Standing Still

Though we usually think of time as moving in a linear progression, we can also see it as circular. The cycles of day and night, the seasons and years all circle back to a point of completion before beginning again.

In the cycle of the seasons, the Winter Solstice is such a moment of culmination, when darkness reaches its zenith, after which the days turn toward increasing light. Its the turning point, the transition, the pause in swing of the pendulum.

These days leading up to the Winter Solstice are the perfect time to take stock of where we have arrived at as the previous cycle moves toward completion and ponder what we would like to create in the next.

Not only does yoga practice provide the space to step back from the busy-ness of our lives where we can reflect on it all with greater clarity, yoga also offers specific ways to experience this tiny moment of standing still:

• Focusing on the space between breaths
• Experiencing the midline of the body
• Meditating on the central channel of the sushumna

These are just some of the possible entry points to experiencing and expanding the space of pause. It’s here where the content and storyline of our lives are temporarily released, and we abide in the space of pure presence, freedom and potential. Touching that timeless essence, we are able to envision how we wish the next cycle to unfold.