A pause can be one of the most emancipating habits you ever choose to participate in, it will effortlessly draw new levels of dignity and integrity into your life. A pause can protect, uplift and even heal relationships, careers, families and hearts. A precious pause can ensure you begin to depart from all your interactions and meetings, void of any residual worries that you may have: over or under shared - again. The Sacred Pause.
The ancient yogis, who contemplated the universal question: how to suffer less, somewhat two thousand years ago, discovered that the interval between the end of an inhalation and the beginning of an exhalation or the natural interlude between thoughts, speech and actions was sacramental.
In Sanskrit, the ancient language of the Hindu scriptures, the name for this Sacred Pause is Kumbhaka. The Kumbhaka, in its very elemental form is natural; you don’t need to think or try to pause in-between your breath cycles, that pause already exists. In its more advanced mode, Kumbhaka, with professional and wise pranayama guidance, can be held for longer, intentional periods of time. Pranayama is the yogic science of working with and focusing on the breath.
We exist because we breathe. One day, when your breath leaves your body, your soul will leave too. The vehicle of your body will lose its vitality and disintegrate back into the earth. Your soul will continue. I believe the breath is connected to your soul, your mind, your body, your heart and everything and everyone around you. We all breathe one breath, and this breath is Life. Maybe therefore, it could even be considered that the breath, the very essence of existence, is a teacher. And if we are to listen to the advice from this divine source, possibly, this enlightened counsel would offer: The Sacred Pause.
When I studied at the Krishnamacharya school in Chennai, India there weren’t any fancy instructions, any assistance or adjustments made to the practitioner's body, no incense, no music, no time lapses or fancy yoga clothes. There was the pause. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Now, inhale, pause, exhale, pause. Pause. Pause. Pause.
After these stripped-back sessions I experienced my first taste of Samadhi; my body, mind, soul, and the object of my meditation, merged together into one. I didn’t have a name or any labels and I couldn’t feel my body, I was beyond space and time in the lap of the sacred pause… but I came back. I felt unchanged and where is the awakening in that. Where is the awakening in anything unless we become genuinely and categorically committed to our own evolution rather than just collecting cool experiences to post on our social media accounts, to teach others or create a sense of righteousness within. We have to pause and denude the greater lesson. We just have too.
What I unveiled during my abandoned moments on the mat, moments when I became suspended in the nothingness of pure light, was that - it is within this very pause that we can connect to an otherworldly source of light and wisdom. It feels to me as if, there is something very auspicious waiting at this doorway, ready to pounce and imbue our life with more ease.
In conclusion, the yogis offer you: The Sacred Pause. I think it’s a pretty good practice too. When I remember, gulp!