Pranayama breathing is one thing I enjoyed learning through yoga. As a dancer, I know how important breathing is connected with movement. One of my teachers even pointed out that I was holding my breath while dancing, I need to activate my breathing more while dancing.
In yoga, as part of the ritual, I have to remind my students and myself to breathe, which to me is a great emphasis. I started to find the rhythm and pattern of my breathing, sometimes even caught myself forgetting to breathe when I was too overwhelmed or intensified. It’s a great tool to check in with myself through breathing, like feeling the pulse in Chinese medicine and listening to the heart in regular physical exam.
I started to realize as we are occupied to whatever in our hands or mind, breathing continues, only sometimes we omit its coexistence, and take it for granted.
However when we slow down and pay attention to ourselves, that’s when breathing emerges to our mind. We treat it with the proper respect it deserves and follow breathing to trace our mind.
While breathing, we still cook dinner; we eat one bite at a time; we carry on our presentation in public; we laugh with loved ones; we cry with trusted ones…happy or sad, life goes on, so does breathing, it is like a shadow that follows us loyally, stays by our side.
No one’s life is easy, up and down, natural like the moon waxing and waning, the tide ebbs and flows, inhale and exhale, it’s always changing and flowing, such is life. Ride with the flow, breathe with the plants, we are part of fellow residents on this planet, like a tree, or flower. Tune in and nurture ourselves, it’s not easy to be left out alone, fighting drought or storm, we are all in this together, at least in this round. One breath at a time, one step at a time.