Finding Inner Peace (and a little quiet)

A few months ago, my sister-in law Vera and I decided we needed some time to ourselves to decompress and yoga seemed to be the right choice. Between us, we have six boys; and knowing that just getting out of the house on a weeknight would be an impossible feat, we hired a yoga instructor who was willing to come to us on a weekly basis.

Other than motivating ourselves to get excited about yoga after a long day, the biggest challenge was what do with our six boys (and one cute but overly attached dog) while we would be trying to find our  “inner peace”.  We decided to have the first session in Vera’s basement. We gave the children strict instructions that they were not to disturb us or come downstairs, and left them under the not so watchful eyes of my brother-in-law Jonathan.

Our instructor arrived and we immediately took a liking to her.  If anyone could inspire us she was that person! During this first session, we were not surprised to find that we were equally inflexible and uncoordinated. Our tree poses looked like trees during a Nor’easter. We laughed as we “transitioned” from our down dogs to our cobras. We tried desperately to relax as the sounds of 6 boys running and screaming in the living room vibrated above our heads. We tried to ignore Daisy’s whimpering and scratching at the basement door. We wondered where Jonathan was and grew frustrated at his inability to keep everyone quiet. But then something surprising happened. Somewhere between the final stretching and the soothing sounds of music emanating from our instructor’s iPhone, we managed to unwind. By the end of the hour amid all the chaos and cracking bones we did actually feel more relaxed.

Since then, we have kept up with our weekly sessions, even when life’s crazy schedule gets in the way. I did once miss half a session because my toilet overflowed. I came over to Vera’s house in tears, saying  “I have no time for yoga! I need to fix my toilet. Can I borrow your plunger?”

Our instructor continues to teach us how to focus our minds on the moment and away from the stresses and sounds of our daily lives.  For one hour every week, we simply focus attention on ourselves. For the most part, we’ve learned to tune out the kids, our husbands, the barking dog, the lawnmowers, the ringing phones and find our own version of quiet. Sure, there are still plenty of good laughs and unlimber limbs. But it’s one hour that belongs to us, with lots of love and sparkles!