More and more, I’ve gotten better at giving myself permission to pause and have a mini yoga session. Sometimes that means taking a few deep breaths as I feel my feet on the ground, other times it means I get on the rug and do a few poses, and occasionally I find a spot on the wall for some supported poses.
Today, when the baby went down for a nap, I lay down next to the baby and let the weight of my body sink into the bed as I listened to a guided meditation. I recalled the word ‘sink,’ which I focused on last week as a possible ‘word of the month.’ I fell asleep during the meditation and took that as a sign that I needed rest!
Afterwards, I put my foot up on my thigh to stretch my hip. What a luxurious way to check in with my hips while still resting. It sounds lazy, but it’s a reminder to me that sometimes yoga is rest and other times it’s work.
Life as a mom has been such a revealing window into how senseless it can be to push myself through a strenuous practice no matter what. I used to feel that yoga had to be physically challenging all the time, but now I see the gift of motherhood is that constant reminder to sometimes take my foot off the gas. No need to stop fully; sometimes coasting at low speed is just as good. Sometimes yoga is just relaxing, letting go, and just being.
Has motherhood brought any realizations to you about your life and yoga practice? How has your yoga practice changed since becoming a mother? Or did you start practicing once you got pregnant or became a mom?