Just Keep Breathing...

“As long as you are breathing, there is more right with you than there is wrong with you. No matter what is wrong.” Jon Kabat-Zinn

That quote from Jon Kabat-Zinn is one of the most profoundly true statements I have ever come across…and I use it as an almost constant mantra in my daily life, because it is such an incredibly useful reminder.

We begin and end our Yoga practice connecting to our breath, and during the course of class (while we are doing our best to find our way in and out of each asana) we are taught to engage our breath so that we can feed the muscles we are asking to work so hard for us…and sometimes, when we forget to breathe (because those asanas can be difficult), our teacher reminds us to “BREATHE!” Breathing is important, both on and off the mat—but it is often the breathing that I have learned on the mat that I return to when I am feeling stressed-out off of the mat.

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes forget to breathe. Seriously. I’ll be flowing along with my practice, and then I realize that somewhere along the line my brain got ahead of me, and the reason I am unable to get into or to hold a certain pose is because I have (for whatever reason)…stopped breathing. When I can’t keep my balance in Tree Pose—I’m not breathing. When I can’t find my way into the more challenging asanas in the Ashtanga Sequences—I’m not breathing. When I topple out of my headstand—I have stopped breathing. When I can’t remember what comes next—I have stopped breathing.

It is the same way in life, for me, off of the Yoga mat. I am a pretty dedicated Yogini—my practice is definitely a priority in life—so much so that I went through teacher training (at Clayton Yoga) in order that I might share the incredible benefits of Yoga with others…and still, sometimes in my daily life, I can’t even remember to breathe. But when I DO remember to breathe, it makes all the difference in the world.

I am a wife, the mother of four (in addition to about 18 other kids who walk in and out of my home every day who also call me “Mom”), a professional actress, and a volunteer in my community—and some mornings it isn’t my alarm that wakes me up, but instead it is that part of myself who can’t seem to get on board with the whole “Yoga Lifestyle” who wakes me up with a panic attack, fretting about all of the items on my To Do List, worrying about what is going on with all of the kids, feeling inadequate and often like a failure, berating me for not being a better version of myself, trying to remind me just what a slacker I am, and encouraging me to be fearful that eventually everyone else will discover that all I am is, in fact, a fraud. That is a sucky way to wake up, let me assure you.

But, recently, in the past six months as I used my Yoga Practice to begin the excavation process of revealing my Soul…I have learned to counter that rude awakening by engaging the breath work I have learned from the many Yoga Teachers who have guided me through my practice. And do you know what? It works! That bitch who wants to break me down and convince me that the lies she would tell me are the truth—is no match for actually getting in touch with my breath. And when I bring my attention to my heart center and begin to get in touch with and appreciate my breath…all of the panic and ugliness begins to fade away, and I am left with the understanding  that Jon Kabat-Zinn is right! “As long as you are breathing, there is more right with you than there is wrong with you. No matter what is wrong.”

If you are new to your practice, and even if you are a lifelong practitioner—I encourage you to pay close attention to the breathing exercises that your teacher guides you through before, during, and after class. These lessons we learn on the mat are really a guide-post that we can hitch to when we are off the mat and need a place to anchor. And the first place I go to for peace when I am feeling attacked from the inside out, is into my breath. It seems like the world is becoming a more and more aggressive place, but when I remember to breathe, and actually use some of the breathing techniques I have been taught in Yoga…I am able to self-soothe back into my Soul-consciousness and remember that there is a spark of Light in all of us acknowledging and honoring all of the other sparks of Light—and that everything is going to be alright.

So just keep breathing. Remember your breath in practice, and bring it home with you into your daily life. Fill up that beautiful body of yours with breath, and remember that if you are breathing, there is more right with you than there is wrong with you. No matter what is wrong. I know it may sound crazy…but many truths do sound just like that. Give in to your breath, appreciate it for the incredible gift that it is—and just keep breathing.

It works.