STILLNESS IS WHERE THE MEDICINE BEGINS

Ancient healing traditions have always understood something modern life tends to forget: the body is not separate from wisdom. It is one of its primary messengers.

I'm a perpetual student and love exploring the ancient wisdoms ways and adapting them for modern day living. A running theme in many ancient cultures is the search for that stillness, tranquillity, serenity, calmness WITHIN us, because in that peacefulness we can hear from our Inner Wisdom Woman whispers. We then are able to make wiser lifestyle choices that support rather than sabotage our health.

In Tibetan healing philosophy, balance arises when the inner winds calm, the nervous system settles, and awareness returns to the present moment. From this place of stillness, clarity naturally emerges. Nothing needs to be forced. Nothing needs to be fixed.

Energy medicine echoes this understanding. When energy is scattered or rushed, we struggle to hear ourselves clearly. When energy settles, guidance becomes accessible again.

As we enter the Crone Zone, this inner knowing often deepens.

Life experience strips away what is unnecessary and leaves behind something simple and true. Stillness allows us to access that knowing — not as an abstract idea, but as a lived, embodied experience.

Stillness Is Not Doing Nothing

Stillness is often misunderstood as inactivity or withdrawal. In truth, it is an active state of listening.

When we pause, breathe, and soften the body, the mind follows. From there, we begin to notice subtle signals:

• A sense of ease or constriction around a choice

• A quiet “yes” or gentle “no”

• A felt sense of what nourishes rather than depletes

From this calm inner place, healthier, kinder, and more life-affirming choices arise — not through discipline or willpower, but through alignment.

Stillness becomes a form of medicine.

Three Simple Practices to Embrace Stillness Within

These practices are gentle, accessible, and designed to fit into everyday life.

They do not require special equipment, prior experience, or extra time — only willingness.

1. The Pause Between Breaths

This is one of the simplest and most powerful ways to invite stillness.

How to practice:

• Sit comfortably or stand with your feet grounded.

• Take a slow breath in through the nose.

• Exhale gently through the mouth.

• At the end of the exhale, pause for just one or two seconds before breathing in again.

Rest your awareness in that tiny space between breaths.

Why it helps: This pause calms the nervous system and settles scattered energy. In Tibetan traditions, it allows the inner winds to soften, creating space for clarity and balance.

Try this for 3–5 breaths whenever you feel rushed or unsure.

2. Hand-to-Heart Listening

This practice reconnects you with embodied wisdom.

How to practice:

• Place one or both hands over your heart or upper chest.

• Close your eyes if that feels comfortable.

• Breathe naturally and bring your attention to the warmth beneath your hands.

• Silently ask: “What do I need right now?”

Do not search for an answer. Simply notice what arises — a word, a feeling, an image, or a sense of ease.

Why it helps: The heart centre is deeply connected to emotional and energetic intelligence. This practice shifts awareness from thinking to sensing, where wisdom often speaks first.

3. The Stillness Check-In

This can be done anywhere — before a decision, during the day, or in the evening.

How to practice:

• Pause what you are doing.

• Feel your feet on the floor or your body supported by a chair.

• Take one slow breath.

• Ask yourself: “Does this choice bring more ease or more tension?”

Let the body answer rather than the mind.

Why it helps: Stillness restores discernment. Over time, this simple check-in strengthens trust in your inner guidance and supports healthier choices.

Stillness as a Way of Living

Embracing stillness is not about withdrawing from life.

It is about meeting life from a steadier, wiser place.

Each pause strengthens your connection to inner knowing.

Each moment of listening builds trust.

Gradually, choices become clearer, boundaries gentler, and life more sustainable.

This is the heart of Wisdom Woman Ways.

Stillness is not the end of the journey — it is the beginning.

Stillness inspires me and I am in the process of building a whole series of classes around how we can use the ancient wisdom woman ways to help us rediscover and nurture our Stillness in the chaos and noise of modern day living ..... watch this space, the first class is due out in February (2026).

Stillness really is where self-healing begins