Why is it So Quiet in Here?

Obedience & quiet, stillness & respect, silence & focus are terms befriended like 'light as a feather.' As we consistently tell wriggly kids to sit still, Yogis to shhhh and public places to "not make a scene," what message are we sending out? When we move our bodies we release Serotonin and giggling and socializing with friends is a huge hit of Oxytocin. These hormone cocktails make us feel good, fulfilled and satisfied in turn allowing us to move past the hunt for basic needs such as 'feeling good' and into deeper self realization, enlightenment, altruism or whatever other term you want to assign that awesome place where you really understand yourself. Yogis talk of Prana, this is energy flow AKA bazillions of vibrating molecules that keep our bodies dynamic and in motion. Bodies are never actually still. When we consider the human body we need to think that subconscious, automatic actions keep our 'still' parts always moving. Yes we are always in motion. Breath. Heartbeat. Blood flow. Muscle repair. Neurons firing. Electrical impulses. So if a human body naturally moves, does it function best still?

My heart is never warmer than when I walk into a Yoga class and laughter fills the room like an SNL re-run. People are mingling, moving and standing; activities that they most likely haven't done all day. At this point I usually let out a joke, join the merriment and slowly and deliberately take my time before I assume 'Teacher Stance.' Class consists of deep intentional breaths, swaying, singing, laughing or leaving eyes open in Savasana to just 'look around.' As our lives shift to more isolated, solitary task work and to structured 'sit and listen' type activities I find moving meditations or noisy enlightenment extraordinarily successful. Let's understand that butts in office chairs crave movement and freedom more than ever. In a world starved of face to face engagement without agenda- let's let the rowdy roll. This doesn't go without saying- never sit still, it just simply opens the door to other forms of radness. We have begun to treat dynamic bodies like Ken and Barbie dolls to sit, stand, look pretty and stay where we put them. Discover how you can incorporate movement, laughter and socializing into your day and if it just happens to be in a Yoga class- so be it.