Stillness as Medicine
🌬Finding Peace Through Breath, Body, and Inner Listening
Let’s begin with a truth I didn’t always believe:
Stillness is not about silence..
Stillness is presence.
It’s breath meeting body.
It’s the moment when your inner world begins to speak — and you finally have the space to hear it.
For most of my life, I thought meditation meant sitting cross-legged in a silent room, trying to clear my mind like some Zen monk in a Netflix special.
Spoiler alert: my nervous system hated that.
As someone with a very active mind and a body that processes emotion through movement, traditional meditation practices often left me frustrated — or worse, feeling like I was spiritually failing.
But over time, I’ve come to realize: stillness doesn’t always mean sitting still.
And meditation doesn’t always mean quiet.
Stillness can be felt, not forced.
It can be danced. Walked. Sung. Cried into the wind.
🌿 The Myth of Meditation: What Stillness Is (and Isn’t)
Let’s lovingly dismantle the idea that meditation has to look a certain way.
Stillness is not always:
Forcing your mind to be quiet
Sitting in lotus position with perfect posture
A 30-minute silence ritual with essential oils, mala beads, and monk-like discipline
(Although sometimes it can be — and that’s beautiful too.)
Stillness can also be:
Noticing your breath while washing your hands
Feeling your bare feet in the grass and suddenly remembering you have a body
Crying during a song and realizing it’s a form of release
Walking slowly through your neighborhood, pausing to admire the sway of the trees in the wind or the way light hits their leaves.
Stillness is where presence meets acceptance.
It’s the place your soul returns to when you stop trying to transcend your humanity and actually sit inside it.
🌬 Breathwork: The Bridge Between Body and Spirit
If stillness had a sacred gate, it would be the breath.
Your breath is your first teacher.
It’s the only part of your autonomic nervous system that you can influence directly — a built-in access point to your inner world.
Breathwork has taught me how to:
Slow down without disconnecting
Process emotion without needing words
Open space in my chest when everything feels tight
Sometimes my practice is a full session of conscious circular breathing.
Other times it’s one deep inhale before I open my laptop.
You don’t need to make it complicated.
Try this now:
Inhale slowly (through your nose) for 4 seconds.
Hold for 4 seconds.
Exhale gently (through your nose or mouth) for 6 to 8 seconds.
Notice what changes — even if it’s subtle.
(And if your brain says, “That didn’t work,” that’s okay too. Just try again later. Your breath is patient.)
💃 Meditation That Moves
I used to think I was “bad at meditating” because I couldn’t sit still.
Then I discovered walking and dancing meditations.
And finally, I understood: My body was never the problem. It was the portal.
Even as a child, I would get lost in flow on my swing set — singing, daydreaming, soaring.
At the beach, I made elaborate mud pies for a fake cooking show where I was the star chef (Naturally).
I didn’t know it at the time, but these moments were meditation. My spirit knew before I did.
Later, in college, I discovered dance — and suddenly I realized that movement could be prayer.
That rhythm could still the mind.
That sweat could be sacred.
These days, walking is one of my favorite forms of meditation.
Especially in nature. Especially near water.
I’ve hiked in many countries, wandered cities on foot instead of calling cabs — not just to explore, but to drop into myself.
If your mind races or your energy feels tangled, try moving your way into stillness:
Walk in silence listening to nature (or use soothing music if that helps) and sync your steps with your breath
Put on a piece of music and let your body respond freely — no choreography, no mirror
Try a swaying or seated rhythmic motion while breathing deeply
These aren’t distractions.
They are invitations to presence — just dressed in rhythm and release.
(Bonus: Neville approves of dancing meditations, especially if they involve scarves or interpretive hand gestures. 🐈⬛)
🧘 Presence Over Performance
Let me say this clearly:
You do not need a perfect altar, a quiet house, or an Instagram-worthy ritual setup to experience stillness.
Stillness lives in:
The pause before your next sip of tea
The inhale that grounds you before a hard conversation
The moment you catch yourself holding your breath… and choose not to anymore
It’s not about what it looks like.
It’s about what it feels like — inside your body, your breath, your heart.
🔧 Building a Practice That Meets You Where You Are
Here’s the key: your practice should serve you — not the other way around.
You don’t have to wake up at 5 a.m. or sit cross-legged on a fancy cushion to access presence.
You just have to meet yourself with care — wherever you are.
Here are a few gentle ways to begin:
A 3-minute breathwork reset at your desk
A morning walk without your phone
A favorite playlist and 10 minutes of freeform movement
Journaling one sentence while breathing slowly
A hand-on-heart check-in before sleep
And speaking of sleep…
Sleep has been one of my greatest struggles — ever since I was a child.
Racing thoughts. Restless body. The frustration of wanting rest but not knowing how to surrender to it.
That’s why I now include resting meditation in my toolkit.
When I can’t sleep — or just after waking — I lie completely flat, either in bed without a pillow (to keep my spine in alignment) or on a yoga mat.
No pressure. No performance. Just soft attention.
Sometimes I scan my body from toes to crown.
Sometimes I breathe like I’m floating.
Sometimes I just exist in the quiet.
And eventually, I remember that stillness was never something I had to chase.
It was something I could let in.
There’s no medal for meditating the longest.
There’s just a deeper relationship with yourself.
Create the space that matches your rhythm. Let it evolve.
Let it be sacred enough.
📿 A Blessing for the Quiet Within
May you find stillness not by escaping your life — but by returning to it, breath by breath.
May your mind soften, your body open, and your heart exhale.
May presence become your practice.
And may you remember: the silence is not empty. It is full of knowing.
—
With breath and reverence,
Angela DeMure
Founder, Demurely Divine
