Column: Jeremy Corey-Gruenes, Paths to Peace

One of my favorite things about teaching is learning from my students. The lessons aren’t always immediately apparent, but I think most teachers know what I mean. For example, a student’s reaction to a family hardship recently reminded me how important it is to let go of some commitments when other more pressing ones surface.

A girl in one of my advanced classes was struggling academically because a parent’s health problems had turned her life upside down. Her attendance was declining; her attention when present was sketchy. The high-minded ideas and sacrifices we often talk about abstractly in my humanities classroom were suddenly very near and concrete to her. Normally a very dedicated student, she had to consciously set aside her studies and attend to her family. It was the only reasonable and responsible thing to do.

After learning more about her situation, her academic dean and teachers assured her everyone at school would help her as much as we could. Still I could see that letting go was difficult for her.

My wife, Jenny, teaches too, mostly research writing to college students, so she has the opportunity to learn about all sorts of things she might never have investigated on her own through her students’ writing. Recently a student paper brought forth a mind-blowing revelation: Breathing is incredibly important.

Breathing. Seriously. Who would have thought? But it’s not just breathing. It’s deep breathing.

I feel like now would be an appropriate time to be clear I’m not slipping into sarcasm. I’m serious. This is fantastic stuff. One of Jenny’s students wrote a research paper arguing that if everyone did an hour of Pranayama yoga a day, early in the morning, before eating, we would see large scale health improvements, largely due to the benefits of increasing oxygen levels in the body.

All yoga places an importance on mindful, deep breathing, but Pranayama yoga really focuses on it. In fact, one could realize some of the benefits of doing Pranayama without doing any yoga poses at all, from just breathing deeply and mindfully.

I know few people who can sustain an ideal Pranayama yoga practice — an hour a day, every day, early in the morning — but what if we took our expectations down a notch? What if we started by simply doing more deep breathing, through the nose (making your chest big) and completely pushing all of your breath out (making your stomach push against your back) for shorter stretches of time, almost every day?

While Jenny and I both have some history with yoga, mindful breathing, and meditation, I remain the cynic in our family, so I was a little skeptical of her student’s bold claims.

Then the flu hit our house just before Christmas, and everyone except Jenny got it. It didn’t make any sense. Jenny was in the trenches, even sleeping with our little pukers, and somehow she never succumbed. Maybe a mom’s immune system just rises to the occasion at times like this, but Jenny normally gets sick with the rest of us. What was different in this case was she had started the Pranayama yoga practice right before the flu hit, and she continued it while everyone else was sick.

It was proof enough for me to start doing yoga with her. I’ve become hooked, and yoga fever has spread at our house. Our young daughters often jump in and join us for a few poses. Our 7-year-old, Ava, has even taken to repeating the mantra, “Om” while soaking in the tub.

What I know for sure from starting this practice is I feel great afterward. We continue to integrate more poses and stretches into the deep breathing routine, and I’ve been amazed at how quickly our bodies have become more flexible. If only our minds worked that way too — willing to bend and change when we make the time to practice.

I’ve never been successful at sustaining a practice like this. I’m kind of lazy, and other commitments and priorities can get in the way. I’ve run consistently for years, but that’s different; running is how I often get home from work — as much a necessity as a choice. But sustaining this yoga practice might actually work because my expectations are moderate and reasonable.

We’re not doing things just as Jenny’s student recommended. I won’t be waking up earlier than 6 a.m. to do yoga (right now), but I can still benefit from practicing later in the day. I won’t be doing it for an hour each day (right now), but maybe 20 minutes almost every day is a good enough start, and maybe at some point in my life when my 4-year-old doesn’t jump on my back during the chanting of “Om” routine we do at the end, I might be able to sustain 10 deep breaths in a row, instead of five.

While home for Christmas, my brother reminded me of a favorite saying, “All things in moderation, especially moderation,” which I like to hear during the holidays when overindulgence is so convenient. But the original line, “All things in moderation” is great to remember as we strive to reach high-minded goals, knowing we can’t always get there.

Practicing yoga in moderation is a good thing, something I think I can sustain without neglecting my other priorities. Humanities in moderation might be a good thing too, something that’s fine to let slide when important priorities arise at home.

Jeremy Corey-Gruenes teaches English and humanities at Albert Lea High School. He lives in Albert Lea with his wife and two young daughters and can be contacted at jcorey2@gmail.com.