Breathing Sideways

When I am not busy being a professor or a mama, I squeeze in a little yoga. Just like I never thought I would be writing a blog, I never thought I would do yoga, especially not “ommming.” But last summer, when I wasn’t teaching and my son was at camp, I started going and quickly became addicted. I had tried yoga before – it had never worked for me because while I was standing doing a pose, my brain was thinking of all the other things I could/should be doing -- exactly the opposite of what one should do while practicing yoga. But this time, for some reason, it works.

Yoga, for me, is not as meditative as I imagine it should be; I have to work hard and think; in fact, I think a lot – are my feet where they should be, what about my hips, where is my weight, and so on. But most importantly, breathe. Yoga instructors talk all the time about breathing, how long, what it should sound like, what the throat should be doing, and so on. Again, a lot of work that can seem complicated and require thought and energy. This is not at all what we usually think about breathing. "Breathing sideways", which is what one wants to do when practicing yoga, is even harder.

After spending the last 7 months learning to breathe and thinking about it breathing sideways has become a reminder to stop, take a breath, and think. To center myself whatever it is I am doing – teaching, mothering, driving in traffic, or waiting in line at the grocery store. My constant is trying to breathe sideways. And as they say in yoga, breathing leads to inspiration. For me that is calm, careful thought. I try to do this all the time.