As I write this, it's day 29 of my 31 day challenge to yoga it up every day. The past seven days have been... challenging, as I document here. For the link-clicking averse, here's a summary: went out of town for a bachelorette party, as I was getting ready to come back home I learned my father had had a stroke and was in the hospital. I went to see him and spent three days back home. And now I'm finally back in San Francisco. So, here's what I managed to do during this crazy few days...
Day 23
Andrew and I went for a run, enjoying the Halloween decorations dotted around our neighborhood. We did a slow three miles, and afterwards I stretched out in a yoga-like way for 15 minutes and called it a day. I still had to pack for my weekend away.
Day 24
I was planning on leaving directly from work to go up to wine country for the bachelorette party, so I woke up early to get some time on the mat. The night before I'd pulled up a Morning Yoga video, but I wish I'd picked better. This particular video was very slow and mellow, which felt great, but I was hoping for something a bit more aerobic. But I did feel pretty good all day, so I suppose it did it's job!
Day 25
When I arrived at the house in the Russian River on Friday night, I took one look at the gorgeous deck and declared "I am doing yoga out there tomorrow!"
Then Saturday arrived with rain clouds. Sigh. I stretched out in my temporary bedroom instead and started saluting the sun. However, after about 5 minutes the sounds of the other girls chatting and drinking coffee enticed me away from my mat. I promised myself I would do 10 minutes of bedtime yoga to fulfill my requirement and rushed out to join in on the fun.
And indeed, even with a belly full of carbs and red wine, I did stretch out and do some gentle nighttime yoga before bed. While all in all I did 15 minutes, and fulfilled my challenge, I didn't feel like I'd honored the spirit of the challenge.
Day 26
I'd had grand plans to do some serious, sweaty yoga when I got back to San Francisco, but all that went out then window when my mom called with the bad news. We rushed down to LA, and I didn't do any yoga. No guilt was felt about this.
Day 27
My dad came home from the hospital this afternoon, and Andrew and I spent the afternoon and evening with him. At about 8pm, the conversation was quieting down and my dad had turned on a football game. I snuck to my childhood bedroom and stretched out for a few minutes, concentrating on breathing. It felt really nice to take a minute to focus on my body and my breathing. While I probably didn't clock 15 minutes, this small amount of time on the mat felt like a small miracle.
Day 28
My dad asked me to take a walk with him. Hooray! I'm so pleased he's inspired to be healthier. We walk about a mile in the Southern California heat, and when I get back, I go into the backyard and use a towel as a make-shift mat. It feels odd to practice on hard concrete, but I try to focus on my breath and flow. When it's time for savasana, I go to close my eyes, but find myself looking straight up at the sky and the trees that shade my parents' backyard. I wonder if open-eyed savasana is as restful as closed, but I can't bear to close my eyes. It's so lovely. This moment is the first time I feel the weight of the past few days on me. It feels heavy, but I feel capable.
Day 29
I woke up at 4:30am to head to the airport. This evening I'm going to a friend's to watch baseball. I'm not sure when yoga will happen today. Honestly, I'm a bit nervous to jump into a routine that was established before. I feel different to last week, like I've lost some of the strength that was getting me through the challenge. I know this is fear, trying to nestle in and take advantage. I suppose, if it's truly scary I could spend 15 minutes touching my toes and call that yoga. Small steps and all that.
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