Lordy Lordy, I feel like my mini-van and I are dancing a new tango these days. I am not sure who gets to do the deep dips but, I feel kind of dizzy. I used to think that I had it hard driving the kids each day to and from their various schools, programs and appointments. Of course, this was on top of working and the constant shopping and errands that are needed to keep the household going.
Well, the bar has just been lifted to a new level. My sons are now in different schools, and promise to be so for the rest of their educational years. Their schools start and finish at very different times, and none are within walking distance of our home.
When I was a kid, growing up in Toronto, I walked to my schools through rain, snow and warm days a like, some times I got lifts in with my Dad on his way to work. I know, I know, up the hill both ways, yada yada. Yet my kids can not walk to school.
What about the school bus system you may ask? Well, frankly I don't trust the kids, given the lack of supervision, and I feel that the worst of the worst occurs on these buses. So I am left being the proverbial Soccer Mom shuttling everyone everywhere.
I know that you can't really understand what it is like to have a kid until you do so. So why should I be surprised that new twists of parenthood can come along and smack you on your humble tush. Lordy, lordy, I knew this was coming, but did not realize how much it would limit my grove. One thing that has suffered is my ability to get to my yoga practice.
So, at yoga, the first one I had done in too long, I worked on this issue. Joe was leading the class and he added some fantastic detail on several key positions. The main one was about each yoga position starting in the foot with balance and strength, in the foot, before it can be there for anything else. He described the foot with three contact points. One in the heal, one the front foot behind big toe and the last being front foot behind little toe. The toes are not the focus, it is the pad behind the toes. So you spread your weight between these natural pads, and focus on that before you can move up the body to the rest of the position.
Wow. I focused on this during several standing positions, and I even carried it through the flows. This helped take care of the instability I had been feeling during dancer and standing toe. It was not easy, that is for sure, but if I could focus on keeping my foot in balance the rest seemed to come more naturally. I was able to hold poses longer and was more stable. Yet, I could feel the difference in strength between the left and right feet as they worked to maintain the new position. When I did manage to maintain balance there was less pain in my feet.
So what does this have to do with my role as a pack mule? I think that the Soccer Mom's and Dad's out there that do this dance are the foot. If that foot is out of balance the rest of the position can not be happening at its full potential. After time you see those people that spend all their energy giving it to their kids and family sacrificing their own needs. This can not bring happiness for anyone. As my husband has been known to say "if mama not happy... no body happy."
My foot, my base had lost its balance and focus. Upon looking inside and assessing my reality I saw that I did not have the strength to balance, or even the focus to work towards balance. So this let me know that I must maintain my practice to be able to focus on the music and dance this complex tango.
When I was a kid, growing up in Toronto, I walked to my schools through rain, snow and warm days a like, some times I got lifts in with my Dad on his way to work. I know, I know, up the hill both ways, yada yada. Yet my kids can not walk to school.
What about the school bus system you may ask? Well, frankly I don't trust the kids, given the lack of supervision, and I feel that the worst of the worst occurs on these buses. So I am left being the proverbial Soccer Mom shuttling everyone everywhere.
I know that you can't really understand what it is like to have a kid until you do so. So why should I be surprised that new twists of parenthood can come along and smack you on your humble tush. Lordy, lordy, I knew this was coming, but did not realize how much it would limit my grove. One thing that has suffered is my ability to get to my yoga practice.
So, at yoga, the first one I had done in too long, I worked on this issue. Joe was leading the class and he added some fantastic detail on several key positions. The main one was about each yoga position starting in the foot with balance and strength, in the foot, before it can be there for anything else. He described the foot with three contact points. One in the heal, one the front foot behind big toe and the last being front foot behind little toe. The toes are not the focus, it is the pad behind the toes. So you spread your weight between these natural pads, and focus on that before you can move up the body to the rest of the position.
Wow. I focused on this during several standing positions, and I even carried it through the flows. This helped take care of the instability I had been feeling during dancer and standing toe. It was not easy, that is for sure, but if I could focus on keeping my foot in balance the rest seemed to come more naturally. I was able to hold poses longer and was more stable. Yet, I could feel the difference in strength between the left and right feet as they worked to maintain the new position. When I did manage to maintain balance there was less pain in my feet.
So what does this have to do with my role as a pack mule? I think that the Soccer Mom's and Dad's out there that do this dance are the foot. If that foot is out of balance the rest of the position can not be happening at its full potential. After time you see those people that spend all their energy giving it to their kids and family sacrificing their own needs. This can not bring happiness for anyone. As my husband has been known to say "if mama not happy... no body happy."
My foot, my base had lost its balance and focus. Upon looking inside and assessing my reality I saw that I did not have the strength to balance, or even the focus to work towards balance. So this let me know that I must maintain my practice to be able to focus on the music and dance this complex tango.
