Belly LOVE: Take A Deep Breath

Recently I was talking with a friend and started to express to her how anxious and bummed I was that I was now at the mid-way point of my summer break. In five weeks, I will be back to teaching in a school. And even though this time I will be in a new school, and part time, a huge, huge, HUUUUGE part of me is not happy about this. A huge part of myself is resisting it. Poo pooing it. Just doesn’t want to go.

Now here’s the thing. I’m good at creating a list of reasons why going back to “work” is a good thing in my life. Steady pay check, health insurance, “stability”, lots of time off compared to any other part time position I might take, freedom to create lessons that I want to do, and well, I already signed a contract.

When I started to ramble this list off to my friend I accompanied it with how I was going to make “this work for me”–how I was going to create boundaries–and set up restrictions–so that what I really want to do–what I’m doing now–could still flourish-feel alive-and be a big part of my life.

My friend pointed out right away that when I talk about all this my breath gets shorter, the energy around me starts to feel heavy and forced, and she even could see that the words I chose to speak about this were precise and direct—lacking any kind of fluidity to them at all.

You see…my big worry is that by having to go back to work–I can’t do it all. That my passion and energy for Dirty Footprints Studio is going to suffer.

My friend insisted that I let her guide me through a guided meditation. I won’t go all into it, but what really happened is that I slowed down. I calmed down. I started to take long, fluid, deep, deep breaths. And all that frustration, anxiety, and distaste started to melt away.

I was at home. I was in my studio. I was in my body.

I wasn’t even at any mid-way point of anything. I was simply here. Now. Present.

Wow.

Seriously. Wow.

In slowing down, and being one with my body–with exactly where I was and what that felt like–I was able to see things more clearly. I was able to see how all these things I wanted or feel I need to do–can fit perfectly into the same space. My space. My Life. My temple.

This past week–Belly LOVE came through as another HUGE break through for me. I learned how our bodies are the biggest and best tool we have to keeping us for going to the dark side. Over board. Out of control with worry, stress, fear, or expectations of the unknown.

Once I let myself slip into my being–slip into my own skin and feel the breath move within and through me—I get focused.

I’ve heard this for years in Yoga–how powerful the breath is.

But it took a guided meditation and a whole lot of angst–for all those lessons and instructions to show up at once and prove to me it’s truth.

How often do you forget your breath? How often do we all forget that we are fully equipped with the world’s greatest gift to unlock, release, and relax into anything?