Siouxland Magazine - Volume 3 Issue 1

Siouxland Magazine | Balance /38
Passion for the Pause
By Dr. Meghan Nelson
It’s important to consult your physician or physical
therapist before beginning any new physical activity.
Always listen to your body and respect any warnings
you hear.
“I have no special talents.
I am only passionately curious.”
– Albert Einstein
I’m passionate about the pause—the pause in-between
breaths and movements, in-between seasons and
cycles, and in-between memories and the millions
of moments that shape them. I’m passionate about
the pause because it is instructional, it is healing, and
because it is, in its own curious way, fun.
It’s one of the most difficult practices, to take that
second for a breath, a stretch, or a word. What is
more difficult, if you’re anything like me, is to find
that moment in a space free of self-doubt or selfloathing.
How great would it be if in these moments
of mindfulness, of awareness, I could meet myself as
the witness and not as the judge and jury?
The most intimidating part is just beginning, to put it
simply, having the courage to start. Being comfortable
enough with yourself to just be. Recognizing that all
the cheesy affirmations of Stuart Smalley are true—that
“I am good enough, smart enough, and dog-gone-it,
people like me.” We’re all telling stories. What if ours
just started sounding a little kinder, more forgiving,
with some grace?
Being a physical therapist, I’ve always been interested
in the body ; however, it took becoming a yogi to
finally learn to be interested in my own body. It’s in
this journey, through the physical body, that I’ve
learned to connect to those deeper parts of myself,
the spaces that have been dormant for way too long.
I’d like to start helping you achieve finding that
place through breathing exercises. It is through
these exercises that you can calm your mind, center
yourself, ground yourself, and be present in the
moment. There are two breathing exercises I would
like to introduce to you. They are the centering breath
and ocean breathing.
Centering Breath: can help to bring focus and
clarity. Start in a mindful seated posture, fingertips
connected to the Earth. Pause for one breath of
gratitude for all the diverse, rich, and worthy life that
resides on this beautiful planet. Inhale, reach arms
up and overhead, pause with prayer hands towards
the heavens to connect with your angels, ancestors, and
divine light, energy, and love. Draw prayer hands to your
heart, center to pause and connect with your own breath
within. In that pause, we can find gratitude for the Earth
below us, the heavens above us, and the breath which
unites us all.