I find it hard to sit, sitting is not in my dna, doing is. But when I sit regularly I find my cells shift, they shift from the place where I absorb everything and everyone to a place where I find my own personal energy, where I detach from the needs, the wants and the pressures I naturally would place on myself and I accept who I am, the dark bits as well as the light.
In India we sat for 45minute...s something I used to do but had lost the habit, I had profound shifts in my cells and thoughts and so I’ve brought the practice back.
My Mala meditation is the best way to sit for long enough, 108 breaths, on each bead I inhale and exhale slowly and deeply, feeling into every cell, in this spot I listen into the music of the birds, the feel of the earths vibration and the smell the scent of her too. I then add a mantra depending on how I feel, what strength I need to draw from and what I need to let go of, mostly fear.
Even though it’s hard at first to sit for this long, it does become easier, but most of all I notice the difference in my day, the clarity in my mind and the feeling of connectedness through my body. Sitting is as much a part of Yoga as movement, in fact the movement is just a way to build the strength and flexibility into our bodies so we can sit. Sitting can be scary, allowing yourself full time with your thoughts can be terrifying, but it’s needed so you can let go of the thoughts that don’t serve you, not just ignore them and pretend they’ll go away, but fully release them, this free you up, allows you to fill your cells up with the beautiful positive energies that surround us. So if you find sitting hard, it’s a sign you need to do it more, it means you’ve got some stuff to face, to shed and I promise you over time you’ll grow to love this precious time in your day, time to just be.
This for me is the most alive I feel, when I’m still. When I’m aware of every cell inside me, when I feel my heart beat, my breath move through me and my soul sing, this is where I get my inspiration for the day, where I find peace with the past and where I open to the future.