Stillness aims the archer’s arrow.
It inspires new ideas.
It sharpens perspective and illuminates connections.

Ryan Holiday
The Millennial Grind
 

How to cultivate stillness

Is it really true, as Robert Poynton says that ‘in order to get things done, slow down’? Feels counter intuitive doesn’t it? Many of the coaching sessions I have with leaders are after 4pm and as they run through their day it’s clear that this moment with me, is the first time they have stopped, sat and breathed out all day.

Ryan Holiday, in his book ‘Stillness Is the Key’  explores not only slowing down, but more importantly becoming still. His research demonstrates just how important micro moments of stillness are, especially at times of adversity.

I am convinced that these moments of ‘time out’ are not an indulgence, but a necessity for school leaders. As Pico Ayer says, stillness is an art and a practice and 'in an age of speed nothing can be more invigorating that going slow, in an age of distraction nothing can feel more invigorating than paying attention, and in an age of constant movement nothing is more urgent than sitting still.’

Wise words indeed.

How Mindfulness can help.

Mindfulness helps us to be aware of physical and mental restlessness, and to know when we are ‘revved up’ and not still. We become aware of the ‘buzziness’, that accompanies a day lived at speed.

This awareness of body and mind also helps us to notice when we are actively preventing stillness. The moments when we are suddenly distracted, caught by that short burst of dopamine the cell phone can provide, the ever demanding drumbeat of our ‘to do list ’that gets our adrenaline fired up, or without pausing to think, we say ‘yes’ to yet one more demand for our time and attention.

As humans we crave stillness, because it’s a balm for mind, body and spirit. It creates moments when we can choose to re-balance and settle ourselves. It paves the way for mental clarity and greater leadership presence.

But stillness is a commodity in short supply in schools and so we need to intentionally cultivate it.

How might we do this?

Stillness of the body

Simply how we sit can be a practice of bringing the body into stillness. When we sit, in stillness, with an upright back and a straight posture, we become more aware of our tendency to react to every physical or mental impulse. We notice how, even though we are sitting, our body can still be jumpy, on high alert mode, ready to leap up and get moving if the moment requires it. 

Try this the next time you take a seat - in a meeting, on the bus, or in an office:

• Create a stable base with both feet on the floor. Open up your sense to the feeling of the ground beneath your feet;

• Lift up your pelvis slightly and bring your back away from the back of the chair so the body can find its own balance and sense of stillness;

• Let your spine be long and open, and your belly soft.This posture of ‘noble intent’, implies both strength and toughness in our back, with softness and kindness in our front;

• Allow your shoulders to drop and your head to balance on your neck. Be upright with a soft forward gaze;

• Now take 3/4 breaths, bringing your attention to the slightly longer out breaths. This stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, down regulates stress hormones and slows your heart rate;

• Take a moment now to sense the experience of sitting with the body a little more balanced, stable, and still.

Why not stop and adjust your posture now before you read on and see how it feels?

Stillness of the mind

Many of us will have had the experience of being outwardly still but inwardly in turmoil. Our minds may be racing, anticipating everything we still have to do. We feel overwhelmed. The experience of being outwardly still, but inwardly in turmoil is very common. Instead of trying to push these thoughts away, we can learn to quieten the mind every so slightly, and slow down our thoughts a little. We practice being the observer of our thoughts and the watcher of our mind.

• Bring your attention to your thoughts as if you are ‘watching them’ instead of ‘being them’. Practice noticing a thought the moment you become aware of it;

• Rather than getting caught up in a drama about the thought, which is what we normally do, try naming your thoughts as you experience them ie ‘anxiety is here, planning is here, regret is here, anticipation is here’;

• Watch the thought as it moves across your mind-scape and eventually moves away;

• Try this - be playful and curious. There is probably nothing more wild wacky and wonderful than our own minds!

If you have time to go further listen to Pico Ayer, the author of The Art of Stillness exploring strategies we can all use to take micro moments of ‘time out’, in the midst of today’s demanding world.