Sun Salutations: Motherhood Series

Spring in Seattle 2008. Well before I became a mother…

My daily sun salutation poses are a little non traditional. There’s the:

• Roll Over and See What time it is Pose
• Baby on Boob before he screams Pose
• Putter to bathroom with toddler on hip Pose
• Cheerio pour and high-chair monitor Pose
• Wipe snot/spit/mushed up food stain on clothes Pose

And for the balancing pose sequence, there is the:

• Hold everything in one arm while closing the door and beating back the crazy dog with the foot Pose, which is known for maximizing the glutes, thighs, abs and arms, with the mantra “is it really Monday?”

Sure, my yoga looks a little different than yours, but it’s about strength and flexibility and maintaining mindfulness in these moments that is helping me cope with motherhood as a backslidden yogini. Because, a traditional practice gets interupted…like last night when I was 8 minutes into a 15 minute sequence and Potamus refused to go to sleep to music/back rub with daddio. He wanted mama snuggles and that was that. And so there, in the middle of Warrior 1, I became Mama Warrior #1 and vinyasayed my booty into the back bedroom and did a little shavasana with the little man.

Today I feel stronger and more present than I have in a long-time.