Maintenance

Waiting. No Response. It's forming. Giving my heart time and space. Waiting Waiting Waiting.

AND while I wait, I'm still practicing.

For the first year after my daughter was born I kept up my yoga practice just by the skin of my teeth. I made it to the mat 10 minutes here, 20 minutes there. It was a blessing to get to go to a class. I did what I could, when I could and decided that even some asana was better than no asana. Practicing that way built in a pattern of hitting the mat first when the opportunity presented itself. I'm grateful for that (I could learn that again, frankly!) I called it a maintenance practice and it consisted of a few rounds of Surya Namaskar, some standing poses and dissolving into a heap on the floor that sort of resembled seated postures but also kind of looked like sleeping. It worked, though. I got my yoga on and when I felt more energetic, I didn't have to re-build my entire practice from the ground up.

And this week, it's kind of the same. I've been so friggin' busy. I don't know how it's happened but it has. And the practice could easily get swept away... but I'm holding strong to keeping myself to the mat for as many precious minutes as possible. I think I'm in a holding pattern, and I'm definitely in a maintenance practice mode.

What is funny to me is that instead of maintaining with soft little seated postures and half-savasanas.... I'm maintaining with Hanumanasana (the splits)! The bane of my existence for many years. That quite hated pose. Right? I can't get enough. Something about the deep strong opening it's providing, without having to touch too deeply to my heart is giving me just what I need. Plus it feels good to take a huge leap -- even if it's only in my body at the moment. I don't know why but Hanuman is making his way through my practice in a delightful way. Being a monkey in my body is kind of fun in this ongoing uncertainty.

So. The asana continues. What are you practicing these days?