Essentials Of Life

One night I awoke with a start and wondered what had awakened me. Did I hear something outside? Did I dream something intense? Then I realized I was hurting. I thought I had strained my shoulders (especially the right one) earlier that day but this was beyond a sore shoulder. I turned to my breath to start to relax within the pain and discovered I could not take a full breath. I made my way up and walked through my apartment slowly. The left side of my rib cage and neck were in spasm. Every time I tried to slowly and gently breathe into the sides of my rib cage I hit a wall of pain that almost dropped me to the floor. I won't belabor the details of the next 90 minutes because what I suffered is not the point. I will say it took that long to come to a place where I could lay down and get a bit more sleep. By the next day the spasms had almost fully released and I was exhausted from the experience. Two days later I felt normal in my body but still not fully balanced and at peace mentally and emotionally. It was several more days until I awoke and realized that I could breathe without pain and without consciously taking normal breaths.

We humans naturally take the ability to breathe for granted until something hinders it. Even when I am doing pranayama (conscious breath work), I appreciate the benefits and the ability to guide my breath. However, I am realizing I do not always feel and express gratitude for the breath itself, for my body's innate ability to breathe without my thinking about it! It is essential to my life, my health, my happiness, my peace of mind, my equanimity, my mental acuity, my expression through language, my mindful presence with another, and even the look on my face.

Today, my gratitude is focused:  I am grateful for the freedom to breathe naturally, easily and fully.

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