Breathe.

12:15 am on a September morning.  A new Joe Purdy album playing and the house to myself--why not write a little?

There are moments in my thirties when I feel a bit of happiness.  Today more than one pleasantly surprised me . . .breakfast with my husband in our screened-in porch, a long walk on Summit Ave with my dog, and my cat raiding the treats jar during a vet appointment this morning.  Even now, finding new music from one of my favorite artists and hearing it for the first time . . .these small experiences of recognizing contentment--I want to slow down more.  Relax.

Years 30-32 have been for me what Minnesotans like to refer to as "interesting."  What they (we) really mean is "the jury is still out."

With this blog I don't want to spend too much time in the past.  The goal is to be attentive to the present, to be grateful, to really make time to show love to others.  And I think more than anything, I want to pause and take it all in--to name and remember what is good here in words. 

With that said:

In today's yoga class I tried to focus on breathing.  During one of the poses I sounded like a rhinoceros, loud and heavy.  With a different pose, the instructor had to remind me to breathe as I was unconsciously holding my breath to get through it.  But by the end I fell into a rhythm.  My body started to sync with the movements and I felt centered . . .and not so much that my mind had to master my body to achieve this, but that my mind was finally resting and attentive to my body's work. 

And I think that is the trick, to quiet the mind and bring it into congruence with the body.  To focus on the fundamentals: inhale . . .exhale . . breathe in . . .breathe out.