Take a breath

Yogis often talk about breath being the center of practice. Whether it be asana (postures), or meditation (seated), each is based on focused breathing. So why so much focus on breath? It seems almost silly to focus on something as normal as breathing. I mean, we all do it, all of the time, and we don't even have to think about it. It just happens.

Exactly.

In 10,000 years our DNA has stayed virtually the same, yet our lives have changed drastically. We no longer live in caves, spear our food, or worry about dying during childbirth. Instead we have cell phones, 12 hour days, working weekends, television, email, podcasts, and a whole host of activities and responsibilities that in order to manage and function within the craziness of it all, are becoming numb.

I see it everywhere. We are becoming so numb to our actual lives that we are starting to become thrill seekers to feel alive. Movies and video games are becoming more violent and more real, TV shows are voyeuristic (I mean seriously, why aren't you living your own life instead of watching someone else's? Such a weird phenomenon), relationships are expendable once they lose their luster (you only need to look at divorce rates), we worship materialism like a god, and booze and drugs have become the most acceptable form of socializing because then you can really 'let loose' and 'be yourself.' Really, and no wonder, because how could we ever possibly feel alive when we don't even recognize that we are. That you are. Alive. Right now.

So yogis were on to something. Take  a moment and just sit. Exactly as you are. Let your body relax, and let go of any tension so you can let go of any thoughts that are playing out and purely focus on your body and breath. Feel the weight of the air as it hovers right below your nostrils that moment before you draw it in through your nose (do you realize you are taking in a gas filled with tiny little particles into your body right now?), feel it expand into your lungs (it is now creating a chemical process in your body transforming gas into fuel to keep your body alive), and then feel the release of the breath out through the nose (your body discerned exactly what particles to use creating this reaction and released the rest as waste), before sending it back out into the universe around you. This simple process is really magic. Each breath is really a miracle. There are so many variables that need to occur to not only make this process happen, but possible all together.

Yogis believe that bringing awareness to breath and body are the gateway to the divine which dwells within each of us. While most of us are rushing to keep up with our busy lives, and trying to find things outside of ourselves to feel alive in the moment, yogis are drawing inward. We don't need to look outside ourselves for the answers, wisdom comes from within. So take a moment to sit, take a breath, and realize the miracle that you are. Alive.