The Space Between
Over the last two weeks in philosophy class, we have been discussing the idea of pausing. In a busy world we oft rush from A to B to C before we even realise what time it is. Activities merge into one, days merge into years, life happens in the blink of an eye. We rush and race and in doing so remove the possibility of us being present. We can't be here in the now if our mind isn't with us, if our thoughts are somewhere else.
Pausing asks us to stop between tasks, give ourselves a moment to catch our breath. It could be 5 seconds or 5 minutes but whatever it is, it's yours. Maybe you need to organise your thoughts, maybe you just don't need anyone talking at you for a minute.
In Yoga we study the importance of a pause in a breath cycle, kumbhaka.
[D]istractions ... act as barriers to stillness. ... One can subdue these distractions by ... pausing after breath flows in or out.’’ Sutras 1:30-34 (translation by Chip Hartranft)
The Samavritti pranayama technique offers this pause in a breath cycle. There is a pause at the top of an inhale, a pause at the bottom of the exhale. Most practicioners start with equal breath/pause counts (4 inhale, 4 pause, 4 exhale, 4 pause) and over time may experiment with longer exhales and even longer pauses. The purpose of this breath is to anchor the awareness to your breath, calms the body and helps the practitioner identify and connect with a more expansive breath.
I think there is an added benefit of the deliciousness of the inhale/exhale in a cycle of Samavritti. Somehow, the inhales feel more nourishing, the exhale feel more cleansing. The small space in between is a moments pause; where nothing happens yet subtle beauty lives.
I like to think of the same happening in the real world. If we use the analogy of a jar of glitter being shaken, glitter is everywhere and while it is beautiful it makes the water noisy. If we let the jar down, allowing the glitter to settle the water becomes clear. The noise quietness, the busy stops. Anything can cause the glitter to move again, but it takes decisive action to allow the glitter to settle.
The other day I had planned to go to see a friend of mine in another city. I was volunteering in the morning, had given myself two hours after my shift to work out, shower and have food before hitting the road. What I didn't allow for was Mrs Knock (my cat) going on an extra-long morning expedition, bringing back a mouse, chasing and following the mouse behind my stove. What I also didn't realise is that a pile of soot had gathered behind the stove so the cat-mouse chase around my dining room, kitchen and hallway had D E S T R O Y E D the place in black soot. Oh, and I had a rogue mouse on the loose and a cat who was gone bananas with adrenaline.
My 2hrs of to-do's turned into 3.5hrs worth of catching Mrs Knock, cleaning my entire house with a scrub brush, blowing up a vacuum cleaner, cursing open fires and capturing the mouse who was as black as the ace of spades before releasing him to the wild.
All of this is to say, I realised two things.
1 - Could the idea of space not just be at the top of an inhale, or in the microseconds between tasks but also in a dedicated piece of time between activities? I am notorious for scheduling myself back-to-back (case in point above!); imagine what peace would have been found if I leave a margin for error. If instead of a chaotic 2 hour window where I had no room for sh!t to go wrong, could I have opened it up to 3hrs giving myself an hours grace?
2 - The space between the Mouse Rescue and the drive to my friend was one of the most important things I did for myself this week. Usually I would hop in the car and eat road to make up for lost time, angry and annoyed with the situation. Instead, I gave myself 10 rounds of breath. This allowed the chaos of the morning to pass and I could steady myself to allow excitement take over as I was on the way to see a friend.
If we ignore the spaces or the moments to come back to the present moment, surely we are ignoring something so beautifully human? A constantly distracted mind leads to disengagement, disconnection from who you are. There is nowhere else you need to be, but right here and right now.
As you move through your week ahead, I hope you find space. No matter how micro or macro, there is always space. We don't have to deny ourselves a moment to catch up.
Love, always love,
Leonie x