It's a bummer to see that written out, but it's true. Life with a baby proved a harder adjustment than I had expected. I "failed" at doing the 30 Day Yoga Challenge as well as I was hoping to, and it left me feeling disheartened and frustrated. I didn't think I had anything worthwhile to say about yoga, since I obviously wasn't "committed" to it, so I took a break from doing it and blogging about it.
The cool thing about yoga (and whatever other activities bring you joy) is that even if you step away, you can always come back. It's still there waiting for you, ready to be enjoyed all over again. And so it's been lately with my practice. I'm feeling more confident in my roles as both a mother and an employee (or at least I'm feeling like I'll find a way to balance it all out), so I've been able to find new times in my day to practice.
The fun thing about coming back is that I have a new perspective. I'm following videos on YouTube from channels I subscribe to but don't utilize often. I'm practicing styles that I normally don't consider "me" (like yin yoga) or haven't practiced in over a year (power yoga!). I'm even spending time following my own flows. And, I'm practicing at a time of day I never did before.
Hello, evening yoga!
I've always been a yoga-in-the-morning person. Maybe, depending on my schedule, a yoga-right-after-work-before-dinner person. But never evening. I think I had some hangups about practicing in the evening and getting myself too wound up before bed to sleep. Since I've started doing yoga much later in the day (usually after 7, once I know the Bebe is asleep), I've been able to spend more time on the mat at any given time. There are definitely a few benefits to doing yoga at night.
- I'm way calmer before bed now. Even if I choose to do a much more energetic practice, like power or Vinyasa yoga, several minutes at the end are spent in relaxation and deep steady breathing. This taps into my parasympathetic nervous system which releases stress and anxiety.
- I'm less achy. The Bebe is massive -- huge, even. Everywhere I go, I get comments about how generally gigantic he is in relation to how rather small I am. It isn't always easy on my body (especially my back and arms), so an evening practice after I've put him down to bed allows me to work out the kinks I've created hauling him around.
- I don't have to deal with interruptions. One of the biggest frustrations I had with myself doing the 30 Day Yoga Challenge was that the Bebe constantly needed me. At that phase, he wasn't happy to just lie on a mat and play with toys for 20 minutes. Now I can put him on his mat and he'll watch me practice, but it's even easier if I wait until he's in bed asleep. (I'm pretty lucky in that he falls asleep easily and stays asleep almost the entire night.)
So, motherhood has created yet another interesting change in my life. It's nice to be on my mat regularly again; I'm feeling stronger, more flexible, and generally calmer and happier. (Did doing yoga make me more flexible in my habits and mindset, or did my new flexible habits and mindset make me better at doing yoga? Hmmm....)
If you've been trying to practice yoga, and find yourself getting stuck because you're never able to be on your mat when you want to, might I suggest looking at your day and trying (just once) to do it at a time you normally never would? It might be lunchtime, or mid-afternoon, or late in the evening. Maybe you could try getting up earlier than you normally would. Even if you never do it at that time again, it can offer you a fresh perspective on your practice.
Do you have a "best time of day" when you are most productive and happiest? How about a preferred time to practice yoga?
So far my yoga has consistently done best during B's naptime, but I've definitely noticed the evolution of my most productive time of day when it comes to writing. I used to be a "stare at my computer from 7pm-11pm" kind of person, but then I had a baby and discovered early morning. Until my kids developed a finely honed sensor that woke them whenever I got up, and it was back to evenings (though more focused writing for less time this time). Now it's midafternoon, after I do yoga. But of course in between each of these shifts there was an embarrassingly long gap in which I couldn't get anything done because I was still trying to make the old way work.
ReplyDeleteI've recently been thinking about moving my yoga/exercise time to evening. Reason 1 is that my daytime schedule can make it hard to fit it in regularly. Reason 2 is it might motivate someone else in this household to exercise at the same time... but maybe I'm being too optimistic.
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