It is a common fact that a baby’s breath is so sweet. Che doesn’t smell like a newborn anymore but when he is sleeping I often snuggle up beside him and hold him close so I can listen to him breathe. Such long, calm breaths, his whole torso rising and falling, rising and falling. His breath is still so new and pure. I wish I could bottle it.

As we all grow older we (can) loose our natural flexibility and I’ve just some to realise that we also loose our natural ability to breathe deeply and calmly. We become so caught up in our fast-paced lives that we begin to breathe into our chest instead of our belly. We have to be reminded how to breathe sometimes. The essence of life is breath and the essence of yoga is balanced breathing. I teach all my students to breathe through their nose and into their belly – just like a baby. Today I reminded my pre-natal students that the sound of their own breath will comfort and guide them through labour and birth.

And this afternoon Che found his first Dandelion. And so I picked it for him, gave it to him to hold and I taught him how to breathe softly and make a wish. He watched as the fluffy white seeds floated off into the ether and then we came inside where it was warm and cosy.

I just held him in my arms and I listened to his breath get heavier and slower until he gave in to sleep.