As a dedicated seeker, I have spend more then a decade exploring and evolving my practice. I have tried different schools and teachings – from traditional ashtanga yoga and vipassana, to Christianity, plant medicine and Gurdjieff – just to name a few. In my experience, different teachings do call you when you are ready to receive them – as they all lead towards the same goal, only the paths slightly differ.
I had an established daily practice to which I was rigorously dedicated – kriyas, pranayama, asana (ashtanga sequence), chanting and mediation. Every night before bed time I would do some reading and studying, as well as some occasional journaling and dancing when I felt like I needed it. And I would do all that with a full-time successful business career in top tier strategy consulting.
Then I became a mom. My whole world shifted and at the beginning, the only time I had for myself was during the shower – so I literally made those 10 minutes of my life time for my daily practice. I would stand under the hot water with closed eyes, trying to feel every drop of the water on my skin. Nothing else existed. I needed it so much, that it was easy to quiet my mind, become fully present and enter the space.
Over time, as my daughter was growing, my body was rebuilding and my energy was getting stronger, it became much easier to manage. As mothers, we do get a new superpower of stretching time, however – priorities do shift, and with your baby being priority #1, you might find yourself lost among all other things that you need to get done (especially if you are a working mom).
Efficiently managing time is also one of the key milestones and among my top themes to address with this blog. Householder yoga series fits well under this umbrella topic – as here I want to share insights on how to best utilize time you spend with your baby so that is serves your growth and development.
This comes from my own need to keep yet transform my daily practice so it fits into my current life schedule. Hence the name – householder yoga. In traditional Indian culture, there are 4 stages of yogi’s life: Brahmacharya (Student), Grihasta (Householder), Vanaprasthya (Hermit) and Samnyasa (Renunciate). Householder yoga series is about switching your practice from Student phase (e.g. couple of hours on the mat or sitting in meditation) to Householder phase (taking your practice from the mat/meditation pillow into your daily life).
Each week I will post one tip on how to use a certain technique or tool during daily activities with your baby, in order to cultivate more awareness, enhance your wellbeing and expand your power of motherhood. You will be collecting moments with your baby that are most peculiar and precious because you are being conscious and present, as well as learn what it means to hold space for your baby. And of course – have some fun!
Unravel Ninja 