'...if you feel like givin' me a lifetime of devotion
I second that emotion...'
'I Second That Emotion'
~ Smokey Robinson
Dear Breath,
When I started taking yoga in 2010, I had no idea how important you would become to me. I had wanted to take yoga lessons for a very long time in order to find peace. It was fascinating for me to learn that you were a pathway there.
I had no idea about any of the breathing practices. I had no idea about movement and the breath. Naturally, I realized I breathed in and out all the time. I knew if I moved faster, I breathed faster, and when I slept, I breathed slower. But, I did not know that I could work with you to help me keep calm and balanced and stable to any extent. It was a revelation!
From the beginning, my teachers talked about you. And from the beginning, I realized I wasn't breathing very well. Oh, those first belly breaths and feeling the ribs expand outwards, sideways, and breathing up into the collarbones! Who even know the lungs came up that high?! But, then my entire torso felt like a cavern – so open and free!!
Becoming aware of you is the first step. …