coming back to the breath

It’s so easy to forget. The breath. The life force that keeps our body machine alive. It expands and contracts without thought. We pay no mind to it day in and day out. It’s overlooked and underappreciated. Yet it can be our most valuable life tool. 

In yoga we learn that the breath is the anchor of our poses and truly our life. The breath can be used to ground and reconnect, to yoke us literally back into ourselves. Into the physical human body that we inhabit. Into a calm and clear mind that creates the landscape for planning our next action and reaction. The breath literally creates the climate, the weather conditions, within which our actions arise. 

Have you ever been out on a windy rainy day? Fighting with your umbrella as it flips inside out as you’re trying to cross the street. You trying to stay dry, flip your umbrella back right side out and you step into a huge puddle right as a car drives by splashing you with an urban tsunami of gutter water. Not the best conditions for making decisions, especially thoughtful, good decisions. 

Yet, so often the breath is that horrible rainy day. Shallow and short. Choppy and agitated. Strained and constricted. Just imagine if you had the tools, the ability to make the environment of your mind a beautiful day. You do. The breath is your tool. With long, smooth, easy breaths you can find space and perspective and ease with which to navigate the circumstances of your day. 

With long, deep, calming breaths, the body’s parasympathetic nervous system is triggered to  restore, repair and relax. You can get grounded in the present moment, assess what’s really critical, what really needs attention and what really matters. 

Yes, it’s that simple. Easy, no. Just simple. That’s why it’s called a practice. 

This week practice long, deep smooth breaths. Match the inhale with the exhale and breath through your nose. Slow and steady. Make the weather that you want to surround your life, your actions and your voice. Just keep coming back to the breath. Again, and again. Back home to the breath.