A short guided practice for midlife women using sound, stillness, pratyahara, and inner listening.
Note: Practice begins at minute 18
In this episode of The Midlife Spirituality Project, I’m guiding you through a simple listening practice designed to help you slow down, turn inward, and come home to yourself.
This practice invites you to close your eyes and listen — first to the sounds around you, both near and far, and then to the quieter inner landscape of your body, breath, and heart.
Practices do not have to be complicated to be powerful. Sometimes the simplest practices are the ones that create the most space. Through the yoga practices of pratyahara, or turning inward, and dharana, or focused attention, listening becomes a doorway back to presence.
For midlife women, this kind of practice can be especially supportive. So many of us are surrounded by noise, responsibility, expectations, and constant input. We may become so used to listening outward — to what everyone else needs, thinks, wants, or expects — that we forget how to listen to ourselves.
This episode is an invitation to pause, soften, and remember that your inner wisdom is still there. You simply need a little quiet, a little space, and a willingness to listen.
In This Episode, We Talk About
- Why simple practices can be deeply powerful
- Listening as a doorway into presence
- How sound can help anchor the mind
- Listening to sounds both near and far
- The yoga practice of pratyahara, or turning inward
- Why midlife women need space to hear themselves again
- Using outer listening as a pathway to inner listening
- Trusting the wisdom that arises when we get quiet
Practice From the Episode
Find a comfortable seat or place to rest.
Close your eyes, or soften your gaze.
Begin by listening to the sounds closest to you.
Maybe you hear your breath, your body, the hum of the room, or a small sound nearby.
Then allow your awareness to expand outward.
Listen for sounds farther away — outside the room, outside the house, in the distance.
Let yourself receive the sounds without needing to name them, judge them, or push them away.
Then slowly begin to turn your attention inward.
Notice your breath.
Notice your body.
Notice what is present in your heart.
There is nothing to fix and nothing to force.
Just listen.
Reflection Questions
After the practice, you may want to journal on these questions:
- What did I notice when I became still?
- Was it easier for me to listen outward or inward?
- What sounds helped me feel grounded?
- What happened in my body as I listened?
- Did anything soften, settle, or shift?
- What did I notice beneath the noise?
- What might my body, heart, or inner wisdom be trying to tell me?
- Where in my life am I listening too much to the outside world?
- Where am I being invited to listen more deeply to myself?
- What would change if I trusted what I heard within?
Episode 169: Daily Spiritual Practice: What Sadhana Teachers Us About Coming Home To Ourselves
About Katie Farinas
Katie Farinas is a midlife coach, yoga teacher, and spiritual guide who helps women navigate midlife with clarity, peace, purpose, and empowerment. Through yoga philosophy, mindfulness, nervous system regulation, and energy-based practices, Katie supports women in reconnecting with themselves and stepping fully into their most aligned and authentic lives.
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