Stillness & Silence
Hello dear friends!
In my personal yoga practice these past 3 weeks I have been finishing my practice by finding stillness and silence in my room. I finish my savasana and then I take a seat and try to get so quiet that I am able to hear the ticking of a small battery-operated clock that rests on my shelf. Once I am able to hear the sound, I stay for a few more breaths and then I end my practice and continue with my day.
It’s been an interesting challenge – especially due to my proximity to O’Hare airport! But despite the airplanes and the leaf blowers, I enjoy finding that silence in the stillness. Or maybe I’m finding stillness in the silence. Either way, it has been a satisfying practice for me.
Our yoga practice takes us beyond poses. Yoga offers an integrated system of connection to the infinite. We stretch, we move, we breathe, and then we can turn inward and focus. From that point we may feel a sense of connection to something greater than ourselves.
I find that after my practice – movement, breath, stillness, silence, and focus - I’m ready for the challenges of the day.
I love this poem/blessing by David Steindl-Rast. The stillness and silence that he references are beyond my current practice, but I think they're worth exploring.
“May you grow still enough to hear the small noises earth makes in preparing for the long sleep of winter, so that you yourself may grow calm and grounded deep within.
May you grow still enough to hear the trickling of water seeping into the ground, so that your soul may be softened and healed, and guided in its flow.
May you grow still enough to hear the splintering of starlight in the winter sky and the roar at earth’s fiery core.
May you grow still enough to hear the stir of a single snowflake in the air, so that your inner silence may turn into hushed expectation.
”
Please join me on your mat and we'll explore stillness and silence together.
Love,
Nina G