Follow Up Friday: Exhale Fullness

Have you ever had the experience of being really full and letting out a big exhale sigh? Aaah. When you exhale through your mouth, you are working on your digestive system. It’s a detoxification breath. Usually this is an unconscious gesture. Your body is doing what it needs to, to reset itself.

Our bodies naturally tend toward equilibrium. When we don’t have enough food, it will reset it’s metabolism so you won’t starve. And when you’ve eaten too much, it will do things to try and digest the food, even when it feels overtaxed.

I had this experience this morning and I associated it with the mindfulness work we have been doing all week in this blog. I’ve been focused on abundance or have more than enough.

It’s not so much what we experience in life but the perspective and meaning we associate with an experience that shapes our reality.

I was scheduled to teach my weekly kundalini yoga class this morning at 7 am. I thought of cancelling it, but didn’t. As I hung out with my family last night feeling stuffed, I dreaded getting up to teach the class and wished I had cancelled. Here in the states, the day after Thanksgiving is one spent sleeping in after a carbohydrate overload, shopping or hanging out with loved ones visiting.
So, I was not surprised when no one came to class this morning. I could have been upset, bummed, annoyed, etc. Instead, I did my daily yoga and meditation practice to an empty room. I decided when I got home I would climb back into bed and take a nap as I had planned a day off with my daughter who was home from college and still sleeping.

As I drove home, I suddenly noticed I took a big exhale and, not only felt physically full (I hadn’t eaten yet) but felt a deep sense of how full my life was. I had cooked yesterday for my daughter, her friend, a friend of mine and her daughter. Between turkey and pie everyone fell asleep on various couches in different rooms. I stayed awake and cleaned. I was not upset that I had little help cleaning. Instead I felt a deep sense of gratitude for having a full house – and one where guests felt comfortable enough to find a couch and drop on it.

I associated my deep exhale this morning with how I have been working on reworking my conditioning to notice and appreciate how full my life is. It’s no coincidence that a contract I have been working on for three months finally closed the day before Thanksgiving. One has deep exhales when they feel full. It’s enough. I don’t need anymore.

Focusing on what we want, not what we don’t want, helps us get more of what we want.

Gratitude grows.

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