Yoga Time

Yoga When You’re Alone:

1. Find forty minutes of uninterrupted time at home.
2. Move your mat, blanket, and strap to the living room floor.
3. Do yoga.

Yoga When You’re Home with the Baby:

1. Realize that just waiting for her to go to sleep won’t work — that’s why you haven’t had a chance to _do_ yoga in days.
2. Decide that you’re going to _make_ time for it, dadgummit.
3. Feed the baby. (30-40 min., depending on how leisurely she’s being about it)
4. Change the baby’s diaper. (2-10 min., depending on volume and/or leakage)
5. Try to wear her out by walking around the apartment and telling her the words for various things, even though you know full well it’s still just gobbledeegook to her. (15 min.)
6. Set her down in her Vibrating Bouncy Chair.
7. Quickly set up the yoga mat at the foot of the Chair and get started with some breathing exercises.
8. Open your eyes and notice that your daughter is smiling at you. Divert from yoga in order to tickle her tummy and make googly noises until she tires of your performance (10 min.).
9. Begin doing yoga!
10. Note with satisfaction, while coming out of “Revolved Triangle Pose”:http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/692_1.cfm, that she is asleep.
11. Fall out of “Half Moon Pose”:http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/784_1.cfm with a start when you hear your daughter giggling. She is giggling in her sleep, of course, but you find it hard not to shake the notion that she was giggling at how ridiculous you look in Half Moon Pose.
12. Get ready for “Shoulderstand”:http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/480_1.cfm (almost done!) when you’re interrupted by the baby crying. That’s right — it’s time to feed her again!
13. Wonder if you’re ever going to get to do yoga again.
14. Wonder if it matters.

(Cross-posted to “Cerin Amroth”:http://www.polytropos.org/ella/)