This week and last in the cabin, we’ve been exploring something that can feel tricky: finding stillness while we’re standing.
So often when we arrive to class, the mind is busy. Even through the initial breathing and warm-up, we might still be thinking about the day we’ve just had, what’s coming later, or simply finding it hard to switch off. Then we come up to standing — Sun Salutations, flows, balances, strength work — and if anything, the mind gets even busier.
Standing poses ask a lot of us. We’re wobbling, concentrating, working out where our arms and legs are meant to be, holding ourselves up, sometimes wondering if we’re doing it “right”. There’s a lot for the brain to focus on. For many people, it’s only once we finally come back down to the floor for seated or lying-down poses that the mind starts to settle and stillness feels more accessible.
Rather than waiting until then, we’ve been practising ways to find even tiny moments of stillness within our standing postures.
Repeating short flows
One of the techniques we practised is repetition – something I was reminded of when I went to Miztli’s yoga class last weekend at the WOW Clinic (a great class if you want Sunday morning yoga!). Instead of lots of new poses, we practised short sequences of five or six postures — and repeated them a few times on each side. At first, the mind is busy tracking what’s coming next. But once the body starts to recognise the flow, the mental chatter often softens. The nervous system can relax a little because there are fewer surprises. With less thinking, there’s more space to notice the breath, the movement, and how the body feels moment to moment.
Staying longer than usual
We also spent time holding standing postures for longer than we might normally. Sometimes this included closing the eyes or softening the gaze, and really noticing what was happening inside. At the beginning of a hold, we might feel effort — strength, shaking, stretching, opening. But staying gives the mind time to settle. Awareness turns inward, away from how the pose looks and towards sensation. The posture becomes something we experience rather than something we try to “do”.
Gentle, rhythmic movement
A third approach was using simple somatic movement — gently moving back and forth between two poses in a steady, rhythmic way. This can be incredibly settling. When movement is predictable and linked to the inhale and exhale, the nervous system often responds by calming down. The mind doesn’t have to work hard; it can simply follow the rhythm. This kind of flowing between poses can make it much easier to tune into the breath and feel grounded, even while standing.
Why this matters
When we start to notice these tiny moments of stillness — even if they’re brief — something starts to shift. Those moments become easier to find. Over time, they may last a little longer or appear more often. Small pockets of stillness can begin to link together.
Gradually, we might notice that there’s more steadiness and calm in our standing postures than we thought was possible. And that sense of stillness doesn’t just stay on the mat — it’s something we can begin to recognise and return to in other parts of life too.
See you soon in the cabin!
Michelle x
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