Finding the stillness among the splashing

‘On days you can’t hear yourself ?

Slow down to ?

Let your mind and your body

Catch up to each other’ ?

? Stillness - Rupi Kaur ?

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These words?are a beautiful reflection on the importance of connection between mind and body. Reading them this week made me picture a scene. ?

You're in a rowing boat on a lake, and you want to glide across to the other side. You’re using your oars as hard as you can. The left oar, and the right oar. They are going and going but they just aren’t in sync. The left one is going much faster than the right, there’s a lot of splashing, you’re feeling the resistance of the water as they awkwardly battle against each other, and you end up getting wet, and slowly turning in a clunky circle on the water. ?

Have you worked out the laboured metaphor here? Like the two different oars, when the mind and body are at odds, there will be resistance. There may be incongruence between what you’re saying, what you may be telling yourself, and what you’re feeling physically in your body. ??

When something is off, you can really feel that tug, that resistance and tension in your gut, or whichever physical place it manifests. ??

It’s splashy and frustrating, and you feel like you’re not getting where you need be. You feel miles away from the other side of the lake. It’s not a reflection on how hard you’re trying. The effort you’re putting in is evident in your sweaty face. But you just need to pause. ?

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Breathe in

Breathe out

Be still ?

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How often in today’s world do we stop? Really stop? Turn off the phone. Switch off the screen. Close the door. Turn down the noise. Make space for quiet. For stillness. For calm. Just being. Just feeling. We need time, as Rupi Kaur writes, ‘to let your mind and your body catch up with each other.’ ?

Then what comes from the stillness? That’s up to you.

You may want to pick the oars up again, and after you’ve had this time to recalibrate they seem to?ease through the water, you understand better how to use them together, to glide across to the other side. You may realise you don’t want to get to the other side of lake at all, and turn back to shore. Or you may think, ‘Why am I in this damn boat anyway?’ and just dive gloriously in the cool water and swim free. It’s up to you. ?

I know it’s easier said than done to allow yourself this protected and safe space for stillness and recalibration of body and mind. But whether it’s an hour, a few minutes, or a deep ten seconds, how glorious the possibilities it could bring. ?

#coaching #stillness #mindandbody