Your yoga practice will certainly change with children in your life. With a different routine and many more demands on your time it can be hard to find the time for a solid yoga practice but that doesn't mean you need to give up your practice entirely. Family life provides the perfect opportunity for you to take yoga off the mat and into your daily life. Here's a diary to show you the how, what, when and where of yoga in my life so that you can see that not only is it possible to include yoga in your life, it's fun and rewarding too.
6am- Mio wakes for some milk, usually she goes back to sleep but not today. I stay in bed for a few more minutes while she plays but then give up on the idea of more sleep and I get up to take Mio to the potty and start my day. After using the bathroom, I do some
tongue scraping, wash my face and moisturise from top to toe with my
homemade infused body oil. Using these Ayurvedic cleansing practices is how I start every day, I find that tongue scraping wakes me up and clears my head, and using body oil keeps my high Vata constitution in check.
After dressing Mio we head downstairs to the kitchen to grab a big glass of warm water with apple cider vinegar. This hydrates my organs and kick starts my digestion. I drink half of it and head upstairs after Mio tells me all she wants to eat is probiotic powder (hmmm).
6:30am- I set up my yoga mat in the bedroom and practice a few rounds of sun salutations while Mio plays. The flow is interrupted by Mio climbing underneath me so we practice downward dog together and giggle at each other while I peek through her legs. Mio disappears again to play and I practice a few gentle twists and forward bends to finish warming up. Mio is back to climb on me again as I lie down on the mat and we play see-saw for a few moments. Off again to play, Mio talks to (or should I say- screams at) the traffic through the closed bedroom window (lucky Dave and India sleep through anything!). While practicing a headstand Mio insists I drink from the empty kombucha bottle I left in the bedroom last night- lucky I have enough balance in my headstand to play this game while I'm upside down- Mio thinks it's fantastic. I practice a few challenging transitions before resting in a butterfly forward bend while Mio babbles emphatically and shows me her book.
7am- I sit down to do some work on the computer and breastfeed Mio again while I drink the rest of my apple cider vinegar water.
8am- Time for breakfast. Put some toast on and do a few handstands in the kitchen. Put a load of nappies on and hang out some sheets that have been in the machine since yesterday morning. Potter around the kitchen while eating toast with Mio. India comes downstairs at 8:30am and I make some buckwheat pancakes for her and Mio. While cutting vegetables for my carrot, beetroot, ginger and apple juice I stand in tree pose. I make my juice and a cup of
mumma tea and do a few things around the kitchen. Breakfast didn't happen while sitting down today which doesn't follow the guidelines of Ayurveda but unfortunately we can't be perfect all the time.
9am- Back upstairs with my tea to get dressed. I manage to get half dressed before Mio gets grumpy and tired from her early waking. After putting her to sleep I practice some more inversions and some backbends with the yoga strap before I finish getting dressed.
I do some cooking and make Dave a coffee while he makes phone calls. I remember to breathe deep and be mindful through India's challenging behavior.
10:30am- Mio wakes, she goes to the potty and I finish making food. We eat outside in the sunshine and I watch the girls play hide and seek.
11:15am- I do some arm and shoulder stretches and have some down time sitting in half lotus while I crochet.
12pm- Handstands at the train station while we wait. Lunch in the city at the Hare Krisna's restaurant, then off to the park for some yoga and much needed barefoot grass play. Home by 4:30pm and the last of the day is filled with end of day play, dinner and the bedtime routine. I squeeze in some computer time and a few seated yoga poses on the bed before I put Mio to sleep.
8pm- I enjoy some crocheting on the roof as the sun sets, and then some computer time and hanging with Dave for the rest of the evening.
