Yoga
Book
Blog!
Daily Prayer
Meditation
Articles
Articles
Groaning and Toning and the Silence Within
by Jinjer Stanton
I treasure my meditation time. But it's not always easy to just sit down and meditate. Sometimes I wake up and my body is stiff and sitting quietly is uncomfortable (I know I should do yoga then, but time can be an issue). Sometimes I have a list of things to do and I end up strategizing about how to most efficiently get things done rather than finding that quiet place within. Sometimes I am bummed out by something that happened to me (or something I did and wish I hadn't). Sometimes the misery and madness in the world at large weighs me down. Sometimes someone has shared their miserable mood with me. When I get started listing the things that can get in the way of me settling into a healing altered state, it seems like it could go on forever. Nearly everyday there is a new challenge.
But I have a secret weapon. It involves turning my back on one of my mother's maxims, "Quit your groaning." She said it time and again, and over time I learned to never groan. I suppressed this natural expression of physical, mental and emotional discomfort.
Before I discovered groaning (and toning) I sat down to meditate and spent all my meditation time suppressing (trying to ignore) whatever was going on with me at the time. If I have time, and am wearing the right clothes, I can do yoga and it helps. But I have found that actually expressing whatever misery, discomfort or dismay I feel through of my long-suppressed groans is a powerful way to break through to the spacious quiet of meditation.
I need to make noise to find the silence. I learned about using groaning from the book, Toning: The Creative Power of the Voice by Laurel Elizabeth Keyes. I'd already been toning for some time but the idea of groaning to get to meditation whether in silence or toning was new.
Try it. You'll like it.
Begin by paying attention to how you feel right now: physically, emotionally, and mentally. Don't judge, just note it.
Now, inhale deeply and fully. Inhale until you can inhale no longer.
Groan as you exhale. Imagine you are pushing the breath up from the soles of your feet and as you groan you are releasing every tension, every worry, every judgment, and every emotion you've picked up from others. Keep groaning and imagine that the groans are scrubbing you clean on every level. Groan until you don't want to groan anymore.
Your groans may naturally morph into tones expressive of your true self. That's fantastic. Keep making the sounds that come naturally until you fall naturally into silence.
Pay attention to how you feel. What's different? Do you hear the silence within? Allow yourself to rest in your spacious interior landscape for a while. When you come back, the outer world will seem a brighter place.
The spirit in me salutes the spirit in you. We're all in bodies together.