Yoga

342 Marbles 
The only way to love the world around us is to love and respect our own journey.  The only way to manifest global compassion is to embody self compassion.  I invite all of us to love our journeys.  It’s been a wild ride and life is good and our hearts are open and the possibilities are endless. 
Seane Corn

    Some people hit the bottle after a breakup, some people hit the ganja, some people hit the road, but I hit the mat.  Breakups can feel debilitating - the center of my chest actually feels like there is a leg-hold trap inside of it.  My breath has unconsciously become shallower but hitting the yoga mat a few times a week is helping me get through this breakup.  How?  It reminds me to breathe. When I remember to breathe it makes me calmer and when I’m calmer, I feel like I can handle anything.
    I used to go to a yoga studio near my old house but now I find it more convenient (and economical) to have my own practice.  Sometimes I fly solo and sometimes I prefer to follow a DVD of one of my favorite teachers (Seane Corn, Eion Finn, David Swenson).  I always leave the mat feeling centered and rejuvenated. 
   The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit word for union.  In a time of separation, I find it therapeutic to partake in an activity that makes me feel connected to something greater than myself.  Yoga reminds me to go with the flow and stop resisting.  It encourages me to remain flexible both in body and mind.  It asks me to let go. 
   At the end of my practice, when I lie in Savasana (or Dead Man's Pose) my closing prayer is always the same. I ask that life/God/the universe will use me, use my hands, use my heart to create good in this world. I utter two words that to me represent divine submission, "Use Me." 

Could you consider ways to get heavy breathing into your life be it through yoga, jogging, hiking, etc.?  A balanced body, mind, and spirit are interconnected and it is sometimes easier to gain access to that balance by getting the body moving.