Quickly the holidays arrived and quickly they flew by. We’ve entered into a new year and with this fresh start we’re offered an opportunity to consider our current lives and set intentions for the future.

Each year I set the same intention: to breath deeply. It’s something I don’t do enough and something that is tremendously beneficial to my health. Every time I turn on my cell phone, I see my opening message, “Breath deeply”, and I do just that. When I wake up in the morning and brush my teeth, I read “Breath deeply” on a note posted on my bathroom mirror and I do just that. As I see it, I take an absolute minimum of four deep breaths each day thanks to my intention and feel much better for it.

I am particularly fond of this intention because there is no option to fail. I succeed constantly by reading these little reminders and taking big belly breaths. My intention makes me feel good and is 100% positive. If you don’t have an intention this year maybe you’d like to take a few extra deep breaths each day or a few extra smiles. You’re success is guaranteed. –Michelle Laxton

When just arriving to your mat and closing your eyes, be extra sensitive to the first few breaths of your practice. I’ve found that the first few breaths can reveal a great deal about the current state of your mind-body-heart.

The first few breaths that happen to be deep and relaxed reveal the soothing effects of your earlier jog and healthful breakfast. The first few breaths that happen to be short and choppy reveal the stress caused by the traffic jam you encountered. The first few breaths that happen to be labored and tight reveal the pain felt from a disagreement with your partner.

In order to live our lives, working our jobs and caring for our families, we often feel the need to ignore our feelings. However, healing through yoga requires an open and observant mind. By watching the first few breaths of your practice, you may discover what situations throw you out of balance. When those same challenges arise in the future, you’ll be more connected to your mind-body-heart and therefore better able to keep your yogic cool. –Michelle Laxton

“Man is a stream whose source is hidden. Our being is descending into us from we know not whence.”

–Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Over-Soul

The practice of yoga offers the possibility to connect with the experience of “our being descending into us.” It is through breath that life flows through us and yoga is all about breath awareness. As the breath is always changing so are we also in a constant state of change, and yet amidst all of the change we each have a constant “sense of self.” To watch the breath is the key to entering into the “stream” of which we are all apart.