Ex-pire

My work week began on the last day of 2018. Many people came to class for their final yoga session of the year, ready to ring in the New Year from a calmer and more centered perspective. To come full circle, my thought of the week was to balance out last week's theme to "inspire" with the dual meaning of, not only breathing in, but igniting the seed of inspiration sitting at the center of our hearts. Last week our focus was on breathing life into something that was deeply motivating, the intention of what is yet to manifest. Understanding that opposites are constant companions in life, it felt natural to have this week's focus on the word "ex-pire" meaning both "to come to an end" as well as "to breathe out", often referring to our final breath.

If we think about the unending cycle of the breath, the very first breath we take upon entering the world is an inhalation (often followed by a loud cry) and as we are passing out of our body, the final breath is an exhaling one. It's interesting to think that an inhale and exhale breath bookend our entire lives, with the breath cycle continuing until that final breath stops it. We can travel through most of our lives and never pay any attention to what's happening with our breath as it's simply an automatic function that keeps us alive. Just as our hearts beat without us thinking about it, we can breathe pretty much the same way. We get to know the breath through not only our yoga practice but in other ways such as singing, doing cardiovascular exercise (especially swimming), or if we get the wind knocked out of us!

The exhaling breath is the breath of release and letting go. Just as we inhale in order to bring to life an idea, a moment, or simply to be, we exhale to let it all go. Understanding that the balance between these two things can be deeply profound in teaching us about being in the moment and how nothing is permanent. Think about the myriad of things you have created in your life, things that you've given energy and commitment to, and to which you are no longer involved doing...you've since let go of them. With all that we give energy to and build in our lives, ultimately we surrender it, including our actual physical selves.

It seems that the turning of the calendar is a trigger for looking a bit deeper and this week I'm asking the question of what you're ready to let go of. Perhaps your 2018 was one with challenges and loss, perhaps people you've loved, businesses you've built, friendships you've had, have come to the end of their cycle.  Perhaps, this is the perfect time for clearly releasing them, for sending them back out into the universal energetic grid. When I visualize letting go, I see whatever it may be riding out on my breath...like a miniature surfer catching that perfect wave, or placing it into a bubble within me and as I breathe out, it sails out of me and is released.

In yoga, we create more space for self-awareness, turning our focus inward and into the now moment. We do this by letting go of expectations, judgment, and competition with ourselves or our fellow yogis. We practice letting go of what no longer serves us. Recently, I've been working on letting go of trying to control things and self-judgment. It's tough as I want things a particular way and I have self-imposed measures of what I "should" be doing, so letting go is a continuous part of my personal practice. It's gotten easier over time, but something always seems to step forward once I've let something else go. And I guess that's the beauty of the process. When we let go and say goodbye to one thing, we open the space for the next thing. I have gotten better to not stuff something immediately into the open space, but to spend some time enjoying it until that next thing reveals itself and feels right and good.

I wish for you in this New Year that you're able to let go of the old and familiar and step into the open expanse of what's next. Take a deep breath in and then...let it go!