I would ask you to check in with your breath and notice how you are breathing in this moment. With the perception of heightened uncertainty all around us, and life seeming almost completely unpredictable these days, the one thing we can count on to reconnect us with our center is our breath. As Eckhart Tolle says, our relationship with the present moment is either friendly or dysfunctional. The way into awakening harmony with the present moment is through the breath. This is why Pranayama, or control and expansion of the breath is the 4th limb of Astanga Yoga and is actually a more evolved practice than the 3rd limb of Yoga, the Asanas, or poses themselves.

I resisted Pranayama practice for so long until my training with Rod Stryker, when I finallly got the importance of integrating this practice into my daily life. I’ve been practicing regulating my breath with 1:1 breathing since September, and it is one of the most powerful practices I’ve developed to help me sustain my center during these energetically turbulent times. As turbulent as the times seem to be, it is actually a profound gift to be experiencing everything that is happening right now. All there is, is now. As much as we might think we like knowing what’s ahead, feeling like we can be 100% certain, all of those projections really keep us in some way disconnected, or not fully connected to the present moment, where the energetic fullness of life lives.

It’s not that we are supposed to be numb. It’s ok to feel a little shaky or maybe even a little scared at times. But, realize, what’s really happening, is you are awakening to what is, the energetic reality and the realization you are an energetic being composed of mostly space and water, existing in a Universe, and living on a planet that is hurling and spinning through space at speeds which are almost inconceivable to the mind. So, if we think it’s the stock market which makes us feel a little shaky, think again. The collective consciousness is collectively realizing we are much more than what we’ve identified ourselves to be. How powerful is our mind? Any spiritual tradition would tell you it is the most poweful instrument you have and any master would say our thoughts create our reality. So, if you want to shift your reality, this first step is to free yourself of fear. How do we do that? By realizing you are fundamentally ok, you are supported by forces seen and unseen in realizing this energetic evolution you are here to experience.

Is it intense? Sometimes, yes. But, that’s what your Yoga practice has prepared you to be able to embrace…to breathe with calmness and ease even in the times of intensity. Is it magical and full of wonder? Absolutely. The only way we can fully open up to all the wonder there is, is to be completely here now. So, breathe and be grateful to be healthy and well, because that really is what matters most.

One final thing, Dharma Mittra sent out his newsletter yesterday. He shared this guidance, which was powerful for me when I read it, so here it is:

Greetings from Dharma Mittra Yoga NYC,

This fall season is loaded with changes all around. Everyone is experiencing it, including the yoga center. Go with the winds of change and you will effortlessly glide to your new destination.

And, here are words of guidance from Rod Stryker, which I just received tonight in his newsletter.

No doubt the events of the past weeks have shaken many at their core. It is important to recall that this is not the first time you have faced uncertainty and challenges. In fact, looking for answers to life’s demands is the very reason why many of us turned to yoga in the first place and, in particular, found a home in the teachings of ParaYoga.

It should come as no surprise then that my advice draws not upon some new formula, practice or magic mantra. No. My answer to life greatest challenges is the same as it has been since my teachers first provided me with their most precious wisdom.

Wondering what I should offer you at this time I recalled a letter I wrote to some students some twenty years (what might seem like much more innocent times): “Make time for silence. The questions you might have about how to manifest the teachings in your own life will not spring from rational. Instead they require loving dissipation. You already are the fulfillment of the teachings. Sit. Do some breathing and then practice the things we have taught you. Practice surrendering into your heart of hearts. You’ve toiled to prepare the soil for the harvest of your higher Self. Now you must learn to nurture your garden constantly. With patience and a willingness to serve that which is greater than you, your efforts will bear fruit.

“Silence envelopes the voices of insecurity. That is when ‘remembering’ returns, showing you that your light is an eternal bridge to freedom and peace. May your actions this day, however insignificant, be forever changed by having tasted the loving, the invisible”.

Yes, the answer remains the same. It always will. Find stillness. See that you are and will always be okay. Stay awake. Act selflessly.

With love,

Yogarupa

May each breath we breathe, individually and collectively, awaken us to the healing of ourselves and the collective consciousness of our planet. Namaste! Oh ya, and come to Costa Rica with me in January for the Yoga retreat of a lifetime I am leading there!