On Spaciousness
What comes to mind when you hear the word spacious? How does spaciousness feel in your body?
In my yoga classes, you will often hear me say “breathe into spaciousness.” As I’ve lived through quarantine, I find accessing and creating spaciousness to be more important than ever.
Spaciousness reminds me of sitting on a wide open sandy beach before anyone else arrives, walking through a large field with an open sky above, being on my Brooklyn roof top in the early morning when the day is quiet, exhaling at the end of yoga class while sensing ease in my body and pausing before opening my eyes at the end of a meditation to savor the final moments before my day begins again.
Spaciousness does not remind me of being in a small elevator, being surrounded by noise, in a dark room, or in a conversation with someone who keeps disregarding my ideas.
Qualities of spaciousness affect me in bodily, mental, and emotional capacities. I feel a sense of freedom, empowerment, and ease. I am reminded that life is bigger than what I am seeing in this moment. I become creative and begin to imagine what is beyond my understanding. I open up and walk into the vast existence of being.
Sometimes spaciousness feels luxurious. With more money you can buy more land, a bigger home, a larger hotel room or a safari trip. Depending on your responsibilities, you can take more days off from work or ease into your day with long mornings. But that is temporary spaciousness and you’ll always want more.
True spaciousness is available inside each of us. It is in the room we give ourselves to consider our thoughts and experiences, the amount of time we give ourselves to respond to something or someone and how we accept and hold all parts of our complex identities. This kind of spaciousness might still sound like a luxury because our culture tells us to speed up, think fast and fit into a box.
Fortunately, yoga and meditation give us the tools to live spacious lives. Let’s create a new culture that celebrates living as our biggest fullest selves.
