Stillness
This months blog is all about “Stillness”.
It is spring time and the perfect time to go within. Why you may ask?
Well… there are many, many benefits to creating stillness within yourself; most importantly, as a daily practice, it will affect your physical health in positive ways.
Your body/mind systems are designed to be self-healing, but they often do not get the space to do so. Continuous bombardment of stress, worry, fear, outside message units such as TV, books, phone, computer, kids, spouses, career etc. work in concert to prevent your system from resetting itself. Stillness tells your system to gear down, release stress and toxins, rejuvenate (oh yeah, aging less is one of the side effects), rebuild energy reserves to slowly heal.
Stillness sets the stage for clearer thinking, releasing and balancing emotions both of which contribute to a feeling of being in control of yourself and your life. On a deeper and more spiritual level this stillness will open you up into your connection with your higher self, your guidance, source, inspiration, solution and the pure energy field of possibility of which you are a part.
Be prepared to meet resistance within yourself. It is perfectly normal for this to occur. Change always brings up resistance!!!! The initial reaction or your body and mind will create a Tsunami of thoughts and possible feelings of anxiety. If your system is treated infrequently to stillness, it will begin to compensate, and in a sense become “addicted” to a stream of stimulation. In this case, resistance to stillness is to be entirely expected. Be patient. Push through it and have that positive anticipation of relief that will follow very soon.
Let’s get to the “how to”!
Your breath will take you to stillness. Yes, your deep bottom-of-the-belly breath, nice and slow will transport you. Deep, conscious inhales and exhales are the ticket.
You want to get away from your “usual” distractions. Let me guess: TV, computer, phone, Facebook, texts, thoughts, books, video games …
Do not strain but breathe as deeply into your torso as is comfortable for you by expanding your rib cage – if you create the space, the air will enter your lungs; you don’t have to draw it in. Listen as the air moves through your windpipe and feel the oxygen being carried throughout your body.
It is up to you how much time and how often you practice stillness. I suggest start with 2-5 minutes 3-5 times per day. Focus on your breath and let it take you inside of yourself. Similar to a walking meditation, let all thoughts float by, like clouds in the sky. It seems harder in the beginning than it really is, trust me!!!
Notice the noise trying to get you to come back… the thoughts…. the pressure of what you aren’t getting done right now…. smile and know that these few minutes will give back years to you. Do not let the thoughts trick you into attending to them!!!!
Breathe and feel any discomfort or comfort in your body without condition. With every deep breath, let go more and feel you entire Being “resetting” itself.
The experience will be different almost every time.
Breathe, get still and be.
When to use it: first thing in the morning (perhaps along with an intention for your day which you want to remind yourself of throughout the day), in between meetings at work, when overwhelmed, when feeling stuck creatively or mentally, when facing drama or a crisis, on your lunch break, when taking a shower, while cleaning, cooking … before going to bed.
There are no limitations as to where and when you can find the place of stillness within yourself. The more often and the longer you practice stillness, the easier it will become and better you will feel.
Once you use this daily practice and your mind and your body have become accustomed, you will notice more clearly when you are lacking stillness. You may notice yourself feeling agitated and jumpy – your body is craving the “good stuff.” Your body knows – it has it’s own intelligence for healing and wellbeing build in – and now you will be listening to it more intently. All you need to do is supply it with the basics and your body, your mind and your spirit will follow.
Try it!!!! Form your own opinion on stillness and what it does for you. Carefully consider the struggles it brings up for you and the benefits you are noticing. And please do share your observations with me! I would very much appreciate it. You may email me at Britta@BrittaDubbels.com
With love and Light,
Britta