#21emBODY | LUNGS

As a youngster growing up in Catholic School I was always curious about the Holy Spirit.  Where was he?  Who was he? Was he a he?

Every Friday morning we’d line up as a class for church and one-by-one dip our germ infested, snot crusted fingers into the holy water to make the sign of the cross.  

In the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit, amen. 

The Holy Spirit was invisible, that’s all I could gather from religion class. And the few adults I innocently asked sometimes said he was a flame.  Personally I imagined the Holy Spirit as Casper the Friendly Ghost-like, but taller in stature and with a long flowy robe like many of the saints in the stained glass windows wore.

But be it in church, in the back of the frigid cold classroom, or on the walk to and from school with my brother — I kept an eye out for the Holy Spirit and quite frequently would whisper to him during spelling tests or report card day:

Help me Holy Spirit. Help me please. 

Though it wasn’t until a decade later while sitting cross legged in a yoga class, that the Holy Spirit finally appeared.

I had one finger on my left nostril as I inhaled deeply through my right. My back was straight, eyes closed, and I was focused on getting this alternative nostril breathing thing down if it killed me.

Inhale. One…two…three. Exhale. One…two…three. Switch nostrils.

As I channeled my breath from one nostril to the next, the teacher softly said:

Our breath is our one and only beloved. It is with us from the moment we are born, till the moment we die.

Now the mystery was solved. There was the Holy Spirit, with me all this time — intimately close, just like Father Escot told me so.  Invisible? Yes.  Ghost like? Sort of. Powerful like a flame? Absolutely.

Today begins 21 Days of emBODY, my 21 day painting challenge. Our invitation is the lungs — the organ that takes in new life force and releases the old and toxic.  In Chinese medicine, doctors believe that the lungs is where we process our sadness and grief.

But for me, ever since my first alternative nostril breathing experience, the lungs have been my tabernacle for the Holy Spirit — my Holy Spirit. There are times that I breathe in deeply and my whole body tingles and vibrates — full of Spirit. Then there are days, sometimes weeks, where my trust wavers and my breath becomes short, choppy, disconnected.

But bless these lungs for always breathing — keeping the Holy Spirit flowing through me, regardless if I’m conscious of it or not. No matter if my breaths are deep as the ocean floor or as subtle as a sip of cabernet.

For there is no life without breath.  Much like there is no life without Spirit.

Today I celebrate my lungs.  I celebrate this breath.

Today we breathe life into a new body of art work as we begin 21 Days of emBODY together.

Here is a short video of my process of painting the first invitation: LUNGS.  Enjoy! And please use hashtag: #21emBODY when sharing your work on Instagram or Facebook. Let’s celebrate each other! Let’s do this together!

You can paint along too — it’s totally FREE! Simply CLICK HERE for more information and use hashtag #21emBODY when sharing your photos on Instagram or Facebook.

Plus, 21 SECRETS emBODY the workshop comes out March 27th — CLICK HERE to preorder your copy now!