at them. Treatment is a process of restoring balance to the whole of the person and to their life force or qi (chi).

Yoga philosophies, like TCM incorporate a relationship with the external and internal environment. Hatha yoga is just one component of Ayurveda (or the philosophy of life). A yoga practice can support us by turning our attention towards the life force of the breath. A shallow breathing pattern might compromise full functioning of our physical body, it will certainly affect our cognitive function and it keeps us at a safe distance from our feelings. The healing elements of a yoga practice support all of our systems; respiratory, digestive, endocrine, it offers us pause and the often-neglected time to deeply relax.

 Five Practical Steps:

Working with your Solar Plexus to rediscover your self-confidence

The good news is that toning and rebalancing the solar plexus does not require years of training or elaborate equipment. Simple, consistent practices — done with attention and intention — can begin to shift the patterns held in this region. Here are five foundational steps which you are able to download when you purchase the mini-course:

1.     Locate Your Solar Plexus.

A short video presentation.

2.     Guided Meditation.

An audio clip.

3.     Deep Belly Breathing.

A short video presentation.

4.    The Matangi Mudra.

 A short video presentation.

5.     Yoga Practice.

Energy for the Abdomen: A 2-part yoga practice video.

Part 1:  Standing or kneeling which you can also adapt to a seated session

Part 2. Floor postures, including mudra and relaxation

Beginning Your Journey to Empowerment

I invite you to sign up for my holistic mini-course Rediscover your self-confidence.

The solar plexus is waiting to be heard. When we learn to listen with curiosity we connect with the wisdom of the body. Through genuine, embodied engagement notice what changes in you. The body knows how to heal.

Stress will always show up in life. But with the right tools, we become more resilient in how we meet it. This journey starts here.

Paula Charnley is a Psychotherapist, Counsellor and Focusing Teacher based in the Staffordshire Moorlands, UK. She draws on a background in yoga philosophy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Shiatsu. With over 25 years of personal practice in yoga and meditation. Her holistic approach to psychotherapy and Focusing she offers an integrated, somatic approach to mental health and wellbeing.