“Remember the time to relax is when you don’t have time to relax.”
-Sydney Harris
I know so many moms that struggle to find enough ‘me-time.’ I am one of those moms. We think, “If only I realized how much free time I had before I had kids…” And now, 10, 20, or 30 minutes uninterrupted and alone feels like a luxury!
Me-time is important, for sure. But if we think we can only do yoga during solo time, we miss so many opportunities to enjoy we-time with our kids. Time with your littles can be extra time for yoga. It might not be the same yoga you did before you had kids — a long, luxurious, uninterrupted session where you come out feeling limber and light — but you are a different person than you were before kids. Your life is different, your needs are different, your body is different. Your yoga should be different, too.
This week, as I reflected on some of my favorite yoga practices to share with kids, I realized that the most important thing is remembering to share yoga with my kids. I might know all kinds of nifty games and activities that my kids love and that bring us relaxation, focus, and all the good things yoga offers. But if I don’t remember to slow down, get down on the rug where my kids are playing, and actually do the yoga, then what’s the point?
So mamas, what helps you remember to do something you set out to do? Life gets so busy and it’s easy to drown in the details of every day. Would an alarm or calendar reminder help? What about a post-it or something else perched on the wall of a room where you spend a lot of time? Maybe you can tell your kids that a certain time of day is yoga time? Perhaps set a weekly (or daily) intention to take 5 minutes a day to stop what you’re doing and do some yoga with your kids. Or you can commit to doing one of the simple ‘getting down’ yoga sequences I’ve shared recently once or twice a day when you walk into the room where the kids are playing on the floor.
And then, just do some yoga postures and see if the kids join in. Or maybe they’ll climb all over you the way my toddler does. Other times you can try some of the kids’ yoga activities I’ve been sharing every Friday. Either way, just do it. Try it. Some days it will seem to work, other days it will seem like a disaster. But the point is, you made the commitment to stop and connect with your own body and mind and with your kids. That’s real yoga, mamas!
You can say this is just a friendly reminder to stop putting off yoga. Why wait for that perfect place and time to do a really focused solo yoga sesh once every couple of weeks when you can do yoga every day in short bursts with the ones you love?
It might seem like you don’t have time, but with some dedication and intention, 5 minutes can be found on any given day. Good luck! Let me know how it goes:)
Every Friday I’ll post ideas and inspiration for practicing yoga with kids and every Tuesday I’ll share a micropractice that helps busy moms (and dads and kids, and really anyone) to incorporate brief yoga practices into their day. Here’s the post to kick off this biweekly series that will last until the end of the year!