A few years ago, if you were to tell me that I would be a yogi and get into meditation daily, I would have laughed in your face and been concerned for your mental being. When I began my journey of emotional wellness, I would often be offered yoga, meditation, mindfulness, etc. I would try it once or twice and half-way through, just give up and find myself using that time to think of my to-do list and all the things I was going to do that day once the practice was over. And in writing this, I am being brought back to my very first yoga experience. WOW.

My first real experience with yoga was on a summer day in 2018. I was offered a yoga class for free one day. I thought, “Why not! It’s free and I’m bored right now!”. I enjoyed the movements and the exercise. I’ve always enjoyed exercise. So it was a fun activity for about 30 minutes. And then, something extraordinary happened. At the end of the session, we entered into Savasana. Savasana is a restorative pose often used at the end of a yoga exercise to relax, de-stress and breath in silence. I laid there like a corpse in silence. At first I was self-conscious. My inner dialogue was running rampant! “Am I doing this right?” “How long do I have to lie here?” “What’s for dinner?” “What’s that smell?” “….”. And then the silence spoke to me. My thoughts disappeared and I was enveloped by the silence. I was so overwhelmed with emotion and a sense of inspiration. I cried a long hard cry while lying on the floor. I couldn’t help it nor did I want to stop it. It felt so good and so right.

So I just opened up and became vulnerable with all of you. You’re probably wondering, where is she going with this post. Well, to be honest, I don’t know where I’m going with this post because I am rambling on and silence should do the talking.

We discover answers, truths, meaning and inspiration when we let silence happen in our lives. I can totally understand the discomfort with silence. Some of us become very uncomfortable and upset with just the thought of sitting in silence. Silence will not hurt you; it will not harm you. You are safe in silence. The fears that pop up during silence has almost everything to do with you and your insecurities. So we need to work on our self-esteem first and foremost. Exposure to silence can help with that. I am a walking and living example of practicing silence and in-turn, my self-esteem is improving daily.

Most of us know the novel and movie, ‘The Notebook” by Nicholas Sparks. It’s cheesy and beautiful AND intelligent. The story has a lot of profound metaphors and meanings. Here is a quote about silence that really hit home for me.

“We sit silently and watch the world around us. This has taken a lifetime to learn. It seems only the old are able to sit next to one another and not say anything and still feel content. The young, brash and impatient, must always break the silence. It is a waste, for silence is pure. Silence is holy. It draws people together because only those who are comfortable with each other can sit without speaking. This is the great paradox.”
― Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

So as usual, I am going to provide you with some tips on working with silence and engaging in meditation despite discomfort. Click here for more tips and strategies! You can also find them under the Emotional Wellness Tab.

If it’s worth it in life, it will most likely feel uncomfortable at first. You might have a similar experience as I did and end up lying on the floor in Savasana bawling your eyes out. That’s okay. In fact, that’s great! It means the silence spoke to you! Listen to silence, it has much more to say than the noise and clamor around us. Silence saved my life that day because it opened me up to a world of possibilities. I am now using yoga, mindfulness and meditation daily and they keep me healthy. Silence is my serenity.