At the end of the day you have to stop and do nothing for a while. In doing nothing you can breathe a little better and take in all that happened in your day. It is the same for a yoga practice. After every OM wait and listen to the silence. After each movement, lie still in savasana to integrate and assimilate. In the fast paced world of today, people do not leave enough time for integration and orientation. We go lickety-split down the track from one thing to the other. This can deplete your fundamental chi and leave your mind scattered.
Since the earliest ritual offerings in yoga what remains after the sacrifice is deemed to hold power. It is called Shesha, the Remainder. It could be ashes left over from a sacrificial offering or food leftover from an offering to the gods. It is the same way with dreams that distill the mind’s activities of the day. Healing and integration comes about through absorption in the way that spending time on the couch improves digestion after a big meal.
So whatever you have going on in your life, spend time afterward doing nothing. Be still, rest and simply wait, watch and listen. Don’t hurry onto the next thing. Let the dust of your mind and body settle. When you take time for absorption you will be more open and receptive to things as they arise. In this way, the spirit of acceptance will stay with you through all that you do.
Photo: Pablo Merchan Montes / Unsplash
