Air

Remember you are air…observe, breathe, focus, decide.

Oh the breath-such a powerful element!  I often refer to the breath as magic because it truly is the connection between our physical body and spirit.  Pneuma = spirit (in theology), a vapor in the body necessary for life (in classical medicine), and sustaining cause (in stoicism), according to https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pneuma.   When we inspire, we inhale.  We in-spire, we bring spirit in.  To be inspired is when we get excited, fired up, motivated to do something. 

Yoga invites us to watch our breath, observe-is it choppy, smooth, shallow, deep, labored, easy, etc.?  You can tell a lot about your well-being, your health, your spirit by the breath.  You don’t see the wind or the air but you see the force it creates in the way the leaves move.  You don’t see your breath with your eyes, but you observe it in the way you move about the world.  So watch and focus your awareness on the breath, the movement it creates, the response it causes.

From the awareness, you can decide.  Decide if you want to keep moving in that way, decide if you want to keep holding onto that thing/relationship/desire, decide what you will do with the inspiration that comes from bringing breath and spirit and life into your body and into your action.  Listen intently, watch, observe, focus, BREATHE!

You will never go wrong with the pneuma leading the way.