Interrupting our destructive habits and awakening our heart is the work of a lifetime.

Let’s interrupt our habits right now— Breathe with me!

take a breath into your belly, release, and feel your body breathing;
take a breath into your belly and allow it to expand upwards into your ribcage, release and feel your body breathing;
take a breath into your belly and allow it to expand downwards into your pelvis (option to simultaneously expand it upwards into your ribcage), release, and feel your body breathing;
take a breath into your pelvis, belly, ribcage and upper chest— pause and hold it here for a few seconds— what sensations do you notice? slowly release chest, ribcage, belly, pelvis and then pause at the “bottom” of your exhale. stay here for a few seconds— what do you notice?
invite your next inhale to fill you all the way up through pelvis, belly, ribcage, upper chest, and even into your skull (pause again if you’d like) and then release back down from top to bottom (another pause). Try this same bottom to top, then top to bottom breathing one more time.
now allow your breath to move in whatever way feels natural in this moment….in and out, in and out….Feel the shape of your body breathing.

photo1: 3/3 birthday photo from Jo-Yu Chen, NYC.
photo2: early February, Ashokan Reservoir, me.