The Quiet After the Shift
Ten minutes in a parked car, three-part breath, and a lesson from the Sivananda Ashram about silence and filling your own tank.
The shift is over.
The parking lot is quiet. The engine is off.
I set a timer. Ten minutes. Some days, twenty.
My shoulders are still up by my ears. I roll them down and away.
I have given so much today. I have cared so much.
Before I drive home to my family, I need to fill up my tank.
The breath
Inhaling belly, rib cage, upper chest.
Exhaling upper chest, rib cage, belly.
My mind goes in different directions. Yesterday. Tomorrow. Everything still waiting at home.
I let the thoughts pass like clouds in the sky. I watch them. I go back to my breath.
I am inhaling. I am exhaling.
It is not always meant to be fully silent. Some days I reflect on the thoughts, then go back to the breath, and work through it.
What the retreat taught me
During my July 2026 return to the Sivananda Ashram, I practiced mouna, the yogic practice of silence, including during meals.
Without conversation, eating became a way to slow down. To become present. To turn inward.
I think of that in the car. Sometimes silence allows us to hear what the noise of everyday life keeps hidden.
What I am taking with me
- A few quiet minutes before I drive out of the parking lot.
- Slow and deep breaths, in three parts.
- Even five minutes on the mat. Five minutes is better than no practice.
I used to think caring for myself was time taken away from everyone who needs me.
Now I understand that caring for myself changes the way I care for everyone else.