Stillness
by GrowingFlowers
This was my first Yoga, Meditation and Creativity Retreat. I hadn’t even planned on going. I was asked to create a presentation and to speak on the second night of the retreat. The coordinator was sure I would come up with an idea! Oh my gosh. Sure. She then mentioned that they could pay a small amount, but that I was invited to join them for the entire retreat. I didn’t think I would be good enough at yoga to hang with the yogis. She assured me there would be other beginners.
So I did it! And Treska did it with me. And I loved it.
I arrived during sunset Friday evening. I was worried that my yoga clothes would not be yoga-y enough. But they were. There were plates of basil, mozzarella and tomatoes. Hot tea. The room was in the Mabel Dodge Luhan home. Thick adobe walls, plastered white. Vigas. Hardwood floors. The sun streaming in, but it was dark. We sat in a circle and introduced ourselves.
And we meditated. Sitting, walking and then sitting again. I was prepared for an eternity of sitting. I thought it would be painful. And part of if it was. I definitely had to wrestle my mind to the floor and use techniques to keep my mind quiet. Counted. I was only supposed to count to 10, kept finding myself at 24. (Treska said she found herself at 56!!) But truly when the 20 minutes were up, I was surprised. I was sure we still had tons more time. It went quickly. I enjoyed it.
So I meditated, did poses, wrote and joined in the creative movement sections all weekend. I did things I would only have done under peer pressure. Uncomfortable things, but I think it was a wonderful experience. I loved the teachers and respect them both. One is a woman I have been spending more time with lately. I like the connection.
I created a slide show compilation of the joy during and after birth. I included photos I have taken, or that Treska has taken. Many were pulled from different birth sites on the web. The music was perfect. People cried and the discussion afterwards was amazing.
It was also exhausting. I don’t know why. Perhaps all the consciousness! I came home in the afternoon on Sunday and went to bed immediately. Slept for about 15 hours. Unusual for me. No births and no phone calls. Well, one. But she wasn’t in labor.
I would like to do more of this. It was definitely inspiring. Helpful. Not necessarily rejuvenating as I feel more tired now than before. But good.
Stillness is so important and totally enjoy being still and quiet.
Yes. I search for it all the time. Where do you find it?
I find stillness when writing my morning pages, reading books, walking the dog and smiling at the kookaburra, just being at home with family but most importantly practicing mindfuness. But it is hard with being a mum, a wife, an employee. The world is too fast.
It totally is. It is so hard to find the moments of stillness. I won’t, unless I create them. I love your examples. Thanks so much for commenting!