Following the breath

How does your body deal with change? How do you deal with change? Today I experienced my first Yin Yoga class. The fundamental characteristics of yin yoga is that it is primarily floor poses that are held for longer period of time- from a few minutes to 20 minutes. When I first entered each pose, it felt slightly uncomfortable- for example, in seated forward bend, I felt slight pain in my middle and upper back from bending forward. I directed all of my breath to that part of the body and released the pain. Then my back felt great, but the pain moved to my legs; I breathed into the legs, and the discomfort vanished. After just a few minutes, any discomfort that I felt when I first entered the pose had disappeared, and I felt entirely comfortable in the pose. I felt that I could remain that way forever- in only a few minutes, my body had already accustomed to the pose. The breath has the ability to heal pain. This is true in yoga and in our daily lives- the challenge is remembering to return to the breath when unpleasant feelings arise. Change can be hard, but by following the breath and breathing into discomfort, we can deal with change, turning discomfort into pleasantness, pain into pleasure.