Breath

Breath, and breathing.  Inseparable from our life itself.

I ended my yoga class tonight with a reminder that awareness of breath is the core practice of yoga. This is so because breath is always with us - in the present moment there is always breath.  We have only to pay attention to breath and it brings the mind into the present with it.  Breath is the most tangible expression of our vitality, our life force - it is with us from the moment we are born until the moment we die.

And so, no matter where we are or what we are doing, we always have access to this practice - awareness of breath - that can bring our mind to centered stillness and allow the state of yoga to arise. For yoga is not something we can do.  Yoga is a condition of deep immersion and intimacy with our present experience, that comes, like a gift, in the right conditions.  

We can practice the postures of yoga, which give us the direct, concrete experience of the body as a point of focus for our mind, and the breathing practices called pranayama, which similarly help us focus more completely and deeply on our breath.  When these practices bring the mind into calm clarity, we experience yoga.