Breathe in, breathe out, just breathe.

Community Yoga Group was fun this morning. Many of the regulars were away today. While that can feel like something is missing in a class, today it gave me more time to help the newcomers.

One of the beautiful things about the community yoga group, is that we are open to explore the practice with laughter and practicality, without newcomers feeling pressured with a more strict yoga practice. Although, anyone who has attended my yoga classes in the last 12 years knows that I believe each person is different, and that yoga is meant to be fun and connected- not stale and a performance. This is meditation through movement, not some strict adherence for supremacy.

Folks come into yoga with a lot of perceptions. Some are accurate, others are close, some still couldn't be farther from the truth. I was cuing downward dog, explaining that while it is a resting posture, it never feels like that the first several times when a couple of today's group started laughing. This healthy response elicits conversation, usually. I corrected one participant on straightening the legs, and reminded them that they can change how far their feet are apart to make it work better for them. Many people will always work with a specific spacing of the feet because it is what they originally learned. But each person is different. Today, I found myself reminding them that, as far as I know of, there is no ancient Sanskrit text that defines the perfect alignment in inches for how far apart the feet are. The correct spacing is defined by your body and where you align correctly.

Today we also spent some time on correct breath. But mostly afterward. I found myself discussing that we work toward full breaths and types of breathing for the purpose of bringing forth different physiological responses, leading to eliminating stale breath, voiding toxins, warming the body, lots of things. But this isn't the first thing I teach. The first thing I teach in yoga, as with all exercise is to breathe. Period.

If each of us remembers to breathe, the rest will come. This applies to daily life. Breathe in, breathe out, get up and try again. Don't expect to look like the person next to you. Don't give up, reset yourself and try the posture/ exercise again. Breathe in, breathe out, take on a new challenge. Approach a problem from a new angle. Only expect to control what is truly within your grasp, and only if it meant to be within your grasp. Breathe in, breathe out. Elongate the spine and receive the breath fully. As long as you keep breathing, keep trying, it will come.

See you all next week.