Life’s noise is exhausting, yet we turn to it as a distraction from frustrating circumstances or an escape from boredom, rather than resting in a renewing silence to experience tranquility and balance. Learning to practice stillness, which precedes silence, takes time, but the rewards are well worth the investment. Yoga can set the stage.

Few individuals initially choose any style of yoga with the intention of experiencing inner silence through the meditative aspect of yoga, which is actually an integral facet of the discipline. Barbara King, owner of BKS Yoga, in Naples, offers an opinion about why newcomers rarely consider this. “Few of us feel comfortable with silence. We’re more apt to be thinking of what to

do or say next just to fill the void,” says King.

Yoga students are taught to breathe, let go and observe thoughts, but little to nothing is said about what to do with the silence which can arise while observing without judgment. “After years of practicing postures and meditation, depending on my mood or what is happening in my life, I still can get uncomfortable with silence. Since I’m not consciously directing mental energy towards the suppression of uncomfortable thoughts, they rise naturally. My goal is to feel peace, which I know that silence brings. Silence is why I meditate for at least 20 minutes every day,” notes King.

A day of silence is included in yoga teacher training at the Love Yoga Center, in Naples. From his experience, Director Carla Olla knows it is important. “I do my silent mini or longer retreats in solitude because it feels more palpable to me than in a group. Either way, silence

it is a useful tool for getting to know what is going on inside of me. It’s more emotionally and mentally rewarding than turning to distraction,” advises Olla.

Being able to be alone with a quiet mind has afforded Olla the realization that happiness is not about the fulfillment of desires. Going inward, she realized that everything she ever wanted was already there.

“In our culture, we suffer from an overabundance of stimulation because everything clamors for our attention and draws our senses outward. Although we find it difficult to give ourselves permission to go into silence, know that we do this in restorative yoga, where our nervous system is soothed and our senses are drawn back into the body, naturally quieting the mind, says Mary Cline Globitz, co-creator of Hummingbird Wellbeing Center & Boutique, in Bonita Springs. At the center, yoga teachers Sue Lovett, Marcie Gillis and Globitz teach weekly restorative classes that include breath awareness. Classes sometimes conclude with a live crystal bowl session.

For Tess Chiodo, co-founder of the Joyful Yoga & Ayurvedic Spa, in Bonita Springs, yoga is more about meditation than movement. She cites a passage from the Bhagavad Gita—“Yogasta kuru karmani.” In layman’s terms, the translation—established in union—means

bringing together the body, mind and consciousness (soul), and then performing any activity. “We rarely do this. The mind is so proficient at multitasking that we can't even remember where we put our car keys,” quips Chiodo, who began practicing yoga 45 years ago, expecting that it would be about the physical poses.

Initially Chiodo believed, as most newcomers do, that she was her body and her mind. As she went deeper within and practiced becoming still and silent, Chiodo realized that these were the smallest aspects of who she is.

Raja yoga, the royal path of ashtanga yoga followed at Joyful Yoga, is the map to all aspects of the science and philosophy of yoga. “We consider the bodymind as a process, rather than a machine. This perception, along with practice, is profoundly impactful and allows us to glean yoga’s true benefits—increased compassion, understanding and peace, which prepares us to understand that we are the silent witness of our lives,” notes Chiodo.

Chiodo, who was unsure about her first 10-day silent retreat, discovered nine days later that she had become so comfortable she had no desire to speak. Changed by the process, Chiodo gets to share it with others at a silent 12-hour silent retreat hosted by Joyful Yoga on September 18. “We will honor silence and nourish our bodymind through mindful movement, intentional breathing and sitting meditation, going deeper throughout the day,” she says.

Julianne Aerhee Byun, a yoga teacher and marketing director for greenmonkey yoga, in Naples, considers silence the most beautiful

part of her yoga practice. “Our inner monologue can run non-stop, including in yoga class. ‘Are my arms going to give out in the chaturanga (plank pose)?’” quips Byun. Once, as she was finishing a practice, Byun realized that the little voice in her head went silent for an hour. She’d discovered moving meditation as a way to slow down, quiet her mind and allow for space.

Fresh from a three-week meditation retreat, Kandy Love, a yoga teacher at AHA! A Holistic Approach Center for Health and Wellness, in Fort Myers, searches for a translucent vocabulary that allows the silence she experienced to shine through her words. “More palpable than explainable, the stillness of not doing prepares us for the silence of beingness, allowing for the experience of ‘nothingness’, where the profound shines through the mundane and the absolute enfolds the relative. Drawing the senses inward and stilling the mind, we attune to what we are—everything and nothing, simply spiritual beings having a human experience of meditation and yoga. Within our human limitations we can experience the unbounded in silence, which is not an empty void, but something very dynamic,” says Love.

“If sitting meditation is left out of your yoga book, you will miss the last chapter. You will still have wonderful characters, but not the full story. Silence isn’t separate from yoga asana. Asanas’ purpose includes the experience of stillness and silence which exist within the heart of every movement,” notes Love.

Restorative yoga classes are good for quieting the mind because longer-held postures create stillness in the body. The mind might chatter away, but it eventually follows the body’s lead, so yogis can relax, breathe, observe and patiently wait for the silence.

Yoga Studios Offering Restorative Yoga Classes

BKS Yoga Studio, 2900 Tamiami Tr. N. Naples. 239-213-9276. BksYogaStudio.com.

Love Yoga Center, 4949 Tamiami Tr. N., Ste. 204, Naples, 239-692-9747. LoveYogaCenter.com.

Joyful Yoga 3405 Pelican Landing Pkwy., Bonita Springs, 947-9845. JoyfulYoga.com.

Hummingbird Well Being Center, 27785 Old 41 Rd., Bonita Springs. 239-494-6983, HummingbirdWellBeingCenter.com.

GreenMonkey Yoga Studio, 6200 Trail Blvd., Naples. 239-598-1938. GreenMonkey.com.

AHA! 15971 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers. 239-433-5995. AHolisticApproachCenter.com.