Thursday, July 14, 2011

Putting Down Roots

Week 2 in Park City is coming to a close.  We have gone exploring a bit deeper into the surrounding area and have found reservoirs to swim in, lots of great trails to hike, a sweet new thrift store to shop at and a new favorite ice cream joint.  Each day we're taking a new adventure and finding new and exciting places to visit and explore.  In some ways it already seems like we've been here longer.

The one thing I have yet to do is make it to a yoga studio.  Without my "village" I don't have anyone to watch the girls while I take a class.  My husband is gone most of the time to work and when he's home on the weekends it's family time, same as when he comes home in the evenings.  Normally I wouldn't think twice about skipping out on the evenings or weekends and leaving him with the girls but given the fact that we were apart for the better part of the last year while he was here and we were in MD I can't justify doing that just yet.  Instead I guess I'm subconsciously opting to reestablish the roots of this family.  Right now I feel I need to put more thought and effort into the family tree.

This week I will focus on Vrksasana or tree pose (http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/496 Yoga Journal, 2011).  Vrksasana is all about the balance.  Before moving my scale was rather one sided.  I taught lots of classes and did tons of volunteer work but my time spent just with my husband and kids was limited.  I was always go, go, going and not often enough just being.  Now with the move I find that it's the opposite.  I'm doing a whole lot of nothing and that makes me feel antsy and interestingly enough, anxious.  As we are learning our way around and slowly making our way into this community it is my goal to bring those two opposing aspects into balance.  Not just for myself but for our family as a whole.  Can we stay firmly planted to the ground spreading our roots while reaching endlessly toward the sky?  I think we can.  The one thing that I feel needs to happen is rather than me being the one to always be in motion I need to slow down a bit and let the girls and Mark catch up.  We need to do things as a family instead of as individuals.   When I do start teaching again I need to take it down a notch and not throw myself so headlong into it that my balance is lost.

When I take tree pose this week I will bring added balance to the posture by holding my arms out like a scale.  In one hand I'll hold my family and all of their needs and wants, in the other I'll hold my own.  I will stay rooted firmly into the ground while continuing to grow tall toward the heavens and yet reaching evenly out toward each side.  I'll be a bit like a compass bearing each of the four directions, N, E, S & W.  I may sway in the wind like a tree but I won't topple.  My limbs will have the strength and integrity to support my family and myself without compromising either. 

Now that we're reconnecting with each other as a family we can each slowly begin to spread our limbs.  Gently latching onto things we each enjoy, for me that is yoga.  I will figure out a way to get to the local studios, check them out and take classes.  I won't force it but let it happen naturally.  This may mean that I don't teach again until after school starts back up.  I have decided I'm OK with that.  After all it's all about the balance and this summer balance means hanging out with my family.

1 comment:

  1. oh paula..no words dear..im just proud to call myself your friend love you!

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