I hear many friends are having hard time to secure their “me-time”/ time for taking online yoga and meditation class while the social-distancing is required for the community effort of controling COVID-19 .
Here are my suggestion, dear friends ;
- Tell, discuss, or announce everybody in the house that you are going to take some time for yourself.
- Clean your designated or available space and your body.
- Set up music, lighting, and scent.
Tell, discuss, or announce everybody in the house that you are going to take some time for yourself.
This is essential. You must have felt the challenge with your children and pets about asking to obtain their agreement for giving some space to you.
First of all, decide how long you want for your “me-time”. Maybe for 30 minutes? Maybe for one hour? With your baby, I understand you need to pay all attention 24/7 to your baby. But they will be with you and give you some brief “me-time” without arguments. Find mom/dad and me yoga or baby massage online class to incorporate caring your baby and yourself into your yoga practice. With older kids, you can just gently ask them if you can have your time alone. It would be a great chance to teach kids respect other’s space and time. With pets, you can have chill time with them. If your pets are hyper energetic, you can leave them outside in secure way so you don’t have to worry about them or give them another room. They may whine, but, this is also a great chance to teach them a discipline and also for you and your pets can learn boundaries.
With discussion with your cohabiting beings and obtaining the agreements from them, you and your peoples and pets practice a part of yoga discipline called Yamas. In classical Ashtanga yoga discipline (eight limbs of yoga), you practice Yama (list of self-restraints) and Niyamas (list of observances). Yama is consisted Ahimsa (non-violence), Satya (truthfulness, non-dishonesty), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacharya (conservation of energy, non-wasting), Aparigraha (non-greedness).
Clean the designated or available space.
When you get down on your yoga mat, first thing you’ll notice is the cleanliness of the floor (and your yoga mat, too). Vacuum, dusting, wipe the floor and mat before you have your “me-time”. The next thing you’ll notice is your own hygiene and grooming. Long toenails, smell of your breath or BO, greasy hair etc… Cleaning the rooms and taking care of your self-hygiene are very basic but they could be slip away from time to time especially you have caved in your home and away from social mingles… Cleanliness is a part of Niyamas. Niyama is consisted with Saucha (cleanliness), Santosa (contentment), Tapas (self-discipline, austerity), Savadhyaya (self-study), Ishwarapranidhana (Surrender to something bigger, Letting go of egoistic control).
Set up music, lighting, and scent.
Setting up music, lighting, and scent for your space is completely up to your own comfort. If you change the mood of the room where you share with others, family, roommates will notice and will respect your space. Please be compassionate towards others and respect others’ preference for sounds, brightness and type of scent or smoke from the candle and incense… This will be another practice of Yamas. Put up a note or sign on the door or somewhere others can see is another solution. Write a note or sign like “Me-time in process…”, “Yoga time” or whatever you want to call your time.
You’ll realize that just finding or setting up your own space for your “me-time” is also a part of your “me-time”/yoga practice. Start slow and build your foundation, then you’ll have relaxation which is the final state of yoga, Samadhi (ultimate relaxation, oneness).
Are you ready for your home practice?? Join us on YUKO YOGA ONLINE CLASS GROUP on Facebook to view online yoga classes.
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