I have been practicing yoga for five years now. Since I was constantly learning and feeling the benefits it offers, I decided to reserve five days of my week for this healing practice. However, after the birth of my now six-month-old daughter, my daily yoga routine had to change. Many of my close friends and relatives, as well as some of my social network followers have asked me how I manage being a devoted mother and a dedicated yogi. Their curiosity and honest interest is precisely what inspired me to write this short article. I truly hope you will enjoy reading it.
Okay, shall we begin? First things first – the mornings. My beautiful baby girl Isabella usually sleeps until 6 AM, which is why I always set my alarm at 5 AM. The first thing I normally do after I get out of bed is kiss my husband (yes, I am a hopeless romantic and I wouldn’t like it any other way) and take a refreshing shower. Next, I drink one third of my daily dose of water with two or three Stevia liquid drops and eat a couple of bananas. “No morning cup of coffee?”, some of you might wonder. Well, my dear readers, this may surprise you, but coffee has never been my cup of tea.
On the days when my husband is allowed to start his work late(r), he uses this opportunity to spend an hour or two with Izzie, while I perform several gentle and relaxing yoga poses on my two eco-friendly natural rubber yoga mats (one day, I realized that performing certain asanas on two yoga mats is way more comfortable than doing it on one, especially since the first one I bought is pretty small). The yoga postures that help me get my day started are child’s pose, cat and downward dog pose, as well as triangle pose. I love how they allow me to stretch my body and calm my mind without leaving me exhausted.
Ordinarily, I spend the rest of my day (with the exception of one late night hour) taking care of Isabella, cooking, tidying up around the house, and reading (whenever I have the chance). Oh, I should probably mention that yesterday I tried to include Izzie in my morning yoga session, as I got inspired by an amazing article about a mother who breastfeeds while doing yoga. It is a wonderful and heart-warming proof of the immense soothing power yoga has.
At the end of the day, after I put Izzie to sleep, I begin my evening yoga sequence, which normally lasts about an hour or an hour and a half. I repeat the same yoga poses I do in the morning, but now I test my body’s abilities by trying harder and longer. I always finish my evening yoga practice lying and resting in corpse pose.
I know that being a loving mother and wife without giving up on your interests is not an easy mission, but I believe that, with the right planning and organization, everything can be done.