Begin again.

A few years ago, while cleaning my garage I found a basket of bulbs. Not quite sure what they were, I planted them near my front door.  By some miracle those dormant bulbs, that had been sitting in my garage for who knows how long, had within them the intelligence and potential to become stunning orange tulips. At the end of the fall I cut the leaves right down to the soil and the next spring that intelligence sprang forth orange tulips once again.  Amazing.  A sleeping bulb in the dark corners of my garage now able to bloom into a flower, given the right conditions. 

We come into this life with a gasping inhale.  Each and every one of us began our life on this earth with a "HeYa".  I actually don't think my spelling of the sound "HeYa" is correct, so do me a favor, take a gasping inhale. We all leave this life with a final exhale.  This sound is more like a SaH.  Again, give it a try for me, exhale deeply like you are pushing your last breath out of your body, SaH.  

Do you realize that every single breath in is a practice of being born, beginning again.  And every single breath out is a practice of dying, letting go.  Ok maybe this should not have been a big ah-ha moment for me, but I never looked at it this way.  Have you?  Inhale being born. Exhaling dying, letting go.

So, let us practice for a moment.  

Take a breath in and breathe it out.  

Now this time, breathe in slowly, and try to mean it, feel it inspire your every cell, bringing each cell to life.  And as you exhale, slowly, and fully, feeling your belly button press against your spine almost like a bellows expiring all of your breath.  

Do you feel how your body just pulls into the center, every cell gathering.  Only to be inspired again, to breathe in and begin, again. And then to expire, again, letting go.

Breathing, of all things, is maybe what we take most for granted. Do you ever wonder why we are built this way, this magnificent pliable machine of ours continually pumping oxygen in and out every second, of every minute, of every hour of every day for our entire life?  We were born with intelligence, just like the dormant tulip bulbs.  Each and every one of us have a hot second to live and savor the right now, this moment. It is the grace of our breath that gives us the ability to begin again in each and every one of those hot seconds.  We need to trust the intelligence of life and stop gripping, stop holding our breath.

Think about how effected our breath is by our emotions.  Like a canary in the coal mine.  

·      When we are sad, we breathe heavy sighs.  Our body knows we need to let go of this sadness.  

·      When we are joyful, our lungs feel almost like they will burst - like we just can't possibly hold back our joy. 

·      In our fear we hold onto our breath and have to actually be told to breathe slowly to help us calm down.     

·      When we are about to embark on something difficult, we take a deep breath to help us find our courage, to inspire us.  

Breathing is our innate way getting in touch with our own intelligence. It allows us to take a moment, connect, and begin again. Over and over we have the opportunity to orient ourselves to the present moment.  To get in touch with what is happening right now. To be attentive to the intelligence of our own body. To provide the right conditions for us to begin again. Right here.  In this hot moment.  Breathing.

Here are four ways you can begin the practice connecting to your breath.

1.     Put a red dot on your computer screen or cell phone as a reminder to notice your breath. Each time your eyes rest on the red dot, take a nice deep inhale and slowly exhale.

2.     Download an App to help you.  Insight Timer, Calm or Headspace all have guided meditations that help you focus on your breath.

3.     Before you go to bed put a full glass of water next to it.  Upon waking, drink the water and lie back down. As you allow the water to hydrate your body, breathe. Taking note that you are here for another day. Notice your lungs inflate, your fingers move and your eyes flutter open.

5.     Take your study deeper. Check out Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), an eight-week meditation course. There is one line that was repeated so often in the guided practices that it has stuck with me years later. It goes like this:  

“If you have noticed your mind has started to wander, stay with your thoughts with a sense of curiosity and then, when you feel ready, bring your attention back to your breath and begin again.”