One is everything: the air element

As both an air sign and someone who loves a good backbend, I’ve been looking forward to exploring the air element in class. Air is our life force and our connection to every living thing. Even though we can’t see it, it is all around us and simultaneously within us. 

In yoga, pranayama (control of the breath) is essential to the practice and to ultimately living a meaningful and peaceful life. On the mat, it helps us go deeper into a pose and to practice moving meditation, which is why a juicy yoga class typically leaves us feeling calm and relieved of physical tension. Outside of the physical practice, it allows us to move through our day with clear thoughts, reduced anxiety, and a more accurate perception of our experiences. Our thoughts and emotions, like air, are with us through the ups and downs of life. 

Similar to the water element, air is duality. It comes and goes. It can be powerful or gentle. It can be natural or controlled. It is yours and it is mine. 

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras teach us that everything in the universe is made up of the same energy. When we detach from our thoughts, emotions, and bodies, what we are is essentially just that: pure energy. The air that we breathe enters and leaves our bodies and becomes one with the same air that fills plants, animals, and other humans. This makes us no different from any other living thing we interact with. So, taking care of ourselves means existing harmoniously with other living things. 

Meditation for air:

When breathing in, imagine life or ‘I am’. 

When holding the breath, feel the steady understanding of the truth that one is. 

And, when exhaling, notice the mind empty of all its illusions or chatter, realizing that one is everything.

Class playlist:

Love + light.

Lex