I love yoga. I
started doing it shortly before I was pregnant with James, and found prenatal
yoga to be of huge benefit. Returning to
a power yoga routine after his birth shed the baby weight (and more) faster
than I could have imagined. (We’ll see
if that holds true for any future babies…I won’t hold my breath.) Since VWH was home for the summer, yoga fell
by the wayside as we substituted long walks, playing in the backyard, and
library and ice cream trips instead. But
now school is back in session and it’s time to resume the regular workout
routine. I aim to do yoga on Mondays,
Wednesdays, and Fridays, with errand running and walks on the other days. This way I’ll have a nice mix and in case I’m
not always in the mood for yoga, I don’t have the pressure of doing it every
day. I’m so organized and motivated it
makes me sick.
Today was the first day of the new regimen. Back in the spring I would put James down for
his morning nap, complete a 55 minute workout, shower, and still have a little
time for housework or lunch. His naps
have been a bit sporadic lately, but he’s recently been sleeping for at least
two hours in the morning, so I optimistically placed him, asleep, in his crib
around 9:30 am, anticipating the fantastic feeling of a great yoga workout.
The first part of the DVD goes well. I’m aware of more stiffness than usual, but
that makes sense since I haven’t done intense stretching in a few months. My arms are a little weaker, but that will
come back. Overall I’m pleased with
where I’m at. It takes a few minutes to
get back into the clearness of mind and rhythmic breathing yoga demands, but I
start to hit my stride. “This is the
life.”
Then life catches up with me.
Inhale, upward
dog. Exhale, downward dog…
The baby monitor: “Ehhh??
Meh? Ba ba ba??”
Me: “Maybe he’ll go back to sleep.”
Sink into Warrior One,
letting yourself turn into a long arch…
The monitor: “… … EhhhhHHH!”
Me: “Comon’ James. You’ve
barely been up there a half-hour.”
Press your right leg
into the earth as you balance with your left leg pressed out…
Monitor: “Waaaahh?
AAAAANNHHH!”
Me: “OK. He’s
awake. Maybe I can put him in his
bouncer and he can watch and entertain himself.”
I go rescue James, who is stuck standing in his crib (he can
stand up but hasn’t figured out how to sit back down yet), bring him downstairs
quickly, hoping I’ll stay loose and warm, and put him in the bouncer. He doesn’t like this but I turn the DVD back
on so that he has an immediate distraction.
Let yourself rock back
and forth with your legs crossed, grabbing your feet…
Me: I rock back and forth, saying “boo!” to James when I
come up.
James: “Ha ha!?! …
Ahhhhh!!!”
Come into cobbler’s
pose, pressing your thighs down…
James: “Ma ma ma ba ba bah!
WAAHHH!”
I come out of cobbler’s pose, pick James out of the bouncer
and hope he’ll crawl around me and enjoy his freedom while giving me enough
space to finish the final stretches.
Enjoy the stretch of
the seated forward bend…
James attempts to crawl over me as I’m bent in half.
Close your eyes and
let go of all the tension in your face…
I can’t, because I’m eyeing James shuffling along the edge
of the couch, looking for electronics to gnaw on.
Feel yourself drop
into the earth…
James finds a remote on the couch and drops it on my head.
Once again, mentally scan
your body from top to bottom, letting all of your worries and tensions melt
away…
James comes and buries his head in my stomach. It is clear he is finished with the whole
yoga thing. I take one last deep breath,
turn the DVD player off, pick up my little boy for a snuggle, and hope that I reaped
at least a partial benefit of the workout.
James grins at me happily, glad that I am finally done with my silly hippieness and ready to feed him some
lunch. He even babbles something like, “I’m
thrilled I could be of assistance to you Mom.”
Yes. Thank you James. Because of your help it’s 5 hours later and I’m
still waiting for my shower.
(He doesn’t seem to mind.)
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