What Stillness Reveals
🎧 Ep 48: How Linh Le Left Corporate to Become a TCM Doctor
When was the last time you sat in stillness?
I know that lately, I haven’t made enough time for stillness. It’s easy to make excuses about being too busy, not having the physical space to do so etc. But most of the time, we don’t want to pause because we’re running away from ourselves.
Stillness forces us to turn inwards, to ask the hard questions and hear our heart’s answers.
Sometimes we’re forced to pause
Yet, most of the time, when we don’t make time to pause the universe will create situations to make sure we do. I’ve heard many stories of people who experienced a sudden injury, a layoff, or the cancellation of a major plan. Often, those pauses led to eureka moments — because they finally had time to hear themselves.
Returning to your Yin
This is also Dr. Linh’s story. In the latest episode of Our Core Things, TCM Doctor Linh Love shares her story from corporate burnout to becoming a TCM doctor, and how a forced pause gave her the space to realign.
In Chinese philosophy, yin and yang represent the opposing and complementary forces found in all things. Yin is passive, receptive, night and stillness, while Yang is active, expressive, light and movement. Most of us are in our yang often, because that’s what the world encourages us to do: being productive, doing, achieving, maximizing. It’s all yang.
A return to yin is a reminder to bring more stillness back in our lives. It doesn’t mean we need to do nothing for days, but rather, learn to balance action with rest, presence instead of constant planning.
Slowing down forces us to be more intentional with everything we do. As a result, we’ll make more aligned decisions, be more present during conversations and also hear our own intuition more clearly.
Three Ways to Slow Down
Go on Airplane Mode for at least 30 minutes after waking up: Read, Make a Coffee / Tea, Journal, Move. Blocking out time for yourself before the world interrupts your thoughts is a form of self-respect, it signals to yourself that you come first.
Take advantage of lunch breaks: Instead of scrolling, doing admin or chatting with colleagues during lunch, go on a walk, or if you’re in a colder country where that isn’t currently feasible, consider simply eating your lunch without any stimulation. Focus on the taste, texture and sensation of every bite; this immediately grounds you back into into the present moment.
Add five minute of stillness onto an existing habit: Add in five minutes of stillness before or after your morning coffee, brushing your teeth at night, or your afternoon workout. We don’t always needed extended periods of stillness, sometimes small moments of awareness is enough.
Slowing down doesn’t change your life overnight. But you’ll quickly notice the difference in how you make decisions and how you show up, for both yourself and for others.
INSPIRATION
Know that you can start late, look different, be uncertain and still succeed. — Misty Copeland
P.S If there are any topics you want me to cover me to address in the newsletter or podcast, feel free to respond and let me know!
With love,
Claudia.