Ok, what happened to February! Time is flying by...
Last month I graduated from my 200hr hatha yoga teacher training course. My teacher was Daniella Ambika Cotreau who runs Body Temple Yoga. She is an alignment based practitioner with an emphasis on heart opening. I love her and I am in love with my yoga practice. It has helped me in so many ways. In both my physical body and my state of mind. If you are looking for a tool to help you carve your own path I can't say enough about incorporating a yoga practice.
I decided that a fun and supportive way to practice my teaching skills would be with my friends at our homeschool park day. I am so fortunate to have such an amazing group of parents, mostly women, who are willing to engage in new ideas in such thoughtful ways. What a fantastic group of people I get to practice with, lucky me.
I know most mom's do not have a lot of time on their hands during the day and trying to find time to nourish ourselves is a challenge. Even when you do find yourself with a free 20min. how do you choose what to do!! The busy life of a mom can be pretty overwhelming. I can tell you from experience of an overwhelmed, stressed out, yelling, crying mom that taking time to do a small amount of yoga and meditation has changed my life for the better.
I have made the changes in my life to add that free time to the beginning of my day, but that does not mean you need to do this in the morning. It can happen anytime during the day, just do your best to make a commitment to carving this time for yourself everyday. You deserve it!! 20 minutes to yourself is not too much to ask and all the stuff that isn't getting done...it will wait. So, the first job is for you to explore your day and decide where you can commit to 20min. (after lunch? before dinner? after dinner? before bed? morning?) Find the time.
Once you find the time here is where you start. Start by creating a physical foundation for your well being. The easiest place to start in that process is with your body. The physical foundation of our overactive bodies is our feet. So, lets start by giving our feet some attention. Stand with your feet hip distance apart and just play with your feet on the earth. Give your feet some attention and notice how you stand where does the weight fall. Is it evenly distributed or do you tend to lean back or forward, inward or outward? Just notice and breathe. Then notice your inner thighs and hips, your low belly and pelvic bowl. Just notice how you are standing. Play with tilting your hips and working your inner thighs. See how different positions feel. Just take time to stand with complete attention on your body and your stance, and breathe. Once you have established a connection with your feet and lower body bring your attention to your shoulders, lift them toward the sky and bring your shoulders back and your shoulder blades onto your back. Keep a slight hug between your shoulder blades to keep your chest lifted and open. BREATHE. Keep your chin level with the earth and bring your head over your shoulders so it is supported by your spine and not pulling you forward. BREATHE.
Now you can take that work down to the floor. Find a comfortable seat where you are able to keep your lower belly engaged, your spine elongated, your chest/heart open and your breathing easy and deep. Sit and breathe and just let you mind monkey mind race in mediation for 5 minutes. Focus on your breath. Don't berate yourself...let the thoughts come and go. Change your thoughts to thoughts of love and charity towards others and towards yourself. Let go of the idea you will be sitting in complete quiet and that you will have a 'quiet' mind. It takes decades of practice, so just let go, and be where you are now and breathe.
Just doing this practice for 5/10 minutes is powerful. Connecting with your body, engaging your breath and connecting to the earth is yoga. Use it.
