One Breath At A Time

Overwhelmed. Anxious. Freaked Out. Scared. Desperate.

These are some of the words that seem to be describing our current global mood.  Places are shutting down everywhere, people are being told not to travel, to stay at home, to head back to their home countries, to work from home, to stay six feet away from each other, to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds, and for goodness sake-sneeze into your elbow! The world and all its economies are coming to a life-altering, screeching halt. And it's no wonder that the above words are all so appropriate.

Last weekend I decided to close the physical space of my yoga studio. Many of our yoga students are 65 years or older and sitting in a more precarious risk bracket than others. It was weighing on me as to what I needed to do and the stress was beginning to show up in my own life. I knew that if I were being impacted in this way, my answer would be to take caution and lessen the chance of exposure by closing my physical space. It tore at me as so many had been expressing how supportive their yoga practice had been for them and coming into community was an integral part of maintaining vitality. If I closed the doors...then what? So opening a virtual yoga studio seemed like the best option and in under 48 hours, I moved my entire business online.

As I was puzzling out how to make the switch from in-person to online, I found my mind tick, tick, ticking along. And when I noticed it began to impact my ability to fall asleep, I turned to something I knew would support me...my practice. 

One of the strongest reasons we come to the mat on a regular basis is to build resiliency for when life throws us the unexpected. Having a yoga practice allows us to build a foundation of finding our breath, our center, to calm us and to notice our physical and emotional experience, and awaken our consciousness to what serves us in that particular moment.

Yes...the learning curve has been steep but it's worked and I'm now connecting to more people around the country (and world!) than I had previously. People are beyond grateful for the opportunity to say "G'day" to each other at the beginning of practice and to see familiar faces online in a most unfamiliar way.

A practice we've been undertaking this week is to focus on one breath at a time. In a state of not-knowing, conflict or confusion, we tend to spiral upward into a state of greater anxiety. Coming back to the simplicity of one breath at a time can de-escalate the spiral. 

Try this out- Sit or lay down in a comfortable position. As you begin to follow your breath, notice what thought is present at the top of the inhale, when your lungs are full. On the exhale breath, visualize pushing that thought along, as though it's on a conveyor belt and you're choosing not to pick it up. Repeat. You may notice that each inhale has a different thought. Push whatever thought it may be, desirable or undesirable, along with the exhale breath.

My thought of the week is when you notice being overwhelmed, anxious, freaked out, scared or desperate...come back to this breath. One breath at a time.