All Things Are Connected

One Friday after yoga, the Ging(e), Art and I were walking at Camp Kekoka. The Ging(e) brought up the opening meditation I had led on connectedness that morning. I had asked students to feel their breath expanding in all directions, noticing that it didn’t end with them, but that it expanded to others in the room and beyond, connecting us to all beings. That connection, I had said, was the essence of yoga: a state of union with all things and a method for realizing interconnectedness. 

“Your meditation was a little woo-woo,” said the Ging(e). Art, a self-described non woo-woo guy, nodded in agreement. 

“It was NOT woo-woo,” I replied with mock indignation. “Everyone and everything on earth is connected, even if it’s just through the air we breathe.” 

“Oh, it was woo-woo,” teased the Ging(e). 

Art told me later that our conversation had reminded him of Caesar’s Last Breath, a book by Sam Kean that presents the science and history of the air we breathe. A few days later I found the book in the yogavan with a note from Art that said, “You were right! Connectedness, baby!” 

I read in the intro Kean’s assertion that we were all breathing the same breath and, in fact, that in any given breath we took, we were more than likely inhaling some of the 25 sextillion molecules from the last breath Julius Caesar expelled on the Ides of March in 44 BC. It was a scientifically-backed and fascinating premise that validated my (non woo-woo!) belief that all things were indeed connected. 

It was typical of Art to take the time to process our conversation and to share his own explorations on the topic. His gesture validated my connectedness belief even more than the book itself. Yes, we’re connected through the molecules in the air we breathe, but more importantly, we’re connected through the discussions we have and the walks we take with friends. We’re connected through the sharing of ideas and through the ways we learn from each other and grow together. 

If that’s woo-woo, then I’ll take it. Connectedness, baby. The essence of yoga.