Why Stillness? FAQ

Does stillness have a religious affiliation or follow gurus/teachers?

The answer is NO. Stillness is an innate human experience, uniting, in fact, all humans and living beings far beyond any form of identity. Anyone is invited to experience stillness without needing to belong to or follow a particular tradition - religious, spiritual or otherwise. When you enter stillness, you enter the vast, limitless realm beyond silence where you may sense that nothing begins or ends because it simply is, whether you are consciously aware of it or not. Alternatively, you may experience your stillness simply as a sense of calm permeating your whole being.

What makes stillness practice different from other wellness practices?

Stillness is required for all meditation practices. However, meditation techniques are not required to find stillness. Occasionally, people use meditation and stillness interchangeably. We understand stillness as the foundation, yet also the journey and the destination all in one: you need to be still in order to realize how vast your inner self truly is. Just then, this very experience of expanse tends to turn into a longing for more which makes stillness the ultimate destination while always remaining the journey itself. In stillness, you do not attempt to intentionally silence or quiet your mind, to consciously observe the mind’s wandering, to scan and observe the body, or to distract the mind’s busy thought-engaging activity by focusing on a particular sound, image or posture. Stillness is pure allowing of whatever the hidden wisdom of your deepest self offers.

Even though stillness is a most intricate part of ourselves, collective amnesia about our sacred roots makes guided relearning about stillness highly recommendable. In fact, similar to all form of learning, the quality of how you experience stillness strongly relates to the teacher’s own level of mastery of awareness/consciousness.

What are the benefits of regular stillness practice?

  • immediate effects of relaxation and a deep sense of peace that accumulate with each practice

  • drastic stress reduction

  • turning off unconscious patterns of fight-or-flight state of being, thus reducing commonly excessive levels of cortisol (stress hormone)

  • lessening of symptoms of depression and anxiety

  • emotional resilience

  • increased quality of sleep

  • increased creativity and productivity

  • increased trust in yourself

  • increased experience of joy, clarity, ease of being, focus, acceptance

  • decreased impulsivity, restlessness, combativeness

  • stronger intuition and belief in yourself

  • stronger awareness of what really matters in your life

  • ability to reprioritize

Have I failed if I fall asleep during stillness practice?

Not at all. Your body will have given you an important message about its need to rest and your subconscious mind will still have allowed the experience of expanse.

So you want me to lay there doing nothing?

Yes, that is right. Doing no thing at all. Allowing and allowing some more. Each practice can be different, but your mind will be grateful and relieved for letting go of the contractions and distractions of your day or your week.

Does it matter what I think about when practicing stillness?

It does not. Give yourself permission to use the stillness practice in any way you, your mind, your spirit need.

Why is it important to practice stillness with other people, virtually or in person?

SY-Your Stillness centers around two intricately connected goals:

1) Because as a civilization, we are demonstrating severe abuse and neglect of our home (earth), it is our primary goal at SY-Your Stillness to help elevate human consciousness to a higher level where mere functioning matures into joyful living and a deep sense of feeling alive, where you feel connected with yourself and your community. Interestingly, it is not as difficult to accomplish as you might expect. However, we cannot change the problem of our harmful actions from the same level of consciousness that created it in the first place, and we cannot elevate consciousness on the go or daily run. We have to pause. There simply is no other way. Consciousness cannot unfold on the grind. But who do we mean by “human consciousness?” We mean you. Every individual person.

2) If you make stillness a daily routine, you will find yourself effortlessly realizing answers to questions you ask of life. Practicing meditative stillness with other people increases this effect many times, no matter how far apart in the world you live. We know from neuroscience that the effects of intentional activities such as stillness are experienced and anchored more deeply within each participant if they are shared as a community. Thus, not only do you help yourself and your loved ones by practicing stillness and slowing yourself down while accomplishing more, you also help humanity as a whole. Stillness is that effective and that important.