Solitude is the sister of yoga. Without a mind seeped in solitude, most yogic practices yield only superfluous results because with every beckoning of the external, we feel ourselves sway. Solitude shields us from getting sucked into a world of Maya (illusion), by keeping us rooted in our center. Being in solitude does not imply one is alone. It simply means one is in ones own company! It is just a different kind of togetherness, wherein you tune in to your innermost friend –- the companionship of your own Self. You become aware of the ripples of your thoughts, and cognizant of the sound of your breath. Being in solitude could initially seem painful to some, but with patient practice it begins to spell something immensely liberating, when you drop your social masks and be unabashedly you. As the dialogue ensues between you and yourself, your past begins to converse with you, and sleeping memories stir up. You remember things you forgot to say, tasks you forgot to complete, and values you held most important. Resolutions spring up, answers begin to flow, and riddles begin to get solved. Whether you laugh, weep, talk aloud, sing, dance, or merely stay ensconced in the simplicity of existing –- find a way to re-establish this rapport with yourself. With practice, solitude would become an attitude, a perspective to live, wherein our dependence on and attachment with the external reduces, and one is content with very little –- just oneself!

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