happy breath day

exhale

i turned 29 yesterday. a part of me is very "time and age are arbitrary. whatever, its just another day. everyday should be celebrated and we shouldn't attach so much importance to just this one arbitrary date and splurge on earrings or indulge in copious amounts of prosecco, or whatever it is we don't allow ourselves to do on other days." while another part is all "yes!!!!! i made it to 29! with baby steps and giant leaps, with closed eyes and open heart. scared out of my mind, excited, confused, smiling. and im riding a bike now! and im attempting handstands. and im curious about 401Ks and IRAs, but not enough to find out what they are. and im feeling a pull behind my right knee in pachimottanasana (forward fold) and im finally confident teaching ujjai breath, especially when I relate it to darth vader. and im not so worried about fitting in. and im still wandering, full of ideas and goals and plans." then someone left a really insightful message on my facebook page: happy first breath day!

yes! thats exactly what i will celebrate. my breath! that day when i inhaled for the first time. when my lungs took in that first sip of oxygen and told the universe: "im here! make some room, im going to do big things!" ok, maybe it didnt go quite that way. there was probably way more pooping and sleeping involved. but i have been breathing (and pooping) ever since. mostly without giving much thought to the most natural life sustaining action everyone, regardless of race, creed, beliefs, languages, clothes, magic phones or internet access does. the breath, one of the most essential bodily functions, unites us. 

 

in yoga, breath is super important. if u do nothing else in a yoga practice, breathe! it doesnt even have to be in a yoga room with eco-friendly mats and lotus candles and jai uttal chanting on the ipod. it helps not to have ringing phones or open g-chats or screaming children while you do this, though.

close your eyes, concentrate on your breath, listen and feel. be aware of your chest rising and falling, the rhythm, the pace. and then make it longer, deeper. take in more air, hold it, let it go. enjoy. smile. and breathe. notice how your mind, completely concentrated on your breathing, is suddenly clear (ok, maybe it will take some time..you didnt get into bakasana in a day). and your body is still, just letting the breath move in and out. so your body and your mind are united in breath. there's that unity thing again! thats yoga! 

k, im going to breathe with all my 29 years + one day, now, and have some prosecco later.