The practice of staying present will heal you. Obsessing about how the future will turn out creates anxiety. Replaying broken scenarios from the past causes anger or sadness. Stay here, in this moment ~ S. McNutt
In the practice of yoga, for as many times as you are asked to ‘relax the shoulders’ there are so many more reminders stay centered by focusing on your breath. The breath, we are told is the support for relaxation, the vehicle to calm pain and the fuel that keeps you ‘in the moment.’
I would like to offer that there is a soul-level wisdom in making ‘breath consciousness’ a daily practice that brings you into unity with ‘now’. When it becomes a habit it then becomes a way of life.
Breathe when:
- You are angry about something someone said to you – pause and acknowledge your breathing
- You are excited about an upcoming event and want it to happen sooner than later – pause and acknowledge your breathing
- You are depressed, stressed or anxious – pause and acknowledge your breathing
- You are in a state of fear, shock or panic – pause and acknowledge your breathing
… you get the idea!
The idea is this – the breath does not supress the emotions or feelings we are feeling but what it does do is help us find a foundation upon which to stand while we take the time to gain some perspective and deal with the emotions that have come to visit. Becoming aware of the breath in moments of high emotion brings us squarely into ‘right now’ and when that happens, we are free from our personal history that drags us into thoughts about the past or the worries of the future.
“The point is not to control the breath or to control the situation but to use the regular, metronome-like availability of our breath to remind us of the place inside us that is always steady. The breath then becomes like a companion this is always reminding us of who we are.” ~ Nicola Caroli
Breath is life – let it become an integral part of conscious awareness that takes you into the present because it will change reactivity into skillful response. It is that powerful…
Breathe well,
John
