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OPEN MIND OPEN BODY The Yoga of Connection |
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Week 37: Enjoy the Silence There is a saying that if you can sit in comfortable silence with someone, you have established a far greater intimacy than can ever be found in conversation. In this current round of my yoga teacher training, we've had a few opportunities to discuss the importance of silence, or "empty space", in yoga practice. In yoga, silence gives you room to develop an intimacy with yourself, and build a relationship with each pose. It's led me to think about silence as a kind of connection we either allow, with ourselves and with others, or block off by filling empty space with safe "content". When we are alone, how often do we turn on the radio or the TV to fill up the empty space of being with ourselves? In our yoga practice, do we attend classes or use videos/audio instruction that provides and endless stream of chatter and directions (and little time to simply be, without guidance, in a pose)? In our time with others, do we fill up silences with small talk or commentary? There can be, behind any of these behaviors, an anxiety about the thoughts and feelings that arise in the space of silence. I encourage you this week to create pockets of intimacy with yourself and others, by consciously choosing silence. In your yoga practice, practice "comfortable silence" with each pose as if it were a close friend. When you are alone, practice comfortable silence with yourself, as if your mind and body were each close friends. When you are with others that desire closeness with, practice listening, and when possible, small pockets of silence. If you teach yoga, practice offering more silence in your classes. As little as five breaths in a pose with no commentary from the teacher can be enough for students to make contact with their own spacious, intimate self-awareness.
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