Feb. 2, 2021 - Yesterday I started teaching my yoga classes at UVM for the new semester. Because of some positive COVID cases in the building I’m teaching in, they decided to delay in-person classes, so my classes yesterday were all on Zoom. In the first class I taught at 8am, I loved seeing all the new people, and even thought we were on Zoom, I could feel the “first day of class” energy. And, I could also see it in their nervous, energized movement as we started the class.

One of the first things I did when I started class is had them close their eyes and notice they were breathing. We don’t do anything that special. I just asked them to be aware that they were breathing and follow their breath in and out of the noses. After a few minutes I invited them to open their eyes. Most of them took their time to slowly “return” to class. I could instantly see a difference in the students…calmer, more present, less physical movement, more focused, less anxiousness. I asked them to raises their hands if the breathing made them feel better — nearly all the students did.

Isn’t that amazing!! I think so. We have this gift inside of us, always available, that can make our lives a bit less stressed, a bit happier, a bit slower. It’s always great to share the focus of breathing with new students because it brings me back to recognize the incredible power of simply breathing…something we’re already pretty good at, since we’ve made it this far.

Enjoy breathing in class today, and connect to your own calm, natural pace of life. :-)