I love yoga!!! Did I mention that? It makes me feel calm, and strong, focused….did I mention strong? I can’t believe what I can do today that I never could do years ago. It’s so beneficial in so many ways.
We end each class in the shivasana pose – sort of a deliberate rest period after exerting ourselves throughout the class. It’s as we enter this pose that our teacher helps us to be mindful during the pose – so that it’s not just a chance to doze off.
Today — she told us to pay attention to the space between the inhale and the exhale of our breathing. Breathe in. Pause. Breathe out. Don’t just breathe. Be aware of it. Appreciate it.
Breathing. It’s something we do every single moment, every single second of every single day. And yet, it is probably the thing we take most often for granted. I loved that phrase – the space between, and it resonated with me, not just about breathing, but where I am in my life right now.
These days, as it always is in June – it’s the space between the school year and my summer at camp. I teach cooking at a sleep away camp in the Poconos. Most people give me odd looks when I explain that my summer plans involve choosing to live in the woods for 7 weeks, but to me, it’s blissful. My kids are all in their own bunks, which means I am not responsible for their daily care. No baths, no mealtimes, no activities to think about. But working at the camp affords me the amazing opportunity of getting to see all the awesome things they’re doing and how much fun they’re having. I also don’t have to clean up! (I can clean my whole living space in camp in the time it takes me to wipe down the sink in my bathroom at home).
This space between the end of the school year is often harried and rushed, filled with doctor’s appointments, camp shopping, end of year testing, birthday parties…it’s alot.
It’s a frantic, frenetic pace of life. Life is often this way, but it seems like it reaches a fever pitch in June.
Appreciating this space in my life – stopping the treadmill for a moment and taking the time to move a little slower during my day – it’s not something that’s easy to do, but it is so necessary.
I remember at my wedding someone telling me to stop, look around, and take mental pictures of the day. It was so hard, but I tried to do it, if at least for only a moment here and there. Looking back, I realize that same advice applies to every day of my life.
I feel like I blinked and my oldest is now a teenager. My kids’ early years are mostly a blur, and my best memories are likely not memories at all, imprinted on my mind from videos I watch over and over again.
Stopping to appreciate the space between….that also implies that there is a space at all. Sometimes I go from activity to activity and don’t stop, not for a moment, until I finally pour myself into bed at the end of a long day, mindlessly scrolling my phone until sleep overtakes me. But that’s not space. That’s just another (mind-numbing) way of being busy.
What I’m trying today is to deliberately make a space in my day if it isn’t already there. Push the walls apart on my to-do list and take a moment between each one.
Being mindful of the space between the inhale and the exhale – that’s actually making the breath last longer than it is – purposely extending the moment. What does that mean practically? Looking for an extra second at my daughter when she’s clamoring for my attention, at my son when he asks to borrow my phone so he can check ESPN scores, when my husband tells me about his day. The space between the inhale and the exhale means making my breath slower and more deliberate. Because one day, the choice to do that won’t be a choice at all. That’s the choice I’m making today. Appreciating the space between.