New Year - More Yoga

Happy New Year!

One of my resolutions this year is to Do More Yoga so you might find it ironic that it's officially day 2 of 2011 and I've yet to do a single asana. I'm 3 and 1/2 hours from my home in Frederick, visiting family in Pennsylvania and I'll be honest - I didn't even pack my yoga mat. I knew I wouldn't do any yoga. I knew there wouldn't be enough room in the room where I've been sleeping. I knew I wasn't going to venture out into the living room and do yoga while my in-laws had coffee and read their morning paper. I knew I wouldn't feel comfortable invading my father-in-law's work space in the game room.

Now, I could lie to you and tell you it's due to my accommodations, but truth be told, if I were staying with my parents that have a fully finished basement, I'd have plenty of room to do yoga. And I still wouldn't have unrolled my mat.

I know this because for the past 10 years, I've packed a yoga mat, traipsed it across various states to my and my husband's childhood homes for holidays and maybe I've unrolled the darn thing twice. TWICE! So this year, as I was packing to come to PA for New Years I grabbed my yoga mat, stared at it for a while and thought, Am I really going to use this? In less than 72 hours I'm slated to visit with 31 different family members and 6 good girl friends. I have work to do for the yoga studio and my speech therapy job as well as some blogging posts to take care of. My kids have plans and need to be carted around and family dinners need to be organized, prepped, cooked for, cleaned up after and most importantly, enjoyed. What are the odds this mat is going to make it out of my car?

I know me. I'm not going to blow off coffee and conversation with people that I love for Asana. And frankly that's the way it should be. My parents and in-laws are getting older. My visits home are fewer and farther in between and friends that I used to see every few months, I'm lucky to see yearly. I need these moments. They're important. They matter. Instead of doing yoga on a mat this morning, I'm going to do yoga at a Panera Bread in McMurray, PA.

I'm going to be present. I'll ask questions and truly listen to the answers. I'll make sure that my mind, body and spirit are on hand for the conversation and not just my mouth. I'll let my intuition guide the exchange and promise to talk less and listen more. Most importantly, I wont get caught up with comparing myself to my friends, (She has less wrinkles; That one is so thin; This one always has such a nice manicure, I should parent more like her; Her ass looks fantastic - I really should lift weights like she does; If only I dressed like her; Why don't I ever think to wear a scarf in that manner; WOW - Check out the rock on her finger... ) Instead I will, without judgment, enjoy their company and allow it to nourish me.

Yoga is about so many things. It's the union between mind, body and spirit. It's an amazing way to bring balance and consciousness along with health into your life. It's a gift that I when I'm smart enough to give myself, gives back to me - in spades. But Friday morning I needed to see, hug and talk to my old college roommate. This morning I need to hear the voices of the moms that I absolutely adore and still keep in touch with even though our kids haven't been in class together since preschool. I need this more than pigeon or down dog today. And that's okay. This year I vowed to Do More Yoga. I will. I just wont always be on a mat when I do it.

Namaste,
Linda