What silence can give you, and why it's such a highly praised yogic practice

In Yoga, two disciplines that involve the tongue are considered extra potent: silence, and eating. Today we will have a brief look at some of all the benefits silence can give you.
 
Silence, maunam in sanskrit, means refraining from speaking for a decided length of time. When we hold back the impulse to speak, we get a chance to be with our thoughts, rather than being on the rollercoaster of monkey-mind thoughts. Through silence we can investigate our ways of thinking, and transform it from impulsive or mechanical thinking, into conscious deliberate thinking.
 
Freedom is not freedom from the mind, but freedom no matter what the mind does. The mind is a powerful and wonderful instrument that we want to use in the most intelligent way. In the commitment of silence, there is not as much chance to escape from meeting our emotions and our minds. A meeting which is the first step towards healing and mature living.

Once we come out of silence and start speaking again, we can decide what to say, how to say it and – more importantly, what not to say. How many times have you said something impulsively out of an emotion, and later regretted what you said? When it’s too late, the damage in relation to the other person is already done.

Yoga offers many practices that help us in situations when the mind and emotions take us for a ride. One is mantra japa - mantra recitation, the other is pranayamah – breathing excercies. We will explain these more at another time (If you want to go into depth in this topic, join the Sama Yoga Teacher Training).

Through silence you become aware of what’s going on in your mind, the inner chatter. You can then, when needed, direct the mind into japa, rather than where the mind wants to take you, into worry etc. Direct your mind with will power and you become the master of the mind.

The speech, the mind and the breath are intimately connected. If you have control over your speech you start gaining control over your mind. Mind and speech affect each other. Breath and mind also affect each other, so we can reverse things – say your mind is out of control. If you can then manage your breath, you can gain control over the mind also.

Maunam, silence, can be practiced in any way that suits you practically. Maybe a day of silence once per month during the weekend, a few days during the holidays, or an afternoon here and there. Remember to watch out for other escape mechanisms, like using the cell phone or reading. The most effect you get if you stay away from all of that.

A chance to spend time with the most important person in your life – You!