Monday, January 19, 2009

Inhale, exhale.

The temperature here has been consistently below freezing recently, and I've been super aware of the misty cloud of breath that bursts from my lungs into the cold air when I step outside. Yoga has taught me about the importance of breath. I've never thought so much about something that happens without thinking about it! Inhale, exhale. The deep ujaii breathing that we practice in yoga helps to drown out our rambling thoughts, quieting our mind. The breath creates a flow from posture to posture, fluidly linking the movements together. But when I step off my mat after class, the breathing switches back to automatic, and my thoughts start to spin, bounce, jiggle, and swirl around in my head. Inhale, exhale. Sometimes during the day at work, when my stress level is rising, I notice that my breathing becomes really shallow, or I'll even catch myself holding my breath. I'm thankful that I recognize this correlation- the relationship between stress and breath in my life.

"the most important thing to me
as a songwriter is the breath
the most important thing I could
ever say to somebody is,
'sometimes I just breathe you in'".
--Tori Amos

Inhale, exhale. If I ever decide to get a permanent tatoo it will be calligraphy of the word EXHALE, so I have a constant reminder to release and let it all go. I offer this reminder to you: your breath brings you back into the present moment, which is the only place you really need to be! So the next time you start to feel off balance, STOP! Inhale, exhale....

How can you savor and relish your breath throughout the day?

Choose love,
Grace

2 comments:

  1. The focus on breathing is the thing I love about Yoga. It is so hard sometimes to quieten the mind and just enjoy the moment. Focusing on breathing does just that.

    Thanks for the reminder- I needed it! :)

    Jennifer

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  2. Deep Exhale, Long savored Inhale

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