The Importance of Stillness & Relaxation
The importance of stillness & relaxation
Every Yoga class will have some purposeful aspect of relaxing and stillness. This is just one reason why Yoga stands out from other group class experiences.
During these still and relaxing parts the teacher will be guiding you to connect from within, whether it be with breath or focussing on a particular body part. But even though we are using the capacity of our physical body in practice, the aspect of self that is affected the most is the mind.
I learnt how the body and mind are connected when I did the 10 day Vipassana silent meditation in 2013. This was a life changing experience. Whilst sitting for hours in meditation practice and silence over the 10 day course, my body was certainly being challenged but my mind received space and I had the most restful sleeps. It wasn't until the end of the course that I discovered the true effects. When we could talk again on the final day I quickly realised how much information I could contain and had no problem remembering everyones name. The clarity blew me away. There is to be no Yoga pose practice during the course, only seated meditation so when I did my practice again I was astounded by how flexible my whole body was...far more flexible and comfortable in poses than before! All achieved by simply sitting and being still with a clear mind. I will also share that the course was not a complete bed of roses...it was a challenging experience for sure, but one I learnt so much from and I definitely recommend it as a massive reset button.
So I understood from this experience the correlation between the body and effect on the mind and between the mind and effect on the body.
A Stillness and Relaxation you can practice at home…
First, do some movement for at least 10mins to shift the energy of the day and open channels for energy to flow which will bring in healing. The goal is to move all the joints and spine in all possible directions. This can be Yoga poses (best option), stretching, dancing or swimming as other good ideas.
Set up so you will be comfortable through out. Sitting on a chair, meditation stool, Yoga block or bolster or rolled blanket to get some height under the sit bones. This is important no matter what your level of flexibility to ensure a straight spine and proper energy flow. Ensure you will be warm enough. Sit cross legged or kneeling if on floor bolster.
Choose to be still. Setting an intention around this can help a lot. Say to yourself “I'm going to be still now”. As you sit you may observe your breathing, look/feel inside at the joints or other structures of the body. You may notice yourself drifting into thought. Never judge this! Thought is simply part of the human experience, you can't “stop” thinking, but instead, just notice when you see yourself in thought and choose again to come back to your body, into your breath and the inner landscape.
Stay until you move. The movement may be a flick of the finger or you may subconsciously have a scratch or you may swallow. When this happens your stillness practice is over. Even if you were only sitting still for 2 mins it's now time to move into a lying down position. (Don't worry...you will build up more time spent in stillness).
You may like to use a Yoga mat or folded blanket on the floor, drape legs over a bolster, include a low pillow under the head and an eye pillow and blanket. Avoid doing this one in bed...it's best to keep bed associated with sleeping only.
Read through the steps before you begin and it doesn't matter if you forget anything, this is just simply something to focus on which in turn helps the body to relax.
1. Start to notice your breathing as you let your body relax. Notice your natural breathing, count 6. Now deepen your breath counting another 6.
2. Looking through the body and take two slow breaths for each of the joints...ankles, then two for the knees and two for hips, feeling as you go. Then two breaths for, wrists, elbows and shoulders.
3. Then two breaths for each of the senses...eyes, ears, nose, mouth and skin.
4. Then simply allow yourself to melt into the earth a little further. Enjoy the sensations and connection in deep relaxing comfort... just observe the body and breath until you're starting to fall asleep or the mind is too active, then its time to get up, go to bed or perhaps have a cup of tea.
Practicing more often, every day, is of great benefit. You will stay for longer over time and start to reset stress habits held in the physical body, lowering tendency for overt reactions...calmness and observance will imbibe your experiences. You will function better in all aspects, memory will improve and your body will feel comfortable more often.
I hope I've inspired you to give it a go. Try for a couple of weeks and see what happens...I would love to hear your experiences!
With LOVE always,
Kellie x
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