You are a wave on the face of the ocean.

When the wave is gone is the water gone?

Has anything happened?

It is a play, a game, a dance.
~ Joseph Campbell

What do you feel like when you watch the waves?

When you sit by the ocean and look out into its vastness and watch the steady rhythm of the swells forming, waves breaking and stillness in between the waves. what wells up inside of you? Can you feel the energy from the motion of the waves? Can you find a sense of calm and stillness inside from watching the beauty and rhythm of the ocean?

Waves are moving energy.
They are part of a larger body of water such as a lake, ocean or river. A wave is created from energy and resistance. On the ocean waves are formed when the energy of the wind meets the resistance of the water creating a moving wave. In rivers, waves are formed when the energy of moving water being pulled by gravity meets the resistance of rocks on the river bottom creating a standing wave. In either case it is the energy that is moving while the form stays in place.

Kayakers and surfers use waves as their playground. There is something magical about feeling the pulse of raw powerful energy beneath you as you ride the surface of a wave. The wave cannot be tamed. You must focus all your attention to connect with its flow and feel its magic.

Riding the wave of the breath in yoga reminds us that we are part of a bigger energy.
Our breath has a wave-like action moving in and out of our body. It connects every living creature to each other. Just as the water creating the waves never vanishes, the air, the energy of our breath is eternal. Tapping into this wave-like movement helps to nourish our spines and improve our vitality. Just like the rivers and oceans, our breath cannot be tamed. We must focus on finding its rhythm and moving with that rhythm.

The natural curves of a healthy spine at rest are shaped like a wave.
As you move through cat/cow, feel your spine changing shape. Bring your awareness to each vertebra noticing where it moves freely and where it might be stuck. Keep grounding through your hands and arms to set the foundation for this wave-like action. Allow the spine to ripple forward from down dog into plank filling up the back body to tap into its strength. We can use this wave-like movement through almost any sequence: from warrior II to reverse warrior, from triangle to side angle pose, from plank to cobra, from cobra to down dog. Try bringing this consciousness into your practice and notice how it feels.

The ultimate goal of yoga is samadhi – realizing that we are all connected to something bigger.

Feel the wave. Ride the wave. Realize you are the wave and you are the ocean.

Those who flow as life flows know they need no other force.
~ Lao Tzu