Finding Stillness

How comfortable are you with stillness?

It can often be one of the most challenging aspects of our yoga practice, whether we are fairly new to yoga or whether we have been practising for many years.

Human beings need stillness. We need quiet time. We need rest. Yet many of us find it impossible to be stop, to be still, to allow ourselves the freedom to simply be.

We live in a world where success in life is all too often equated with productivity. We frequently measure how good our day has been by how much we’ve managed to get done, how much we’ve crossed off our never-ending ‘to do’ list.

We have become accustomed to always being on the go, to constant stimulation , to being ‘connected’ 24 hours a day, to the incessant hum of background noise.

Cultivating the the ability to be still takes practice and patience. To begin, try spending just 5 minutes each morning and each evening sitting or lying down and just following your own breath as it flows naturally in and out.

If sitting still is impossible, take a short walk outside when there are few people around: early morning or just before sunset is ideal. As you walk, take your attention in turn to each of the senses: what can you see? What can you hear? What can you smell? What can you taste? What can you touch? Then allow the sights and sounds and smells to wash over you and begin to look for the stillness. It’s there if you look for it…

Today by Mary Oliver

‘Today I’m flying low and I’m not saying a word.

I’m letting all the voodoos of ambition sleep.

The world goes on as it must,

the bees in the garden rumbling a little,

the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten.

And so forth.

But I’m taking the day off.

Quiet as a feather.

I hardly move though really I’m travelling a terrific distance.

Stillness. One of the doors into the temple.