INNER SANCTUARY

What is your Inner Sanctuary? 

When I was in my final year of Uni I began to worry about where my future was headed, what I truly wanted from life, how best to juggle the balance of friendship demands, family, the increased workload of producing my graduate final collection and still enjoy my “uni life”.  I find it difficult to process my feelings and emotions at the best of times and I began to feel overwhelmed with anxiety and pressure. During one of my one-on-one tutorials with my Tutor I had a bit of a melt down and all of my issues came tumbling out. We talked through a lot of my anxieties and worries and calmly tried to work out a plan. He was great! He introduced me to a relaxation technique which I have found invaluable ever since. We talked about different methods of relaxation and he asked me to think about in what situations and locations I felt most calm and in control of my emotions. He asked me to describe what my 'Inner Sanctuary’ looked like. 

I began to think hard about the places, things and experiences in my life that brought me the most joy and tranquility, objects, colours, textures, scents… etc and after picturing these things in my mind and describing them I immediately felt calmer and clearer in my mind. I went home that evening and spent hours finding images online of what made me feel happy and calm and I made my first Inner Sanctuary board. I collaged these calming images together in a room which allowed me to see exactly what to picture in my mind when I suddenly feel overwhelmed and anxious. 

The process of envisioning this Inner Sanctuary enabled me to stop battling with my stress and anxieties for a moment and to focus entirely on this room - imagining what would be in each space, how the light and shadows would fall around the room, the textures of the rugs or the chairs, what the room smelled like, how the air felt, was it cool or warm? What colours could I see? What could I hear? Suddenly I felt more relaxed and I could think clearly again.

Inner Sanctuary is a place of inner peace. By taking the time to be quiet, breath deeply, sit still and to focus on something completely tailored to yourself is the best thing I have found to do to help myself relax and relieve my tensions. It is essentially a style of meditation, it is easy, quick and I find it fun to do. Some days my Inner Sanctuary changes, it all depends on my current mood, what I have seen and experienced recently but that's OK and all part of the process. I always feel the weight of any stress and anxiety is a little bit lighter after spending a bit of time imagining, looking for and finding my Inner Sanctuary. 

- Here is an example of my Inner Sanctuary

If you are feeling stressed or ‘fuzzy’ in your mind, try this activity. Find images of what makes you feel happy, calm and content, collage them together, print it off and look at it every now and again. Then in moments of anxiety, take a minute to breath deeply, find this special place in your mind, picture yourself there and I'm sure you will feel so much lighter and clearer afterwards.