Yoga is Time

a reality check

practicing Utkatasna, a.k.a. Chair Pose, with my son back in 2020

“Yoga doesn’t take time, it gives time.”

-Ganga White

Set the bar

You’ve heard the saying that time is money, but I disagree. We do need time to make money, but time is so much more than that. We need time for lots of things: to express love, to learn, to work, to raise children, to heal, and to practice yoga.

In other words, time is not just quantitative. Think about the time you spend with your family and friends. If you just sat there, distracted, scrolling on your phone but technically in the presence of your loved ones, it’s not the same as really being present with them. It’s the same with yoga practice: if you do a full one-hour practice on your mat but your mind is tangled up in worries and every passing distraction, the quantity of time might seem sufficient, but the quality would be lacking.

The problem is, moms only have so much time. Moms are some of the busiest people I know! I’ve been reflecting on that because I’m a writer and I tend to write some long, detailed posts and I often wonder, do moms really have time to read all that? Do they need smaller, bite-sized bits of information?

I believe the answer is yes. I could nerd out on yoga all day, but I’ve started to ask myself if that’s somewhat like cooking a banquet for a hungry mama who really just needs one nice meal — she couldn’t possibly eat and digest the whole buffet!

Here’s to setting the bar at a realistic level so we don’t feel like we keep falling short.

Remember

Part of yoga practice is remembering: remembering to breathe and to check in with the sensations of your body. On a deeper level, it is also about remembering who you are. Think of a time when something was a really big deal to you, but now doesn’t seem so weighty: a breakup, a job offer, a move to a new city, getting pregnant. Not to say those things don’t matter as much now, but the emotional force of them has likely dimmed in your mind. Hopefully, you’re not drowning in them anymore, but cruising at altitude above those sometimes choppy waters; with time, you gain perspective.

In a nutshell, all yoga practices were developed to help you remember your True Self. You might have come to yoga to get stronger, more flexible, or less stressed. Or maybe you started doing yoga as part of a fitness routine but I bet that if you have a well-rounded practice that includes postures, breath awareness, reading of philosophical texts, and maybe even meditation, you’ll start sensing that elusive True Self.

Unfortunately, it’s not a thing to be described. But once you get a glimmer of it, that will light up your motivation to keep practicing. You may or may not connect to your True Self every time you practice, but practicing anyway is such an important aspect of all this. It’s a little bit like loving your kid anyway even when they’re melting down, refusing to eat the food you made, or even biting or hitting you, and you keep loving them anyway.

Repeat, no matter what

“Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break and in all earnestness.”

-Swami Satchidananda, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

I encourage you to practice daily, but I don’t mean that you need to do yoga poses daily — unless you want to and have the time and space. The lovely thing about diving into other aspects of yoga is that you can do a minute or two of conscious breathing or read an inspiring text that reminds you of your True Self, and that is also yoga.

Of course, the poses are important too. They help clear away the mental chatter and tension so that conscious breathing and meditation become easier. Really, though, the idea is to keep the connection. You know, like when you and your partner might not have the means to go on a date every week or every month, but you take at least some moments at the end of the day to connect. The connecting thread is there, though you might not always feel that it is close enough to touch in every moment.

It’s really about normalizing yoga practice in your life so that it becomes as automatic as making your morning tea or coffee or brushing your teeth.

What helps you stay on track with your practice? The more we share, the more we can stay inspired together!

Ask for help

You probably already know this, but sometimes asking for help is the only way to have time to practice.

I fully understand that some families have little or no support beyond the primary caregivers. I also get that childcare can be expensive. If a babysitter, nanny, family, or friends are not available options, those mini yoga sessions are essential: a few poses in five minutes, a minute of deep breathing, reading an inspiring passage in a yogic text (or other text that uplifts you), or yoga nidra before you fall asleep.

If you’re a social butterfly like me, you could round up a group of mamas who also want to practice yoga and get together to practice with the kids around. Or you can find an online group of mamas to practice with or see if there is a Mommy and me yoga class in your area. Making your practice less solitary can be the key to keeping it consistent.

On the other hand, maybe you struggle to stay connected to your purpose for doing yoga. Instead of branching out and getting mamas to gather with you, it might help you to take a deeper look. Go into what it means to embody each yoga pose. I highly recommend the yoga poetry of Corie Feiner in exploring the deeper meaning of yoga poses. Check out Corie’s work here. Her poems have a way of making one pose feel like a whole exploration!

If you’re sitting there with the urge to scream, “You don’t get it! I really don’t have any time or space or energy to do yoga,” know that I hear you. This parenting gig is so incredibly hard, and then to try to maintain a yoga practice on top of that? Let’s pause and get some clarity on our lot as moms. I found these very real, down-to-earth articles on the struggle mamas face in finding time for self care: here, here, and here. Sometimes it can be very validating to see your experience reflected in an article, movie, or story.

Reset the bar

Being a mom can be super overwhelming! It can sometimes seem impossible to have a yoga practice, but you can! It might not be exactly the practice you want, but you can find a version of yoga practice that fits into your life. I’m here to cheer you on! Set the bar at an attainable height — three minutes a day of postures, or a one-minute deep breathing pause — and try it for a day or a week. If it doesn’t go well one week, reset the bar. Adjust it so that you find which practices work for you. I’ll be back here in the coming weeks with some shorter, bite-sized posts to keep you inspired and experimenting to find what feels good to you.

Yoga is a relationship with yourSelf. Just as with any relationship, it requires quality time. You may not have a large quantity of Me time, but you can have some control over the quality. Believe me. By the way, I’m writing this as much for me as I am writing it for you; I need these reminders and encouragement, too! Thanks so much for being here, mama.

Ah, mommy and me yoga can be so chill…before they start crawling, scooting, walking, and running. Oh yes, and when they start talking, then yoga together becomes much less quiet!

Did you click with this post? Let me know what you think: what have been some of your struggles and triumphs keeping your yoga practice alive?

If you enjoyed this post, I hope you share it with another mama who might need some inspiration and solidarity:)