Respira Yoga

First let’s breathe! Inhale deeply and exhalale deeply. Relax the body and let the shoulders down. Inhale…exhale. Let’s do this together. Inhale through the nose, lift the chest up to the sky and exhale evethyting through the mouth, dropping the bottom of your wings closer to the back of your heart. Relax… you can Close the eyes and do this for a couple of times. Just Take a couple of deep breaths. Allow yourself to take a moment, while reading this, to actually breathe and stay present in your body, relaxing the body and the monkey mind:)

We’re running all the day through our meetings of the life, tiring and stressing for random mundan reasons, accumulating tension in our physical bodies, tension that can lead into deficiencies or Even diseases. We work, work, work, trying to be better and better, reaching the NexT top of the mountain, always willing to become stronger, wiser and happier. But We forget to Take this tiny Little moment to breathe. I mean, really breathe! Having a moment of being in the present, just observing the fact that we’re alive. We’re inhaling fresh air into the lungs and exhaling carbon dioxide through the nose or mouth back into the atmoshere. It’s a chemical exchange between the physical body of the being and all that surround it. We source oxygen from the air. Green plants release oxygen as a waste product of photosynthesis; we use that oxygen to fuel our metabolic reactions, releasing carbon dioxide as a waste product. You are breathing! Now, roll the shoulders back and down and lift the corners of the mouth. Thank you for being!

Why Yoga?

Because Yoga is Union. The word ‘yoga’ comes from the sanskrit root word ‘yuj’, which means ‘to join’, or ‘to unite’. In yoga, the emphasis is first on self-practice. Patanjali, who is known as the “Father of Yoga” and lived 2500 years ago, wrote the Yoga Sutras, which contains 196 verses (Sutra’s) explaining the practice and the pathway to reach Union. Patanjali’s definition of Yoga is contained in the second Sutra, ‘YogasChittaVrittiNirodhah’, which can be translated to: “Yoga is the Process of Controlling the Modifications of the Mind”.

Mind can be easily distracted. By everything that surround us. Mostly thoughts, memories of the past or projections of the future. And the present? We don’t have thoughts about it, because it’s still happening, right? Like one of my favourite movie character, Master Oogway Sais: ‘Yesterday is a history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift, that is why it is called present’.

This gift that We reach for everytime and it’s always here, So Close to us, closer than We thought. Just in our breath. In this inhalation and in this exhalation. This is a certain thing that we know. That we’re breathing beings. Like the Dasein of Heidegger, that ‘being there’ or ‘presence’ that is the essence of everything.

The life starts with a breath and ends When is no breath. So, Why We put So Little attention on the only thing that keeps us alive? Because is the only process that happens voluntary and involuntary in our bodies. Automatic breathing allows the breath to sustain life When voluntary Respiration is not possible, for example during our sleep. The medulla, located nearest the spinal cord, directs the spinal cord to maintain breathing, and the pons, a part of the brain very near the medulla, provides further smoothing of the respiration pattern. This control is automatic, involuntary and continuous. But we are not conscious about it all the time, aren’t we? The good thing is we also can breathe consciously, being completely aware of the process of breathing.

In order to mantain awareness and to reduce distraction, there are some tools that yoga gives, such as Pranayama practice, wich is the controlling of the breath or breathing exercises, that anyone can do.

There are many pranayama techniques, such as: Ujjayi, Full Yogic Breath, Kapalbhati, Nadi Shodana, Bhastrika, etc. If you’re curious, you can Search about and try At home. Some of them are really easy to do, some of them requires a Little more practice. Just be sure you’re doing them correctly. Maybe you have already tried some of them without knowing they are pranayama techniques, during the Acting School, Music School, Dancing School etc.

One of the best ways to reduce stress and bring awareness inside is through Meditation. Sitting still, breathing in a relaxed manner and keep the focus only on the breath, while letting the thoughts pass away. In order to mentain the body relaxed and still as long as We do this, We can train it by doing Asanas, postures that are designed to help the body calibrate to it’s natural shape.

It’s just being aware of the tools We already have in our bodies and what We can do with these tools to improve our lives and Even the world We live in. Beautiful, isn’t it?

As actors, We run all the time for auditions, workshops, masterclasses, camps, classes of canto, dancing, balet, tap, juggling, pantomime and who knows what, just to improve our skills. ‘The actor is Like a Sponge that absorbs everything around’, said my Drama teacher one day. Our awarness should be up all the time, from the moment we wake up, till we go to sleep. We observe, research, process, incubate, get inspired, translate and integrate the creative work to the outer world. Sometimes We wait for a feedback, sometimes not, because the feeling of bringing an authentic creation to life is just enough for our souls. Maybe not enough for our bellies, but that’s other discussion. Sayings like ‘the difference between a pizza and an actor is that the pizza can Feed a family’ aren’t just myths, sometimes. Well, At least the soul is fullfilled. A good Performance brings such a joy to the performer, that he/she can easily forget about the remuneration. Well, If you’re Like that, welcome to the boat. I m willing to meet you and to Find out your story, Share a Glass of tap water and talk about an actor’s life.

I didn’t choose to become an actress in order to be rich. I’ve never wanted a big fancy house, nor a Lamborghini, nor mounthly installments. I just wanted to act and sing, no matter what the circumstances. That was all. And still is. I’ve been working for 4 years in “The Mask Theatre”, Bucharest and 2 years in “National Theatre Aureliu Manea” in Turda, gathering over 50 shows, verbal and non-verbal, performed in different parts of Romania, as well as international, in Switzerland, England, Turkey, Italy, Bulgaria, Spain, Canada and more. All this experiences made me understand I have to practice hard and really love what I do in order to create an authentic work. I am a being in search of means through which I can develop myself to create an original artistic product.