Using Yoga To Breathe

“If there is anything Divine in you, it is your breath.” – Yogi Bhajan

I have loved, truly and deeply, yoga since 1998 when I saw Madonna talk about it with Oprah. Still, it seems, the mind/body/spirit promise of yoga and I had never actually met until early this year when I first stepped into Kundalini Rising Yoga in Nashville, Tennessee. I was finally able to understand the relationship between myself, the terribly human me and the Divine that is both within and far beyond me.

It was an admittedly clumsy beginning, complete with several failed attempts to integrate this practice into my every day life. Finally, the shift has occurred. I am doing yoga daily, counting (one at a time) the sometimes thrilling and alternately terrifying days of my first 40-Day Sadhana. Forty days… that’s the stuff that changes a girl’s life.

Kundalini Yoga, for me, is an experience that touches, awakens, and heals my mind, my body, and my spirit. After 15 years on this path of personal evolution – including traditional therapy, spiritual seeking, a 12-Step recovery, formal education, independent studies, and more – I can honestly say that no other single experience has impacted me so profoundly.

Honestly, I’m still unable to discern, let alone articulate here, how or why this style of yoga has touched me so deeply but every day when I look into the mirror, the woman looking back at me holds the truth. Pounds and inches do not tell the story, not yet at least… rather it is in my eyes that I can affirm that after many, many years, I’ve finally begun the journey back to the truth of who I am.

Already, my muscles (particularly my core muscles) are stronger than they’ve ever been. The improvements in my flexibility and stamina are surprising, even to me. I’m meditating… finally, after all these years. It seems that everything is finally different, or even more importantly, it can be. I believe in myself, in my ability to be that which I aspire to be, and it’s changing my life. Of course, I also know that this is only the beginning.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Faith B.

5:36PM PDT on Aug 17, 2011

thanks for the article!

send a green star

Kirsten B.

12:56PM PDT on Aug 16, 2011

Inspiring - thank you. I'd already planned to tackle some changes from tomorrow, so I think I'll start my own 40 day journey, even if yoga and breathing is only a small part of it.

Ingrid C.

6:37PM PDT on Aug 11, 2011

I am a yoga teacher & blog about health.
http://fit-twist.blogspot.com

Chinmayee J.

6:04AM PDT on Aug 11, 2011

Thanks for sharing - there is a whole host of yogic breathing exercises collectively called 'pranayama' - look them up, they have a very wide range of health benefits! As for the Kundalini Yoga, I'm thinking of starting it - I recently got a DVD with the various exercises and it looks very interesting. I am used to a different type of yoga so this is probably going to be challenging...

Sharon S.

6:30PM PDT on Aug 10, 2011

At last - Yoga that does not make arthritic joints scream in pain! Thanks!

Chris R.

3:12PM PDT on Aug 10, 2011

Excellent info Christy, thanks!~

Matteo C.

9:56AM PDT on Aug 10, 2011

Thank you very much for this article, I can't wait to start!!

Geetha S.

9:02AM PDT on Aug 10, 2011

Thanks for sharing.