Make time for no time.

Make time for no time. What does that even mean? Sounds like philosophical bullshit, right? Well to be honest it actually is. But as I’m learning through self-study or svadhyaya in yogic speak just because something seems like bullshit doesn’t make it unnecessary, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t serve a purpose. I first heard this phrase “make time for no time.” On the Yogaland podcast with Andrea Feretti and Jason Crandall, the guest was Tias Little for those not familiar with Tias Little not only is he the Author of three books based on his synthesis on yogic and Buddhist practice  The Thread of Breath, Meditations on a Dewdrop and Yoga of the Subtle Body he is also a world renowned yoga teacher. The particular episode was mainly focused on overcoming perfectionism which is something I do struggle with and will most likely get into in a very near future blog post. But what stuck with me the most was the no time suggestion. How many seconds, minutes, hours or days we spend carefully crafting our schedules so that there is always something to do, something to keep us busy whether in thought or action?

I too am most guilty of this with the best intentions. I love to teach yoga, LOVE IT. Hell, I even love talking about yoga. Hence the thousands spent on teacher training ( don’t regret one single cent spent) and subsequent blog about all things on the yogic path. I love it so much it’s hard for me to turn down a teaching opportunity.  Or to not overload my class schedule based on the needs of my students so I’m not constantly traveling from one class to the next without having time to complete a full exhale. My best intention is to make sure that if I have a say no one will be left behind on their journey to self-realization. But in the end who loses sight of what matters most if the only thing I can see are the things I’ve made time for. Even with the best intentions in this way we cheat ourselves, for most often than not it is the things that we don’t make time for that require the most attention.

So what did Tias mean when he suggested make time for no time. I’m not Tias so I can’t say for sure but for me it means leaving space for yourself in your life. Bending your own rules just a little so you can move more freely. That space could look different for everyone. For me I’ve discovered its keeping up with my meditations and pranayama even when I’m not “in the mood” (hint: that’s likely when I need it the most!) and being sure that even though I’m  a teacher of yoga that I also remain a student of the practice.

It means sitting with things that are unpleasant not only in meditation but in life as these things occur and not just running away with them( how often have you gotten into a heated argument with a loved one and before you realized it shouted “I don’t have time for this!” before storming out of the room?), sometimes it means forgiving myself for running from the unpleasant or maybe for letting it consume me. It means remembering to listen to my boyfriend when he talks and not the halfhearted listening we all do where our ears are listening but our minds are thinking about what’s for dinner or what that random coworker who hardly ever acknowledges me meant when he said “nice hair” no, that is stealing precious time from the moment. I mean giving him so much of my time and undivided attention that it becomes infinite until there is none, until I don’t know if he’s been talking for five minutes or five hours and I don’t care.

Sometimes it means shutting myself in my yoga dojo and writing things out until I can understand them better because I’m feeling crazy and like nothing at all makes sense anymore. Sometimes it means just sitting in my backyard and feeling the wind against my cheeks and the sun on my back and tuning everything else out. It is in the making time for no time that I’ve discovered I am better able to more fully give myself to moments and just as fully take myself out them because I know that I’ve given them all I could give, Instead of feeling like each moment is pulling me from one scene of my life to the next.

In making time for no time, I find that I can actually truly listen and not only listen but hear. Hear the universes subtle whispers and feel its support, hear the beautiful music of bird chirping and not the constant mind chatter, hear my true self speak from within even if it’s in the tiniest voice, feel the peace that’s inside of me so greatly until it sounds like a quiet hum. When I make time for no time all things become clear. Even writing this blog post constitutes as a “no time” moment. I sit down I write, I tune all things out, I focus on my message, I write until it seems complete, until I feel I’ve said what I needed to say not knowing when exactly that will be.  But when it’s done I close my laptop and walk away feeling a little lighter and a little less foggy. So the next time you’re feeling a little crazy, or like you’re being pulled in all the directions and nothing makes sense or if you just simply want to breathe make time for no time.  Make time to sit with your thoughts and get to the bottom of them. Make time to sit with what is unpleasant until it becomes not so unpleasant. Find out what it all means to you. It will feel like literal bullshit sometimes and you might not always be in the mood but that doesn’t mean it is unnecessary. It doesn’t mean that it does not serve a purpose. Because in making time for no time you make time for everything else.