Ahhh….

The kids are back to school.  The house is quiet, and Casey and I have mixed feelings about that.

flat Casey photo by shannon mayhew

We miss them.

But, we have some time to write!

Casey perks up photo by shannon mayhew

The extra quiet around here gives me the chance to focus on the blog, and to let you know what you can expect to see here this fall.

In this re-focusing, I thought about all of the things that I do.   I teach yoga, work with kids on managing stress, write bedtime stories and poetry, and I take photos and write for you on this blog.  Why?  I asked myself, what is the common thread that weaves it all together?

And the answer has to do with the title of this post.  You know that feeling you get when you are just coming out of deep relaxation after a yoga class?  Or if  you haven’t been to yoga (what are  you waiting for?), it’s this feeling when you are moved by a poem or a photograph.

zinnea photo by shannon mayhew

Or when you breathe relief through your body, when a particular source of stress has been removed.  Or you have one of those nights where you go to sleep feeling safe, cozy and content.

The feeling of “ahhh…..”  That is what I want to offer, through all I do and create.  When you are feeling “ahhh,” you are in tune with your sense of wonder and passion; it’s your soul saying, “yes, this is you.”

The sound ahhh can be found in most of the names we give for the Divine.  It is the sound of the breath, which draws the force of life throughout our bodies.

And ahh can unite us with one another, when several of us are connected with something that feels true and intense and beautiful.  As we say in yoga, when you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, we are one.

Namaste.