Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Yoga on the side

The first summer my kids were away at sleepaway camp, I moved from the city to my house the day after they left. I went to the city for yoga most mornings and unpacked and worked in the garden most afternoons. I knew no one here and had almost no social life.

The second summer, last summer, I went to see Christopher every morning. Despite having no responsibilities all day long, I awoke at the crack of dawn and took a train in to begin practicing by 8 a.m. Sometimes I had a meal with yoga friends after. Most days, I was shattered by late afternoon, dozing on the back porch, sometimes getting a second wind later on, sometimes not. Yoga was center stage and it ate up almost all my energy.

This summer, with my broken hand, my plans for a yoga-heavy bootcamp-like experience have been sidelined. Instead, I have been seeing friends, going out for meals, going to the theater, taking long walks in the city, going for long runs out here in the country.

I ALSO do yoga.

Today it was Jivamukti. Yesterday Bikram. The day before, I ran six miles. The day before that, I did Ashtanga at home. The day before that, Jivamukti. Also saw Hair on Broadway that same night. I love the variety. I love the balance. I haven't lost any flexibility or strength, but I don't feel overtrained, and I don't feel burnt out. Plus, I don't feel constrained...like I used to .... to not take long walks, to not make evening plans, to not put yoga first.

I think that it was scary for me before, to have a life not bound by rules. But it turns out to not be so scary at all...

YC

4 comments:

DebPC said...

Sounds oddly like... balance.

Lees Lamar said...

This is good. You got a life.

Lees Lamar said...

Now stop bagging on the Ashtangis.
Everyone's got to get their own ticket out of the cult.

Yoga Chickie said...

Right you are...we all have our little red sequined shoes. It's just a matter of figuring out how to click em.

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About Me

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Northern Westchester, New York, United States
I live by a duck pond. I used to live by the East River. I don't work. I used to work a lot. Now, not so much. I used to teach a lot of yoga. Now not so much. I still practice a lot of yoga though. A LOT. I love my kids, being outdoors, taking photos, reading magazines, writing and stirring the pot. Enjoy responsibly.

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