In my teacher training with Cathy Cesario of Spirit Tree Yoga & Healing Practices, there was a mantra of deep and layered meaning - for us as individuals and for us as a collective tribe: "Beauty all around me". As I practiced a slow Sunday morning flow this morning on the beach with Coral Brown and the yogis of All That Matters Yoga and Holistic Health Center, this mantra was ever present.
Overnight, the humidity dropped and the northeasterly breeze picked up. The clouds were heavy - but the pale grey overhead still offered its own brightness. Yes, we tend to think of bright blue skies as the "ideal". However, i would argue there is much to be said of the blanket of pale grey. The ocean is calm today and the sound of the waves was easier to match to the rhythm of my breath. There were pauses between one wave crashing and then the next - truly symbolic of the 4 parts of the breath.
In each pause, where I sat back on my heels and gazed toward the horizon, I was struck at by how beautiful the moment was, and for so many reasons. The breeze made the air just the right temperature for the movement to be both warming on the inside and cooling on the skin. The sound of the ocean and rhythm of the waves created a cushion for my breath, and all the easier to clear the mind with each wave pulling back into itself. The sound of the flag snapping in the breeze was a reminder to come back to the present if I had drifted away a bit. And the cloud layer offered a more nuanced color scheme to the sky and the ocean below.
I am humbled by the moments where I am reminded how both small and large I am in this great big, boundless universe. I am all there is and I am nothing - infinite and finite at the same time.
Beauty all around me. May you enjoy a few of the photos I snapped as I held on to the calm and integration of savasana. Happy Sunday, friends.