Trepidation. That’s what I felt when I began to contemplate the journey of 6 days a week of practice. Could I do it? And at what cost to my family? Will this affect my boys? Will it take time away from them? Immediately, thoughts of guilt set in. It’s amazing how good I am at feeling guilty since I became a mother. At the end of this internal argument I came up with the following…Yoga has taught me patience, self respect, and strength (physical and emotional). If those characteristics can make me a better mother, providing a strong example to my boys, a committed practice was worth a shot. My hope is that with a dedicated practice I will continue my journey not only in developing strength and flexibility in the asanas, but more importantly continue to celebrate my spirit, encouraging self love and self respect.
In order to commit to this challenge, I had enlist the support of my husband, kids and friends. I knew I couldn’t do it alone and I am pleased to say all have stepped up and provided me with support. Attempting to schedule practices in my week has already been difficult. My good intentions have been interrupted by LIFE. I have, however, made it to the mat 5 days this week. In addition to 2 led classes I have introduced 2 EARLY morning practices and one home practice.
How do I feel? Tired. But invigorated at the same time. I am also proud of myself. I have successfully completed my first week without taking time away from my family and without feeling (much) guilt for what I sometime perceive as selfishness. I think that is going to take a while for me to get over.
Early morning practices are different than the afternoons. I takes me longer to warm up and I find that my hamstrings and hips take longer to open up. This morning I attempted to stand up from urdhva dhanurasana and it just wasn’t going to happen. I initially felt frustration and some anger. “Why the heck is this hard today?” but then I forced myself to step back and appreciate that fact that I had made it to the mat. Be happy with that! Practicing by myself has also forced me to be self motivating and accepting to the fact I may not always have an energized practice.
One week down, many, many, many to go. Goals for this journey….lifting up and jumping back without using blocks, binding in supta kurmasana, generally improving my strength. More importantly I want to live yoga. Not only asana but incorporating the philosophy of yoga into my life. Lofty? Yes. Attainable? Hopefully.
Lindsay will be posting her practice journal over the next four months. She has been practicing at City Yoga since the early days in the Steamplant, works and has two little children. When she expressed some frustration to me about her progress in her practice which was pretty consistently 3-4 days a week, I suggested that she try for a period of time to practice six days a week, taking off moon days and the first three days of her menstrual cycle. She was up for the idea and started right at the beginning of May. Not a small task to bring add on to an already busy life, she has to fit practice some mornings, and some evening but she is making it work! Lindsay, thank you for sharing this with all of us.
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