Last night in yoga class, while we were holding a somewhat challenging pose, the teacher said something I’d never heard before:

“The only shortcut in yoga is deep breathing.”

Deep breathing, she said, can make tough poses feel like they go a bit quicker. Of course later I thought about how this relates to life, in particular to my life regarding the emotional terrain I grapple with around my mom, her health issues and our complex relationship.

Oh, how I would love, love (give anything for) a shortcut.

One that lets me jump past the pain and land on the other (at-peace, whole, harmonious) side in a swift, superhero-esque leap. But if there’s one thing I know I am not, it’s a superhero. My human-ness shakes me awake daily, all its hopes and all its flaws.

I’m guessing most of us would welcome a shortcut to heal the wounds we walk around with. The reality is it takes work…the processing, revealing, remembering, releasing, messier-before-it-gets-better kind of work. I know the benefits of deep breathing aren’t a newsflash. But last night, while I was sweating through warrior pose trying to connect with my intention for the class—release tension, increase peace—it was a good reminder. And as I keep moving along the path to less expectations, greater acceptance and all that other apparently-possible stuff, I sure could practice more of it.

If you’d like to bring more breathing into your life, my beautiful friend Kaci shared some wisdom in her piece 3 Ways to Enhance Your Deep Breathing Practice. I’ve got it bookmarked…a little shortcut to getting there.

xo ~C.