The Healing Power of Silence

I’ve been thinking for quite a while now about one of my superpowers: silence. Doesn’t sound too impressive, does it? Perhaps you’d rather be able to teleport, have x-ray vision or some other flashy power. Me? I’ll stick with silence.

Consider what happens when we are silent: introspection, listening, presence in the moment, rest, receptiveness, focus.

In our fast paced modern lives, how often do we stay silent to truly listen to our partners? Or are we really formulating our next sentence?

How often do we talk on the phone just to drown out the thoughts and feelings inside our minds?

How often do we turn on the TV, stream media over the internet, or zone out in front of a smartphone…attempting to “rest” by overstimulating our senses?

And how often do we actually stop talking, doing, running, consuming…just stop and be with our inner selves?

If you’re like most of us, one or more of the above questions will strike a chord.

As a Yoga Therapist and Instructor, I teach people techniques like asana (yoga poses), pranayama (breathing exercises) and meditation. Like many people, I was taught that these practices are valuable and healing.

Which they are. Each has a different effect on our bodymind, and those effects are wondrous.

But as it turns out, part of why they are effective is that many of them invite us into silence and bring us into calm, quiet environments.

I’m also an Environmental Educator, and today I led a hike into some lovely woods. One of my participants repeatedly remarked on how quiet it was, and I could see that it was having its subtle effect on her.

Modern science is catching up with the ancient wisdom of Yoga on this topic. Research published online in European's leading cardiology journal, European Heart Journal, links exposure to chronic noise with an increased risk of heart attack.

Just recently, I was reading an Ayurvedic text, and was struck by how it talks about meditation. Meditation is not just helpful because of the practice itself, but because it gives us a few minutes of complete silence every day.

Yoga teaches us that silence is healing because the reduced stimulation allows our nervous system to rest and regenerate. This is why a good Yoga teacher will tell you that savasana or corpse pose is the most important pose of the class.

Time in nature has the very same effect. In fact, the sounds of nature may be even more healing than just plain silence, but that's a topic for another blog post!

Why not add a few minutes of silence into your day? Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Sit quietly in your backyard
• Take a walk outside
• Meditate
• Practice Yoga
• Journal
• Take a “silent fast” – set aside some time, from a few minutes up to a day or even a weekend, in which you turn off all electronics and remain in silence as you do whatever calming thing that you like, or nothing at all.

Remember, the goal is to reduce noise, become aware of the present moment, and be present with your Self.

I’d love to hear about your experiences; please leave a comment with the results of your experiment!

The Spiritual Practice of Saving Money

What’s holding you back from having the life you want? If you’re like most people, the answer is stress. But what is truly stressing you out? Is it your job, your spouse, your children…or is it money?

We can’t change the fact that life hands us constant challenges, nor should we. These are growth opportunities, whether positive or negative. The growth comes with how we choose to meet these challenges.

But what we can change are all the niggling things in the background. When you can’t sleep at night, what are you thinking about? Commonly, it’s the events of the day. But often enough, it’s that nagging worry about money.

Money. We all have issues with it, seemingly no matter how much or little we earn. But consider this: money is simply energy in material form. The energy of the work that you do is exchanged for the money that you earn.

Nothing more, nothing less.

But that also means that money, as a form of energy, is a part of our spiritual practice. I think followers of most spiritual traditions would agree that balancing all the aspects of our lives – physical-emotional-mental health, spiritual practice, relationships, a clean and pleasant home, career, and community is important.

I’m not sure that many people include finances on that list, but it absolutely should be. How can we have the resources, materially, emotionally and mentally, to live our lives in a healthy manner when our very survival is in question? Of course that sounds dramatic, but most of us don’t live in the woods. Money is essential.

So. Consider efforts toward putting your financial affairs in order as a part of your self-care routine, as a vital part of your spiritual journey to wellness.

Here’s a simple idea that most of us can afford: the 52 Week Money Challenge. This is an image that I came across here on the internet, and it made me realize something: saying that you’re going to save money isn’t nearly as effective as setting dates, amounts and dare I say it, some accountability.

Maybe you’re already a financially responsible citizen. If so, I salute you! Maybe you’re like me, a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of person. That’s ok too. Either way, you can benefit from this challenge.

Is there a special project you’ve always wanted to work on? A trip that just won’t get out of your head? Perhaps an offering to your community, church or favorite charity that you’ve always wanted to make? Or would an extra cushion of savings help decrease your stress?

Here’s your chance. With each week that passes, you will be showing yourself that you are valuable. Your dreams matter. Your security is important. Join me – let’s do this thing!