![]() I want to help children stay familiar and comfortable with this big space of silence so they can settle into their true hearts. I am forever amazed by what a child can do when a space is held for her to do it. Yoga can give children the specific techniques they need to return to this natural state at will.Ĭhildren embody the unlimited potential that we as adults abandoned long ago for routine. Sounds good, right? The researchers went on to suggest that this might develop into a habit of tuning out other sounds, such as a teacher’s instructions.īeing quiet and receptive is a natural state, a state rarely found amidst the busy-ness and noise of modern life. One study showed that “Increased levels of exposure to both aircraft and traffic noise was associated with additional stress in children and a reduced quality of life.” Another study found that children who are exposed to noise can learn to tune it out. This noise pollution has also been shown to elevate stress hormone levels and blood pressure. Several studies link environmental noise to impaired learning in children. Silence is important not only to our spirit but our mind as well. In his “20 Important Spiritual Instructions,” he advocates observing mouna (a vow of silence) for a couple of hours each day. The great spiritual leader Swami Sivananda was very vocal about the power of silence. ![]() ![]() The ancient yogic texts proclaim that silence solves all. This quiet is crucial if we want to know ourselves deeply and authentically. He beams, “Shhhh is in shanti!” He has discovered the heart of yoga, the still quiet within. Our chanting sparks an insight, and a five-year-old student scoots up to me after class, barely able to contain his excitement at his new discovery. Shanti means universal peace in Sanskrit. I know who I am when the world is quiet.Ĭlass is almost over, and to close our practice we chant “shanti” three times in a sing-song tone. It’s a feeling I’ve had since childhood and have only recently discovered why. The creaky crunch my boots make ends when I stop in my tracks and listen. ![]() Mostly, I love the hush after a freshly fallen snow. I love the fresh white canvas, the whole city Etch-A-Sketched, ready for a new design of tire tracks and boot prints. I relish the icy tickles on my cheeks and admire each flake–as unique as you and me–stacking impossibly high onto the thinnest of surfaces. Gently falling snow muffles the sounds of the city as I make my way to teach a children’s yoga class. ![]()
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