Storms: One More Breath Here

It’s been a while since I’ve shared my yoga practice on social media.

The truth is, it’s been a while since I’ve practiced at all.

For nine months I’ve been avoiding having to face the unexpected loss of my teacher, Maty. Keeping my mat rolled up in the corner of my practice room has seemed like the most obvious way to keep from hearing her voice in my head.

Avoid the storm at all costs.

But over the last few weeks, the entire world has flipped upside down, and all I want is to unroll my mat and move and breathe and feel alive—just like she taught me to do. So I decide to brave the dark clouds, and I take my first step into the rain: I unroll my mat, say a prayer, and start moving in all the ways she showed me how. My body still remembers every lesson.

You see, the body remembers even when the heart tries to forget.

Of course, the storm comes on strong— I hear her voice again and again, “One more breath here, one more breath here, one more breath here...” But in this way, one breath at a time, I make it through the rain and the tears. It’s the only way to get to the rainbow.
—

We are facing uncertain and unprecedented times. Life as we’ve known it is grinding to a halt. I can’t let go of the feeling that this moment is an opportunity for us to wake up and face all the truths we’ve been trying to avoid—truths about the way we are living in relation to ourselves, each other, and the planet. I’m trying my best not to run away. And anyway, with the world on lockdown, where could I go?