Why Silence Can Help You Heal
- 7 days ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Sara has a unique ability to quickly shift energy into presence and joy through her work as a mindfulness coach, speaker, and yoga instructor. She is also the author of the book One With Nature (published in 2025) and a popular speaker in the field.
Do you recognize that uncomfortable feeling when you’re standing in an elevator with other people and it suddenly goes completely quiet? Or when you’re in a conversation and realize you don’t actually have that much to talk about? You try to listen while the other person is speaking, but at the same time, your mind drifts, and you search frantically for the next question, the next topic, anything to fill the silence. What would really happen if it became quiet while you were spending time with someone?
But perhaps the most uncomfortable silence of all is the one that arises when you are alone. Completely alone. No music. Nothing to watch. No phone. The only thing you hear is your own thoughts. The truth is that many people rarely experience that kind of silence. They fall asleep with the TV on, with their phone in hand, or with music playing. They fill every empty space with sound and stimulation, and seldom spend time alone with themselves. Today, it almost feels strange to see someone walking, sitting on a bus or train without listening to something or staring at a screen. Someone just sitting there.
Can we really sit in complete silence and simply look out the window? And what happens if we actually do?
In silence, the answers live
I write about silence so that it may be heard. Because it is in silence that the answers live. In my work and in what I share through my books, I often explore subjects many people find uncomfortable: silence, being with yourself, loneliness, death, grief, and love. These are topics we often try to hide. Things we suppress, almost as if they would cease to exist if we simply stopped speaking and thinking about them. As if the invisible could remain unseen. But the invisible needs to become visible.
And that silence, as uncomfortable as it may feel, holds infinite possibilities. Possibilities to expand, to truly know yourself, to live in greater harmony and joy. Not only within yourself, but in your connection with others. In silence, something real can take shape. A deeper connection. A more honest presence.
Like so much else, recent years have moved at an extraordinary pace. Technological expansion. Constant connectivity. An endless flow of information. Everything must move faster. Everything must be available all the time. And in that development, silence has almost automatically disappeared.
Reflect for a moment. The sounds people heard were natural, wind through the trees, birds, footsteps on gravel, and voices in the same room. Today, your ears and your brain are likely working harder than any previous generation ever has. Your senses are constantly bombarded. Continuous stimulation. An ongoing noise. Like a fog that never fully lifts. And that fog makes you miss the life happening right here and now. Most importantly, it makes you miss the life unfolding within you because you cannot hear it.
You are ready to become friends with silence. And therefore with yourself. You have that courage. So let us explore what you can do to become comfortable in your own company. Because when you dare to pause, you will discover how powerful silence truly is.
5 steps to practice silence
Nature
Nature is perhaps the greatest teacher when it comes to silence. There is not the same constant stimulation and stress as in the modern world, with technology, traffic, and endless noise. In nature, the sounds are natural, and the silence is harmonious. From time to time, you may hear birdsong, water gently flowing, or the soft whisper of wind through the trees. Nature asks nothing of you. It requires no performance, no answers, no explanations. It helps your nervous system slow down. And in that calm, it becomes easier to hear yourself.
I invite you into the warmth of Mother Earth. Step outside. Go to a forest, by the water, or to a quiet park. Let your phone remain turned off. Listen without analyzing. The wind. The birds. Your own footsteps. Allow yourself to be in complete silence with nature, and therefore with yourself.
Meditation
Meditation is not about stopping your thoughts. It is about observing them and allowing what is to simply be. It is a practice of not judging yourself. Not becoming frustrated or critical when thoughts arise. It is giving yourself permission to just be. To be you, in stillness and presence. We already spend so much time in our heads each day, analyzing and planning.
There are many wonderful guided meditations I warmly recommend exploring. But this time, I invite you to let your meditation be completely silent. To meet it without words guiding you. To discover what happens then. It is healing. And it is important. Since we are surrounded by so much sound in daily life, it can be a gift to let meditation be a space free from additional input.
See if you can give yourself permission to land for a while. In meditation. In silence. Sit down for ten minutes. Close your eyes. Follow your breath. When thoughts arise and they will gently notice them and softly return to your breath. Do not judge yourself for thinking. Meet your thoughts with kindness. Return to the breath. To your heartbeat. To your body. To this moment.
Movement
Silence does not have to mean sitting still. It can exist within conscious movement. Explore your body. Practice yoga, stretching, training, running, or free movement without music, without a podcast. Feel your body working. Feel your breath. Let movement become a dialogue between you and yourself. When the body is given space to speak, the mind often becomes quiet, and you naturally arrive in the present moment.
Yes, music can be powerful to let your dance flow, or to energize you on a run. It can inspire and uplift. But see if you can also explore movement in silence. Perhaps even a wild, liberating dance without music. Or yoga without background sound. Even in calm, meditative settings, there is often music. Soft, gentle tones, yet still an external input. Therefore, I invite you to try being completely without it. To move in silence. To listen from within instead of from outside.
Walk
Take a walk without distractions. No music. No conversation. Just silence, preferably in nature. Notice how it feels at first. Do you become restless? Do you want to check your phone? Stay anyway. After a while, something shifts. Your thoughts begin to settle. Your pace slows down. A silent walk is a simple yet powerful way to meet yourself.
Lay down
This may be the most challenging practice. Lie down on the floor or simply remain there. In total stillness. In presence. Do nothing. Do not look at a screen. No book. Just you and the ceiling, or closed eyes. Stay for ten minutes. Notice what arises. Discomfort? Calm? Thoughts? Emotions?
It may sound crazy to just lie down on the floor and do nothing. Your mind might protest: Why are you doing this? This is a waste of time. You don’t have time. Perhaps that is exactly when it is time to gently challenge that voice, the part of you that constantly wants to be productive, to perform, to stay busy, often at a high pace, perhaps under stress.
See if you can take gentle leadership over that part. And instead, allow yourself to simply be. Here. Now. With yourself. Yes, uncomfortable feelings or thoughts may arise when you meet silence. But try thanking them. They appear because they want to be seen. So you can understand them, process them, and perhaps create positive change.
One step at a time
It may feel most uncomfortable in the beginning. But like everything new in life, silence requires time. Time to get to know it. To become familiar with it. To let it take space. Do not expect to become friends with silence immediately, especially if it is new to you. Give it time. Practice. If it feels overwhelming or too uncomfortable, seek support. You do not have to do everything alone.
One day, you will realize what a gift it is to be in silence, and in doing so, to be with yourself. That it is not frightening at all, but exciting. That there is clarity there. And perhaps even joy.
And then imagine what a gift it becomes when sound and movement return. When you laugh loudly. When you sink into conversation with a friend. When you sing until your voice grows hoarse or lose yourself in a concert. It is in the contrasts that life finds its fullness.
Let’s connect
If you feel curious to explore silence more deeply and find inspiration, I warmly invite you to explore my book One with Nature. I also gently encourage you to spend time in nature and discover the wisdom it holds for you.
Connect with me on Instagram and through my website for more inspiration on meditation, yoga, and inner harmony.
Read more from Sara Brinell
Sara Brinell, Author, Speaker & Awareness Guide
Sara is an expert in inner harmony and the healing power of nature. She carries a profoundly healing story, having experienced depression in her teenage years and, later in life, the early loss of both her parents. These experiences became part of a deeper journey that eventually led her to guide others back to their hearts through her work as a yoga instructor, mindfulness coach, and speaker. She also shares her insights through her book One With Nature. Her mission is to show that loneliness can become a path to deeper connection, and that nature can heal where words are not enough.
