Bare feet walking on a yoga studio floor is one of my favorite sounds!
As I write this post, I am sitting on my deck in the early evening, listening to gentle breezes and a bit of ambient noise.
I am not listening to music or chatting on my phone or having any other sounds around me. I hear trees rustling, a car now and then, and the faint voice of a neighbor on his deck.
Even when I am working on my laptop inside my house, I have no TV on for background noise and no music playing. I am comfortable with silence.
I think I may be a rarity in these times of seemingly constant connection.
Some mornings I sit on my deck, coffee mug in hand, for a bit of early morning sunlight. I just watch and listen.
What do I hear?
Squirrels chasing each other up and down trees. Ducks swimming in the canal. Birds chirping.
We should all be comfortable with silence, but I’d wager most people are not.
Two of my favorite sounds in the silence of a yoga studio prior to class are the sound of bare feet on the floor as students are walking to their desired spots and placing their mats down and the sound of ujjayi breath, the most commonly used breath in yoga. Ujjayi breathing, or “ocean breath,” is done by constricting the back of the throat while breathing in and out through the nose. One creates a soft, audible hissing sound as they exhale, even though the mouth is closed. It’s like one is trying to fog a mirror but the mouth remains closed. I love hearing those constricted throat exhales!
Even though I play music in my classes, I usually turn it off in at least half of the final pose–savasana–because I want my students to be comfortable with silence and to follow and to listen to their breath in the last minutes of class. I often don’t start the music until we have done our connecting and pranayama (breath work) at the beginning of class.
I want students to HEAR their breath and to be comfortable without music or distractions.
I think the “noises” of today–whether they be news, social media, filling the air with sounds because one isn’t comfortable with silence–are causing us to disconnect with ourselves and even with God. God can speak quite powerfully in the silence if we are willing to embrace it and listen for His voice.
Shhh… be quiet. You never know what– or whom– you may hear.
Amy Walton embraces the quiet but still can’t bring herself to do a silent retreat. Maybe one day soon! You can interrupt her silence by reaching out at amywaltoncoaching@gmail.com