Once again my dear friend and awesome yogini Aimee shared profound wisdom to begin her Friday evening yoga class.Simply put she challenged us to be with and accept our state of being exactly as it is now without judgement.
When I entered the yoga studio I was feeling totally off center. What transpired during that hour of yoga was truly transformative. I consciously slowed down and allowed whatever feelings that came up whether in my body, heart or mind to just be. When I felt tension or pains in my body I slowed down and felt them without force or judgement.
What is becoming increasingly apparent to me is that slowing way down and experiencing silence has led me to become a significantly happier and more peaceful human being. To learn to live intuitively and be guided by a higher power can only occur when we consciously live an unhurried life with significant time spent in silence.
I frequently hear people speak of boredom as if it was a fatal malady. Silence can be scary if we are so accustomed to constant stimulation and always being on the run. It is how we are programmed to live in our western culture today. You see how difficult it can be to just sit for a few minutes without immediately grabbing our smartphone to check Facebook or if we have received some very important message that can't wait.
Recently I had to take a break and leave a meeting for a few minutes. Upon returning the friend I was with was simply sitting there doing nothing with a very contented expression on his face and no phone in his hand. I quickly realized that I would have checked my phone had he gotten up from the table. I am now acutely aware of how often I feel the need to distract myself from myself, so I'm striving to spend much less time with my face in a screen.
Slowing down, hurrying much less and allowing for silent reflection is certainly rebellious in these noisy distracted times. It has also given me much greater health and a deeper sense of peace and serenity.