These three things that matter can most often be found within another three states: Silence, Stillness and Spaciousness. How our ego puts up a fight against even dipping one single toe into a space large enough to hold a full inhale and exhale in this very moment.
Try this simple exercise and see what happens – stand with feet planted on the floor about a hip distance apart, arms at your side with palms facing forward. Watch as a full breath starts from the belly, expands the ribcage and back, then cascades like a waterfall on the exhale pausing in the pool of breath at the bottom. Take several breaths this way.
Now close your eyes and lean forward as far as you can without tipping over. Watch what happens to the breath. Now come back to center and root down. Watch what happens to the breath and be aware of all the micro-movements and adjustments the body must make in order to simply stand upright.
For most of us this simple exercise reflects what happens constantly all day long. We lean into the future and our breath is literally held as our mind takes us to the next thing on the agenda. There is no breathing room.
I experienced that today in a conscious exercise in yoga class. As we moved very slowly from one pose to the next the mind wanted to revolt, to run, to judge, to do anything but be quiet to the burning muscle or the reflex thought about tomorrow. Instead we were instructed to place our mind on gentleness within the silence, stillness and spaciousness that grew as each breath passed.
To gracefully let go of the ego’s urging to move out of the pose, run to the bathroom, or chant the mantra – this is too hard! Watch the breath, love the body, let go gracefully of what is not meant for you. How much more do we suffer if we don’t give enough breathing room to expand the moment that we are in right now?
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BREATHING SPACES 