I awake to a small face breathing over me. We engage in our usual banter: “Ugh, what time is it?” I ask. “9:37,” the child answers. “Time for you to get up.” I sigh, “Yeah, you right. Isn’t summer vacation, great!?!”
We climb over John to get out of bed and onto the stairs of the loft. There they all are, staring up at me expectantly; three pit bulls of various sizes, two grey striped cats, and one orange corn snake. All hungry and eager to start the day (the snake is actually fine, just joining in on the staring for fun.) I can’t help but smile.
As we head to the kitchen, I stop in the bathroom to pee. They all wait, staring at me. What I wouldn’t give for 5 minutes peace. I sneak the water onto the stove as Vivian makes her requests, usually eggs and toast or oatmeal from the stove. Something that still requires my help despite the fact that she is seven years old. I enlist her to feed the animals as I make our breakfast.
Food for her and coffee for me. I breath it in deeply, and promise myself that I won’t rush to do anything else until I’ve enjoyed this one perfect creamy sweet cup of liquid. It’s always gone too quickly… And then I’m off to deal with everything else.
First things first: lighting the candles and the sage, clearing the space, kicking the demons out of the house. It’s crazy, the darkness that can descend in just one day. I’m like a magnet for this shit. Once the air clears, I sing. This is a newer thing. I only know a few songs on the harmonium. I chant them in Sanskrit. For me, its less about the actual words than the intention beneath them. I feel myself plug into a vibration that has been resonating for thousands of years, and I download some new information. I give myself 20 minutes, before I move on to movement.
I wish I had all day to dance around the yoga room. But I usually try to cap it at an hour, not including my daughter’s interruptions. Some times she joins me. But today she is busy in her own room with the key board. I begin with the most basic leg stretches. And then some core stuff. I listen to my body, maybe lay on blocks if my shoulders feel tight, maybe just start flowing if that’s what my body suggests that it would like.
I am always preparing to teach; doing poses that are connected to my focus of the week. But also doing me, poses against the wall, to stabilize my knees and align my lower back. I always end with some inversions, savasana, and a ten minute meditation. It’s slowly becoming slightly less agonizing…
And then we’re off to take care of some business. We take photos for a new flyer, get the oil changed, run across the street to the bank to get a check, and drop some herbs off to a friend. Then we stop at 5 different food stores and farmers markets to pick up all our our favorite things before heading home to make lunch, drum with spinach salad. It is so fresh we only need a little bit of lemon and salt and pepper to season it.
Pookers does the dishes while I pick up the front few rooms. I have a client coming over in a few minutes. Today we’re doing a combo session, Thai massage and the bars (acupressure points on the head to clear the mind). I am blessed that most of the people I work with are friends. Vivian sits with us as we discuss where in his body he’s holding tension today and what we’d like to destroy and uncreate. Just taking a moment to set some intentions for the session. She decides to color as he lays down on the floor…
My day might be half way over…. Still a couple more classes to teach. Diner to eat. Stories to read and write, before snuggling my baby to sleep.
Mariposa Yoga 