DOROTHY FOLLOWS THE POWERHOUSE ROAD!

 

Once upon a time in a land far, far away called Kansas, lived a young girl named Dorothy and her cute little dog, Toto. Dorothy lived with her grandparents on a farm where there were Chickens and Cows and Pigs, oh my! On a day that started out quite normally, a huge tornado appeared and swept up Dorothy and Toto, carrying them to a strange land with strange people called ‘Munchkins’. Desperate to get back home, Dorothy takes the advice of the Munchkins to follow the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City, where the Wizard of Oz will help her return to the safety of home.

Along her journey, Dorothy meets a Scarecrow, a Tin Woodman and a Lion. She is also threatened and tormented by the Wicked Witch of the West!

No matter what our age, or which part of the world we are from, we all know the movie—and quite possibly its famous song, which I am pretty sure we have all sung along to: “Follow the Yellow Brick Road, follow the Yellow Brick Road, follow, follow, follow, follow, follow the Yellow Brick Road…We’re off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz!”

The Wizard of Oz celebrates its 75^th Anniversary this year, so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to put a Powerhouse spin on Dorothy’s journey along that famous Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City, where she is sure to find the solution!

 

Here we are on the Yellow Brick Road as Dorothy and Toto embark on a walking journey, in a strange land! Through the forests! All alone! She comes to a crossroads, which is her first stumbling block. Which way should she go? Dorothy is confused and unsure. Then suddenly she hears the voice of a scarecrow, “Some people go this way. Some people go that way.” The Scarecrow cannot make up his mind, because he doesn’t have a brain.

 

The Scarecrow symbolizes Dorothy’s lack of knowledge, which makes her vulnerable, weak, and scared. An important part of the Powerhouse Program is our Emotional Self-Defense component, where we train basic human skills such as Prediction, Recognition, Observation and Intuition. These are skills that we all possess but seem to forget we even have when in fact these are the very skills that help keep us safe and secure. Just as a scarecrow is used for scaring predators away from farm crops, our innate emotional skills are used to have an advantage over predators and keep them at bay.

With Dorothy’s new companion, the Scarecrow, by her side—representing her educated and empowered self through Emotional Self-Defense—she continues her journey along the Yellow Brick Road, where this time she meets a Tin Woodman!

 

The Tin-Man, who is made entirely of shiny silver tin, does not have a heart! Without a heart he cannot love or feel a sense of belonging. This brings us to the American Psychologist, Abraham Maslow’s, pyramid of human needs. We can only proceed up the levels once the lower needs are met. Until the FOUNDATION of the pyramid is in place, the rest of it cannot be achieved. The first level in this hierarchy of human needs is our PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS. By this, we mean food, shelter, water, and air. The second level in the pyramid is our SAFETY NEEDS. This is our need to feel safe and secure. The level after safety is our NEED TO LOVE and BELONG.

The Powerhouse Personal Safety training helps build confidence, self-worth, courage, and self-esteem. When you are feeling safe and secure, you can continue on a journey to love and belonging!

Continuing along the Yellow Brick Road toward the Emerald City with the Scarecrow and the Tin-Man, Dorothy feels quite good about herself. Filled with confidence and courage, she is starting to feel strong!

However, darkness starts to fall upon the forest surrounding Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, and the Tin-Man. They become a little nervous; what could be hiding in the forest? “Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!”

Suddenly a Lion jumps out in front of them.

 

The Lion stands tall and strong, with all the courage in the world – or so it seems! His mouth opens to give out what Dorothy is expecting to be an almighty ROAR…and..nothing! Toto’s bark is louder than the Lion’s roar! This symbolizes how weak, fragile, and afraid someone can feel when they do not have a voice. During the Verbal Self-Defense component of the Powerhouse Program, we teach that using your voice correctly can have the single most powerful effect in keeping yourself safe.

The voice is a very powerful tool, and once equipped with this tool, added with knowledge of your basic skills in Emotional Self-dDfense, you will feel so empowered that you will believe you can conquer the world.

Finally, with Toto, Scarecrow, Tin-man, and Lion in tow, Dorothy reaches the Emerald City, which represents the Powerhouse Strong Program. Through this amazing feeling of empowerment, Dorothy is able to destroy her fear, which is symbolized by the Wicked Witch of the West.

 

So if you find yourself, like Dorothy, on your personal Yellow Brick Road meeting your Scarecrow, Tin-Man and Cowardly Lion, get off that Brick Road and start your Powerhouse journey. In doing so, you will have the emotional and physical strength to avoid that Wicked Witch of the West!

 

 

The Powerhouse mission is to educate and empower girls and women to live safe, healthy, and active lives through its holistic approach to personal safety. Established in 2011, Powerhouse has empowered thousands of girls and women in several US states and in the UK. The objective of our Program is to prevent any form of assault, by using our basic survival skills, and to build confidence and self-esteem.

Jennifer Riis-Poulsen is the Founder & CEO of Powerhouse, providing personal safety & empowerment programs. Powerhouse is the LEADER in EMPOWERING girls and women to live safe, healthy, and active lives.

 

Register for your WORKSHOPS today! PowerhouseStrong@gmail.com   http://www.powerhouseselfdefense.com