“Think of your words as tossing a little pebble into the pond: let the ripples vibrate out and wait for them to dissipate before tossing the next pebble. “ TJ Maher.
One of our collectively favourite quotes from TJ’s book, Yin Nuance. In this quote, TJ is referring to teaching and slowly offering out your verbal cues as you watch them land in the mind and body. Just like when a pebble hits the water, words create a murmuration through the body which we need to give ourselves time to digest.
I still remember a cue from a teacher at the Life Centre in London years ago, we were all wobbling in and out of tree pose and she reminded us that if we are trying to hold onto something too hard, we might well loose it, so to ease off to see if it comes to us naturally. I was going through a break up at the time and this really helped set my wounded heart free, and I have thought back to it in comfort for years after.
What we throw out to the world has a ripple effect. I’ve been taking this quite literally and spending a lot of time in water at the Clevedon Marine Lake. I’ve always been deeply enamoured by water, most likely due to being a mermaid in a past life, and it’s healing effects on the mind and body. Whether it is simply sitting by the water, watching the ripples go by, or creating my own ripples whilst swimming as I watch the circles pan out from my arms in a circular breast stroke. One of my favourite quotes of all time is “The cure for anything is salt water – sweat, tears and the sea” by Karen Blixen, a danish author, which really highlights the release and meditative effect of water and it’s calming effect on our nervous system. The immensity of the ocean can help give us perspective, reminding us what is out there and bigger than us.
So the next time you find yourself by body of water, I encourage you to take a couple of pebbles, and watch them land one by one and see how this can translate into your daily life.