A moment of light on the night of a dark moon
“The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—
Little we see in Nature that is ours…”
-William Wordsworth
Hi Mamas, and happy new moon! It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything and I’m glad I gave myself a break. Everyone needs a break now and then and if the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t at least taught us that, then I don’t know how else we can feel like the past year has been anything but a waste of time.
What I’ve been thinking now is, what is the bare minimum I can do to keep myself centered when I feel like I just don’t have time for anything extra? Or sometimes the question is, what’s the least I can do to stay connected to my yoga practice when I least feel like doing anything?
At the moment, both of my kids are asleep and I know that the time change is going to make us all get up a little later tomorrow. And as I often find myself at the end of the day with just a little time on my hands and yet, the slight inner pressure to go to bed so I can get rest, I realize that what I need most is:
a complete exhale,
a relaxed jaw and face,
shoulders down,
and a lingering pause at the end of that exhale
There. My little poem about the power of one breath. No, not even one breath, but one part of a breath, the part where we are empty just before we fill up again. That’s the essence of new moon energy, empty, still, dark.
What’s your bare minimum yoga practice right now? And how does it make you feel?