Two-Minute DIY Practice: Listening

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If you want to get started on this week's theme, here's a quick DIY practice that's great for stress relief. You can do this while at your desk, in the laundromat, or wherever. Preferably somewhere you can stand or sit still...

1. Begin by either closing your eyes or just fixing your gaze gently on an object.
2. Just start to notice all the sounds around you - beginning with the ones farthest away. Maybe it's outside of your building: a train whistle, a dog or the buzz of traffic. Notice these sounds in detail, but don't hold onto them for long. In one ear, out the other... mindfully.
3. Now gradually start to narrow the scope of your listening. Down the hall. In the other room. Right next to you. Eventually, seeing if you can bring your focus to just the sounds inside your own body - the rise and fall of your breath, the soft swish each time you swallow... and whatever else you find. Notice the sounds, acknowledge them with a smile, and then let them go on their merry way.
4. When you're done, open your eyes (if they were closed), take a deep breath, and just for a moment notice any changes in your mood or the way you perceive your surroundings. (Maybe there are changes. Maybe not. Either way is okay.)

This short exercise can be useful in a couple of ways:

• On the mat: To feed your yoga practice, allowing you to better hear your body's needs as you move through the poses. Listening will not only help you avoid injury, but might also help you get into some cool poses you didn't even know you could do!
• Off the mat: To lessen the stress of distractions so that you can focus and be present in whatever you're doing. Or to calm your nerves when your brain has gone into its stressed-out, noisy state.

As always: take what serves you, leave what doesn't. It's all good.

Creative Commons photo by ky_olsen

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