You Are Life

You do not have a life, you are life.
Eckhart Tolle

Hmmm!  Now those are words to ponder.

I have been attempting to complete a pranayama video for my yoga students since they cannot be with me in class.  I have had no problem doing short little segments with asanas and vinyasa sequences but when I sat down to do a breath and body awareness...I went through about a dozen takes over the last two days.  I have spent hours attempting to get a video I can feel good about.

I know I have to keep a teaching video under 20 minutes if I want my students to browse  through it let alone practice it. And when it comes to the most challenging aspect of yoga for many...stillness...it has to be even more  short, sweet, captivating and to the point. 

Each video done so far  comes off  too long or I feel like I missed something important or my voice fades out because I tend to lower it when I am encouraging people to relax. Ugh!!! I am also challenged with the editing on the software program I use...so it is much easier to go down to the studio and do another take or two, or three or four lol than it is to edit what I have.

It is a Challenge!

Yet to me...pranayama is the most important part of yoga...this ability to connect with body and breath is what hatha yoga is all about.  At this time of stress, worry and isolation from others, I feel it is even more important.  I look at this enforced isolation as a perfect time to master a connection with Self through body and breath.  So I want this video to be effective. It is the one gift of teaching I hope to offer at this time.

Why?

I believe breath...prana...is Life. We do not breathe ( though we believe we do and I even use that reference in my teaching), we are breathed.

We look at this set of circumstances we are facing right now and we might find ourselves saying: "This shouldn't be happening.  My life should not be like this!"  The problem I believe has more to do with the attachment of "my" in front of life, than it does with COVID-19.

When we see life as something we own, that belongs to a little "me" we deny the magnitude of it...it becomes another external thing the ego gets us to worry over, fret over, do whatever we can to protect. 

If we were to see Life as something that is breathed through us ten-30 times a minute...and therefore see that It is us no matter what is happening around us...wow! How freeing and healing  that would be.  I want to give that!

So I will keep trying even if I have to endure my internal director's commands to "Cut!!!"  "Take 765!"

It is all good.