Yoga Blues

My little hippie baby doing the boat pose

When I was a little girl I took gymnastics for years. You would think that would have enabled me to be a cheerleader or do a flip of some sort but not really. What it did provide was a lifetime of flexibility. They (ever wonder who they are?) say that once you have reached a certain level of flexibility you will always (with practice) be able to get to the same level. Over the years I have taken many of yoga classes. At some points I have taken yoga so regularly that I was able to easily stand on my head, do the dancer and stay in a plank longer than most people would like to. I was so comfortable with yoga that I added it as a part of my curriculum for Hinduism unit and lead classes in understanding different poses and how they may connect with the divine. I took several yoga classes when I was pregnant which felt great, but I haven't really done any real yoga for over a year and before being pregnant I had a Peru bug infected husband and before that I was planning a wedding and before that I was traveling all over the globe, so my yoga skills have atrophied some. Now, I am back on the yoga train and I am sore.

It feels good to go the gym and do yoga for an hour and fifteen minutes. It feels good to stretch and breath. It feels good to twist and sweat. It feels good to do savasana and be still. What doesn't feel good is missing time with my baby. Yoga coincides with the nighttime routine, so I missed the eating of the solids. I missed bathtime. I missed her night bottle and book reading. I missed putting her in her crib. She takes nap in the afternoon that is very important for her sanity after she nurses when I get home. So the small window of awake time is precious. We laugh! We play! We walk! We have a grand ol' time! I don't want to miss yoga but I don't want to miss the time with my baby either. Another mommy conundrum: Physical health versus Emotional health?