Breathing and Smiling

My lovely sister wrote me this weekend about a friend of hers. Hopefully you know someone like this, too. She described him as being "so easy to be with, it's like breathing and smiling."

I love that imagery. Breathing and smiling.

In my 7th and 8th grade girls' PE class on Thursday we practiced basic breathing techniques. Try it with us: sit in a cross-legged position with relaxed but erect posture on the floor, hands on your stomach to feel the diaphragm's movement, and "breath in." Take slow, controlled inhalations through your nose that last 4 to 7 seconds. Now hold it for a couple seconds before your blow it through an imaginary straw for 6 to 10 seconds. Once all out, take a second or two to enjoy the emptiness. Then start again. Focus on the breathing itself, keeping your eyes either shut or trained on a single spot. Don't let your mind wander to all the beckoning distractions. Be single-minded. Feel the air refresh as it enters and cleanse as it exits. Breathe like this for several minutes, then smile from your toes to your scalp. Smile big.

With the young girls, this practice takes some adjustment. Youth typically wants to move and jump and shout. But many commented later that although at first they were bored or distracted, soon they found themselves relaxed and alert yet without being pulled anywhere but closer to their own breath.

I imagine my sister's friend is much like that. Natural, perhaps even "common." Yet the more you focus and cut out distraction, the more you realize that the relationship brings refreshment and cleansing. What a pleasant spirit to be near.

What kind of a spirit are you sharing today?