some of my most important teachings

Some of my most important teachings occurred this week.
It wasn't at the tree house. Nor on a beach in Tulum.
It wasn't to a crowd of wide eyed yogis ready to dive deeper into their practice.

It was in the hospital. Two of them actually. With my Mama and my sister.

It's been a week of all things yoga.
All things life.
All things breath.

On Tuesday she was nervous. Amelia suggested "breathe into your belly". Mama Alice says (with a bit of a huff I might add), "I don't know what that means."

I am instantly reminded that not everyone knows the beauty of the breath. Nor do they know the power of the breath. Nor what the heck the breath lingo is.

I tell her, "Put your hands of your belly. As you inhale feel your belly fill with air and your hands lift, as you exhale relax your whole body."

We all instinctively close our eyes. Me, my mom, brother, and sister in law. We breathe for a short while. When we open our eyes we all feel much more relaxed. I remind my Mama to close her eyes, breathe down into her belly, and silently count up to fifty breaths as they outline her scar, mark the spots for her radiation, bolt her down from her head to her chest, and send her into the scan.

She is a brave soul. The breath is her friend.

Two days later I am standing by my sisters bed at the hospital. Baby Max will soon be here. She is feeling anxious about her fifth C-section. The nurse comes in for the IV. I see her scared. And in pain. Anxious.

I ask her to relax her face, her jaw, and breathe in through her nose and out through her mouth. I am happy that the nurses also use our trusty friend the breath to help calm and relax her.

She come through as always.

She is a brave soul. The breath is her friend.

I watch him. So new. So little. So perfect.
He breathes and it's a fully body expression. His whole torso expands and contracts as he breathes in the newness of life. He is not stingy with his breath. It is not unfamiliar to him. He takes all of life in as he breathes in. Shares the goodness of life as he breathes out, by simply basking in his me-ness.

He doesn't need to do a thing, nor say a word. As my mom-in-law said, "New life is amazing." That sums it up...Amazing.

I stand in awe of the women in my life this week.

I stand in awe of the power of the human body to heal, to create, to support.

I stand in awe of the breath and it's magical powers to calm, soothe, and bring peace during all of life's moments. The moments of fear, joy, and hope.

Again I am reminded that teaching doesn't only occur in schedule time blocks.
And yoga doesn't just happen on the mat.