Take a Deep Breath

    As a lover of Pilates and yoga, I hear the phrase "And now... just take a nice, deep breath" several times a week. For a long while, this instruction annoyed me. I know how to breath quite well, actually. In my 21 years on Earth, I would love to think that that is one thing I have under wraps. This annoyance extends to other phrases that radiate the same energy, like the infamous "Remember to smile!". When we hear a phrase enough, it begins to lose its' true denotation and take in the poison of our feelings about the words.

    Formally, this is known as semantic drift, where a word's association and/or definition evolves over time due to major historical events, popular media, and culture at large. Think of the pairing of awful and awesome. Awe, being the root of both words, can be defined as a feeling of incredible respect mixed with fear or wonder. Originally, awesome and awful were synonyms for the fearful and reverent. As time progressed, awesome has retained the positive portion of the definition, leaving awful as the negative antonym. I think of these contradictions of the English language often. Naught and naughty are another example.

    When I hear the phrase "Take a deep breath", I hear it as a mantra, devalued in its' constant repetition, and reiterated by well-intentioned professionals. When I take a moment to dissect the skeleton of the phrase, I find it has incredible depth. The verb "To take" is not a passive one. In order to take something for yourself, you must possess courage and confidence to make a resource your own. To take something is to fill space, and to disavow the incredible speed of modern life for a few moments of peace. If you are told to "take a deep breath", the implication is more genuine and impactful than hearing the phrase as a reduction of self-help mantras.  The power of the phrase "take a deep breath" is so loving, yet so demanding. Take the deep breath because no one else can or will do it for you. Only you can allow yourself to breath deeply and experience the very essence of your existence: the ability to simply breathe.

    For me, the allure of grammatical nuance makes this such fun. In yoga and Pilates, when I demand that I take space for myself, and breath deeply, I am demanding inner peace for myself and myself only. I find this to be such a beautiful analysis of an otherwise bothersome phrase I have heard countless times. Take what is rightfully yours. Breath deeply because you can and you should. Leaning into the power of taking in a mind-body practice like yoga is the basis of truly enjoying your practice. I hope you can take something for yourself this week. For me, I am taking time to work on a beaded embroidery of a stag beetle (my very favorite bug).Take a break, take a breath, and experience life a little more slowly.