The Space Between

Breath. We go about from thing to thing unaware of the life force that comes in with each inhalation. Unaware of the wastes that we rid ourselves of on the exhale. We don't notice the breath until we are short of it, or nearing our last one. Then we struggle with the most basic part of being alive, the very thing that sustains us. We clutch at it. Breathe, inhale, exhale......it's a continuos cycle, like the waves in the ocean. The breath ebbs and flows. Its also like the ocean in the way we can manipulate it, use it, and watch it.  But it differs from the ocean in the fact that we can master it.  In the practice of yoga one of the most central tenants is breath awareness. Becoming in tune with the breath and just simply witnessing those waves, you can find that there is something else besides the inhale and exhale....the space between. In Sanskrit "kumbaka". At the end of each inhhale the is a subtle pause, and the end of the exhale, a subtle pause. Try it-take a breath in and out while you are reading this. Find it? That space between is where, for a spit second,  we can just... be.  As you notice the pause, perhaps over time, with practice, it will grow. Bringing you closer to the state of samadhi, just witnessing your nature in the sea of your breath.. When I first began my yoga teacher training, one of the things I most needed to get in touch with was my breath...I was asthmatic, and it was a struggle. I remember my teacher's voice, softly reminding me ..."breathe...breathe."  Something shifted through the practice; I have caught my breath now...(side note-bye bye asthma!) The inhales and exhales come like waves. And recently,  in meditation I have caught myself  floating for extended periods between the ebb and flow,blissfully unaware,  until I catch myself  just being....in the space between.