You've Got the Whole World... in Your Breath

On the yoga mat, I get a lot of little opportunities to pause and notice my breath. In & out, expand & contract, fill and empty; it's a beautiful pulse. And I'm not the only thing pulsing. Everything in nature has a kind of breath, a pulse, an expansion and a contraction. In the yoga world, we refer to the universal pulse as spanda. It's the big Mama breath. My breath is just part of a bigger breath. When I allow myself to align with that bigger breath, I feel so much brighter and more supported. It's like stepping into a current and letting it carry you. It takes me out of my smallness and reminds me that I'm part of something bigger. I am a microcosm. In the same way that my mat is a little version of my whole life experience, my whole life experience is a little version of the whole universal experience. Whenever you're feeling lonely, notice your breath; it's like linking up with everyone and everything else.