A Five Second Pause

"What is this life, if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare." (W.H. Davies)

To stand in stillness or stride boldly onwards? Recently in class I gave the option to stand in meditation or follow a sequence of flowing poses. It was interesting and satisfying to see both choices winning equal votes, in sharp contrast to countless pages of online advice recommending we NEVER stand still!

Of course, moving our bodies is hugely important, but taking time out to rest and reflect is vital too, or we run the risk of marching on blindly, never stopping to consider how we are spending our valuable lives and what, if anything, we might like to change.

I know many of us (myself included) find stillness does not come naturally, so thank goodness yoga helps, or forces (!) us, to stop, take a breath, and find some peace and quiet before we move on. It doesn't have to be a full-on hour long meditation either; a Buddhist Monk I once had the honour of interviewing recommended starting out with just a 'five second pause', for example, when stuck in traffic, or waiting for the kettle to boil.

As regular students know, I like to integrate short pauses of stillness throughout our flowing practice, so we get plenty of opportunities to stop, reflect, and reconnect to our breath before we move on in class.

Of course, however much we might like to pause, life does keep rolling on, and I should let you know that the mini retreat day on Saturday April 30th is now half full - so perhaps don't pause to reflect for too long if you think you'd like to book!

Sending very best Autumnal wishes - and do try the 5 second pause if you can!