It has been a very busy couple of weeks and not coincidentally its been that much time since my last post. My messages over the past few weeks have been woven from a common thread; the impending and actual arrival of Dixie, our 13 week old lab puppy pictured above.
Leading up to her arrival, my message was “When you change the way you look at things, the things you are looking at change.” I found myself focusing on all of the negatives a 13 week old rescue puppy would bring and then she became just that, a very negative proposition. I used the practice to begin to connect with the positives as well and at times I was able to see what a nice addition to our family she could be. “When you change the way you look at things, the things you are looking at change”
Since she arrived last Saturday my mantra has been “Catch your breath“. That term is interesting because of its dual meanings. I have written about this before but this time I have been connecting to both meanings and how they work together. Sometimes we need to “Catch our Breath” in the slow down, step back, get perspective kind of way. And sometimes we get the chance to really “Catch our Breath” in another way…to truly own, and internalize our breath on the mat; to connect it to the movement and let the magic happen.
So that is what is what we did this past week on our mats. We stopped, backed off and rested when we needed to “Catch our Breath” and we also embraced and owned our breath and “Caught it” as we flowed. Both allowed us to get perspective and with that, be Present in the Moment.
We used the count of three to equalize our inhale and exhale…breathe in for 3 counts and exhale out the same 3 counts as we moved slowly through the opening Sun Salutes. As we picked up the pace, we quickened the count but we were still Catching and H0lding onto our Breath. Flowing through a complicated transition from Warrior 3 right into Revolved Half Moon and then into Side Plank we had to be in the moment to Keep, Own….. “Catch” the breath.
We rescued Dixie (our puppy) with the help of the Labs4Rescue organization and last Saturday, as we stood in a parking lot and watched an 18 wheeler with 60 rescued dogs pull in I started to “Catch My Breath”. And as Gregg, the driver from Rescue Road Trips, placed our puppy in my daughter’s arms, What I was looking at began to change in front of me; I could fully see all the good in what we were doing and this puppy became a blessing.
This past week has been a journey. I have spent more time in my yard in the last 7 days than in the two years prior. I have had to slow down, so I took it as a chance to also step back and take in my surroundings. I sat in the grass and looked up at the tops of the trees and I listened to the birds calling as they flew from tree to tree. And As Dixie lay sleeping in my lap, I was reminded that things worth having are hard and sacrifice leads to satisfaction.
I found myself able to “Catch my Breath” by slowing down and being Present and I had “Changed the Way I looked at Something”… and boy Did What I was Looking at Change. Namaste
