The Yoga of Silence

So this week my yoga was about living in almost silence. The cold I thought I was getting turned into laryngitis. A pretty severe case on top of it! It was so bad that it was difficult to whisper at times.

So I had to really adjust to listening to everything around me more and being very certain what I needed to say at times was important enough to risk trying to speak.

I found it almost easy at times to get around with saying very little and noticed that people listened a lot more when I had to whisper to speak to them. I managed to land a job subbing at a local studio during a very brief interview where I said maybe three or four words!

I did have to work a few days through this and the only way to get sound out on those days was for me to yell. The people in the classes didn't know I was yelling, I just sounded horse to them. But I got away with fewer queues for them to understand what to do. A really good lesson to learn. I don't need to fill the room with my voice for an hour at a time to teach a class. I recommend everyone try editing themselves in their teaching. It will be very satisfying for them as teachers and for the students.

The hardest parts of the week were when I was with my husband. He's so used to me ordering at restaurants, asking questions at stores and telling him the story of what we are watching on TV. He kept forgetting how difficult it was for me to speak but kept asking me questions. With him I had to learn patience and to just sit on my hands. He almost got smacked a couple times :) Having an actual chest cold with the laryngitis made me a little cranky too. He thought the whole week was fun. I see the humor in it too, it's just difficult not being able to communicate clearly.

I didn't always feel strong enough to do full asana practices. But I meditated and tried to be at peace with myself while my body worked on healing itself. For someone that is always on the go and has her life planned out for where she needs to be every minute of every day, staying home, taking care of myself and resting was very needed and the true yoga that was required for the week.

I'm hoping to start next week on a healthier note!