What's your story?

It all begins with the breath. Nothing is more important or fundamental than the breath in practice. It's one of the easy ways to be empowered in practice--because while you may not have all the say in the sequence, intensity, etc--you have a say in how attentive and responsive to the breath you are.  The breath is the foundation from which everything else is built around. It's what allows a practice that could form around aggression be infused with a sweetness and nurturing that only a deep and spacious breath can provide. It is what grounds and connect us to the creative pulse that animates all things. 

Think of it like this. The breath is like the formation of words. From this the poses become animated expression of the words--sentences begin to form. From this the poses flow together to create a story--the story of you in any given moment. Unlike other art forms the well spring from which you draw your creativity is endless. --the breath is always there waiting patiently for you to notice it--to create with it--until you take your last breath.

 What kind of story are you writing now? A larger question is--what are you willing to write now that you know it's within your capacity to craft your story.

Here is a practice for you this week. Notice how the breath starts off as you begin your practice, and then moment to moment remember you can harness a different breath--constructing new pathways of connection. Your willingness to open to and create with the breath is all in your hands. Your practice can become poetry in motion.

Breath freely!

I also want to direct you to the first few meditations in the Radiance sutras on breath...here is one:

The Radiance Sutras have this to say:

"The life essence carries on its play 
through the pulsing rhythm 
of outward and inward movement.
This is the ceaseless throb, the rhythm of life - 
terrifying in its eternity, exquisite in its constancy.

The inhalation, the return movement of breath,
sustains life. 
The outgoing breath 
purifies life. 
We breathe out the old air, the old thoughts, the old feelings.

These are the two poles 
between which respiration goes on unceasingly.
Between them is every quality you could ever desire.

As the breath turns from in to out, 
and again as the breath
curves from out to in -
through both these turns, absorb intensity."

(the first few sutras have beautiful breath meditations--go to www.lorinroche.com for more info on the sutras)