Breathing is core.

This morning feels magical.

It’s been a long couple of weeks with a lot of movement, literally and figuratively. I have packed and unpacked a number of times — again, literally and figuratively — and spent an inordinate amount of time in a car. And while there have been many laughs and much (much) love, all of this chaos has coincided with hot, humid, and uncomfortable weather.

This morning, it is all magically transformed.

The air is cool, the sun feels hospitable. My living room is light and clutter-free. The trees in the park across the street look saturated with summer and joy.

In this calm, breathing is easy and uncomplicated. When things are more in movement, I have to work at it.

And that is the practice: knowing that whatever the circumstances, however impossible it feels, I can always come back to breathing with purpose, steadily, rhythmically, with movement. Sometimes, I have to find just the right place — like this amazing beach in Niantic, Connecticut, where I did my morning practice yesterday. Sometimes, I can find the calm within me, even if the context is hectic and cramped. Always, the breath is there for me.

Throughout September, breath, foundation, and stability will be the focus of my online classes. Join in whenever you can!