In yoga classes, you’ll often hear the teacher tell you to “breathe into” a pose. Usually they’re talking about inhaling into an area of tension or discomfort or resistance so that you can relax that area as you exhale.
Recently, while taking a few minutes to stretch and breathe on my mat, I found myself in a pose that felt uncomfortable. Not in a bad way, but in a deep stretch way.
Like I’ve always been taught, I took a deep inhale, visualizing my breath moving into the area that felt tight and tense. And on my exhale I began to relax that area, moving more deeply into the stretch.
That action of moving more deeply into the stretch brought a little more discomfort, but it also brought a relaxed acceptance of that discomfort. It allowed me to stretch more, and also allowed me to tolerate the tension better.
I don’t always have big revelations or get important messages when I’m on my Yoga mat, but this one hit me square in the Third Eye.
When you’re feeling tension in your life, when discomfort arises, when you’re in a space of resistance, pause. Take a deep breath into the space where you’re experiencing that feeling. Then slowly exhale and begin to relax around it.
The tension will dissipate. The discomfort will fade. The resistance will ease.
You’ll be able to stretch a little further and tolerate the discomfort a little more each time, which will help you to move through fear, tension and resistance, and closer and closer to your dreams.
Just breathe.
Ami Youngs Coaching 