Life happens quickly.

No matter where any of us are on our spiritual paths, I think we all know that every second is precious and that it is easy for us to get lost in the chaos of the every day of work, school, homework, parenting, and grocery shopping. It’s a slippery slope, working on physical achievement, because it takes our awareness onto something we can touch instead of what we feel.

Life is breath.

Just as easily as we fall into the crazy spiral of to-do lists and complaining, we can pause and take one of those deliciously deep breathes that fill us up completely and then take an even longer exhale that relaxes all of our muscles.

This simple act brings us back into the present moment—the only moment that ever really matters.

It’s funny, because the one moment that really matters is gone before we can think about it. But, I think that’s the point!

When we start to think about it, that’s when we leave the moment and start living in our heads and that’s where yoga comes in—the moment we start to think, we lose our balance and fall out of triangle pose or warrior 3. It demands our attention and complete consciousness of our bodies and breath. Once we’re out of breath of struggling to breathe, that’s when we know we’ve stopped feeling and listening and started thinking instead.

Here is a routine to help release the chaos and come back into the here and now:

When we breathe deeply, we connect to our body and soul. When we bring our focus onto our breath, we give ourselves permission to live consciously instead of crazily.

Sat nam.

Author: Stacy Porter

Editor: Katarina Tavčar

Photo: Author’s own