Silence Conservation
Recently I have chosen to lead my classes without music. It started, however sub conscious it was, to help me manage the high energy level of some super large classes I have the pleasure of leading at times. As I proceeded to run classes without music for a few weeks I started to receive feedback from students on both sides of the matter. People would come up after class and thank me graciously for a silent practice, making a point that it is becoming less and less common these days. Other people would express extreme discomfort, and a few mentioned they would avoid going to another silent yoga class if they could help it!
Beyond that, I've gone ahead and taken a few surveys in class. I actually find this to be an incredibly useful means of collecting general info about the people that frequent my classes. I found that most people prefer music during their yoga practice. It made me wonder, what is this about and how can I be an instrument of change? No two people are the same of course! This is to be respected. However, I encourage those of us who are more resistant to silence to explore this dynamic a bit more in depth.
It's no secret that our society is thriving on noise and busy-ness. We are constantly overstimulated my sound throughout our days, and sometimes even well into the night. We know those people who have to have something on even while they sleep. We are so overstimulated in fact, that when there is no noise or nothing playing/running, we feel like something is strange, or missing. As someone who moves through about 50% of their day in silence, this anti-silent epidemic fascinates me. What makes silence, even just for an hour of yoga practice, so strikingly uncomfortable?
As a teacher, I'd like to be of influence on this matter. I love the peace and even the power I feel in silent endeavors, whether it's leaving the radio off while I'm driving somewhere, or muting the tv during a project. I feel I must be a silence conservationist and encourage other teachers and students alike to be silence conservationist as well! We can love our music, but we must not become overly attached. Be able to enjoy your yoga practice with or without music.
As a silence conservationist, I must hold silent space for people in my classes and even in other areas of my life. In a previous blog (the bikram clash) I noted that silence in yoga practice is a dying art... kind of like cursive hand writing. You don't really need to write cursive all the time, but when you do it is absolutely necessary for something so important as signing your very own name. Don't get me wrong- I really do enjoy playing music and there's a certain momentum that this brings to my teaching and sequences that is unparalleled. But gosh, that silence is just so lovely when it happens; to ride along the beat of nothing but my own internal rhythm.
I must also encourage anti- silent practitioners to ask themselves the question, why am I uncomfortable in silence? Are there any parts of my days that are quiet? Silence is precious, important, traditional. During silent moments, you might hear your own thoughts differently or allow for a new style of awareness. Depriving yourself of this sense for periods of time heightens your recognition and hopefully appreciation when you hear something again, especially if it is the sweetest sound of music you enjoy, or the voice of a loved one, or even the brush of wind against leaves.
I am calling all silence conservationist to hold space for others to maybe see the sliver of beauty in this precious and endangered element! Don't let this ancient practice fade away.. as our world gets louder and louder, holding spaces for silence becomes more significant.