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Two weeks ago, my friend Elif and I caught up on Zoom. It had been a few months since we last connected. We met through Breath School earlier this year, and our love for the breath, yin yoga, and nature's cycles brought us together even though our homes are on different shores of the Atlantic Ocean. As we spoke about how breathwork was showing up in our lives, I felt that familiar inkling of inspiration I always do when talking with Elif. I remembered she'd sent me her reflections from a breath walk she took in the summer. She embodies a soft, long exhale (you'll get it after reading her grounding words below). After our Zoom, I meandered through my emails to find her email from July. While she wrote about her walk right in the middle of summer, the "cold water," the "gasps of air," and the "sprint to get warm" all resonated with me now that the chill had settled into upstate New York. After re-reading it, I drove to Spa Park to follow in her steps, thousands of miles away. I walked to the hidden geyser that sits to the left of my favorite trail, crouched down, and let the spigot's cold water run over my left hand. I sighed. I hummed. I laughed, just like Elif did on the tail end of the Summer Solstice. Both of us letting the cold and the conscious breaths reset the chaotic rhythm of our days in different seasons. Enjoy Elif's words below! If they stir something in you, I hope you venture out on a breath walk that is all your own.
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