1. NOTICING THE QUALITY OF THE PRESENT MOMENT
Each day we are presented with new opportunities and challenges in our personal, work, and life relationships. The connection we have to ourselves sets us up for unique interactions and experiences that naturally unfold moment by moment within these relationships. The next time you have an opportunity to engage and communicate with a friend, loved one, or colleague, I invite you to practice bringing awareness to the quality of your own breath. Take a natural pause and notice whether it feels shallow and constricted, deep and expansive, or somewhere in between. Without judgement, simply observe and allow yourself to notice the present quality of your breath, and be with what you are receiving in the present moment from the space it affords you.
2. HOW ARE YOU ENGAGING?
To find more ease in our relational dynamics, to engage freely and fearlessly, we can remember to use the breath in an expansive way that affords freedom through mindful expression and connection. Stressful situations become less stressful when we are able to release restriction in the body - good circulation within the body is good circulation outside the body.
Notice how the quality of your breath either supports or limits your engagement with others. Do you feel physically tense or do your muscles feel more relaxed? Mindful breathing can help release thoughts or tension that cloud our sense of observation, allowing us to see with a greater sense of clarity. We can then engage with more creativity and authenticity, from a place of observation rather than judgment. The more we practice being aware of how we are relating to our environment and one another, the more we are able to clearly see the choices we have in order to engage and participate in a way that is meaningful, connected, and enjoyable.
3. WHAT IS YOUR INTENTION?
Purpose in our actions do not have to become separate from us - defaulting to an autopilot way of making choices. Just as we might speak with a shortened breath to “get the last word in”, we can also choose to use the breath as an anchor with intention to create space for deep listening. Our actions are an embodiment of the subtle connection we have to our breath, which offers itself as a resource providing us with feedback, revealing how we are animating and enabling life to happen for us. In other words, we exist as an extension of our breath and it’s underlying life-force, Prana. The intention behind our actions is a reflection of how superficial or deeply attuned we are to Prana, our essence of being, nature, and to each other.
We can work to better align our intentions with right action if we can learn to pause and gently investigate our connection to our own breath - the pathway for our inner spirit. We can contemplate, with curiosity and non-judgement, what is the real purpose or intention behind our choice of action if it does not move through us with ease and liberation, reflect our values, and support our connection and relationship to others.
~ML