“Silence isn’t empty, it’s full of answers.”

I recently took a yoga class and although the space was serene and I felt focused and was looking forward to my practice, the actual experience of the yoga class led me to feel ‘cluttered’ when it was finished.

Upon reflection, the instructor was clearly knowledgeable about the subject of yoga, but did not provide an opportunity to let the students have their own experience, and truly connect with their own body and mind.  There were so few moments to give space to the student to check in and observe.  Instead there was information overload on alignment cues, information on chakras, mantras etc. that it was hard to take anything in at all.

It’s so tempting to try to ‘fill up’ space with words as often we are uncomfortable with silence, but having some quiet time is essential to giving our minds a chance to decompress from information overload that we too often experience every day.  Silence also allows for us to notice sensations in our body and connect with its unique rhythms.   This is true for participating in a yoga class but even more true as we live our life off the mat, individually and in our relationships with others.