yoga practice. It has countless functions with the most obvious being that
without it we would cease to be. When a newborn enters the world, that first
breath, an inhale, is what truly marks its arrival. And when we come to the end
of our time, that final breath is an exhale. The journey in between that
initial inhale and final exhale is filled with opportunity to really have the
experience of breathing.
In classes this past week, we explored the
breath from the perspective of fullness and emptiness. To begin this
experience, exhale the breath by drawing the navel center back in towards the
spine to press the breath out of the body. Pause and get a sense of feeling as
empty as possible. On the inhaling breath, comfortably fill the lungs up to get
a true experience of feeling fullness within. Retain the breath for a moment
before starting the exhale. We repeated this process for numerous breaths,
noticing the constant shifting from fullness to emptiness to fullness and so on.
As I taught this process throughout the week, I began to connect the
breath to the metaphor of life. The fullness of breath can relate to abundance
in our every day worlds, from our most basic needs being met (food, housing,
clean air and water) to the quality of our relationships and what opportunities
sit before us. Emptiness is the space in which life unfolds, where seeds are
planted and manifestation takes root. It’s realizing that we need both to
explore our full potential.
It’s that idea of how things are constantly
moving, that nothing is permanent and states of being are always shifting.
We’re hungry, we’re full; we’re busy, we’re bored; we’re energized, we’re
exhausted; we’re happy, we’re sad.
When we connect to the abundance in
our own lives we connect with a feeling of gratitude and when we realize how
much we have, life just seems better. But, perhaps more value could be placed
on the emptiness of life. Sitting in silence, noticing the physical wide open
spaces of our natural environment or spending time in solitude. When we are
able to release the striving mind into a spaciousness of being fully present
with what is, the seed of potential begins to awaken.
Just as the breath
shifts from empty to full, so does our existence. Both are part of the whole
experience and yet, completely different.
