“Listen to the wind, it talks. Listen to the silence, it speaks. Listen to your heart, it knows.” - Native American proverb
Right after they hatch, clownfish spend the first part of their lives as tiny transparent larvae, drifting along the currents of the oceans. Once they grow big enough to swim against the tide, they make their way to their home in a nearby coral reef. How does this juvenile fish navigate its way home in a vast swirling sea of plankton? Visual cues in the ocean disappear after several yards, and chemical signposts only extend for hundreds of yards, so many marine species rely on sound to navigate the ocean waters. The soundscape of the ocean links its inhabitants through darkness and across oceanic basins. Dolphins call to each other using unique names. Whales sing and bearded seals make a trilling noise. Even the coral reefs communicate with sound, emitting a chorus of snapping, popping, gurgling, and grunting. These are the sounds that guide the baby clownfish through the ocean’s swirling currents to its natural habitat where it will spend the rest of its life nestled in the sea anemone of the coral reef.
Unfortunately, it is becoming harder for baby clownfish to find their way home. The oceans are becoming an increasingly noisy place, making it hard for the fish to hear the call of the coral reef. Studies have shown that underwater noise pollution is on the rise, disrupting the life of countless groups of marine life. Humans are the culprits of this pollution, from the propellers on ships, to air guns, pile drivers, and drilling platforms—even speedboats and surfing are noisy for ocean life. The noise we generate can be unbearable for the species who live there, drowning out their natural soundscapes and disrupting their communication. Our intrusion creates immense distress, leaving species like the clownfish adrift and unable to make their way home.
Like the ocean, we all have our own natural soundscape, an internal rhythm that is uniquely ours. Physically, we might think of it as circadian rhythms—our cycle of wakefulness, sleep, and physical activity. On a psychological and emotional level, it is referred to in yoga as resonance. When we tap into our internal rhythm, we can make choices that support our values so that we live in a way that resonates with who we are. Connecting to our internal rhythm helps us to notice what gives our lives meaning, what makes us hum. As we tap into this resonance, we “sync up”, which allows us to speak from the heart and live with integrity. This openness makes the flow of daily life smoother and easier to navigate. We are less frenzied and move through the day with a feeling of balanced energy and ease.
But, like the clownfish, we live in an increasingly noisy world filled with numerous distractions that make it hard to hear our natural soundscape. Ours is an extraverted, loud world, one in which our senses are continuously drawn to the external, from the vibration of a watch, to the loud rumble of a recycling truck, or the chirp of a text. Distractions also come from our internal chatter—that relentless inner dialogue of criticism, judgment, and analysis that becomes an endless cacophony drowning out the voice of our inner wisdom. This “pollution” scatters our attention and drains our energy, leaving us in a perpetual state of unrest and dissonance.
Establishing resonance starts with turning our attention inward, reducing the clutter, and tuning out distractions. It is a practice of deep listening, of finding our way back to what is essential in our lives, to find alignment with our natural rhythm. Yoga identifies the area from the sternum (breastbone) to the jawbone as the physical location in which resonance resides within us. When our shoulders are open, the head can be aligned without strain in the upper back. This reestablishes the natural curve in the neck and allows the jaw to align with the upper palate. These adjustments soften the muscles of the scalp, face, and tongue—all areas that are notorious for storing stress. Less tension in the body creates space and decreases the noise. We can start to settle, tune in, and notice what shows up.
Deep listening requires allowing our senses to guide us properly without distraction. Meditation is a popular way to calm the senses and decrease our mental clutter, but we can also practice deep listening by noticing and releasing tension in the body. Our senses are intimately entwined with the muscles through important reflex connections. Research has shown that the sense organs send subtle signals to the muscles to prepare for action. For example, there is a relationship between our eye position and tension in the postural muscles along the spine. When we look up, down, or to the side, even without moving the head, our upper shoulders, neck, and back muscles start to contract in anticipation of movement. And this relationship works both ways: muscle imbalances can disrupt the functioning of the sense organs. Hearing can be impacted by the position of our neck and jawbone, with misalignments causing problems with auditory acuity and sensitivity. Even the tongue, the sense organ of taste, can impact the muscles. Continuously pressing the tongue against the roof of the mouth changes our breathing patterns which, over time, creates tightness in the shoulder and chest regions as the body struggles to get enough air.
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