yoga training weekend and yoga thoughts

Now I'm all about yoga.

I last posted right after my final weekend of yoga training classes and I was still integrating what I learned and working through all of the energy and emotions that were stirred up. The training itself was worlds better this time. For starters, it was only 2 days. And we were in a twice-as-big space. And the best part was that the instructor came prepared! She had our manuals ready for us when we walked in and we did some touchy-feely stuff (which is cool with me) but we also did lots of pragmatic stuff and embodied every single pose. Major improvement in my book. And totally the way that I need to learn! Yeah!

The weekend of training we spent Saturday night over Heather and Will's house. They've got the biggest family I know (I think their kids have 15 cousins now!?) and boy do they know how to make me feel like family! The only person I've ever shared a bedroom with (besides Jeremiah) is Heather, when she was my college roommate for a few years. (oh, actually, I had another lovely roomate for a semester named Erin. But Heather logged more time.) Anyhow, I feel like she's my sister and therefore she and Will and her babes are related to me. That somehow gives me the right to be completely myself when I'm with them.

This includes being the worst houseguest ever! While I was at yoga training, Jeremiah took our girls over there for a daytime playdate. Then Jeremiah and C. stayed behind to relax and man the oven while they took J. with them to an evening church service. I called while they were still out and demanded to be picked up from the metro bc I was hungry and tired etc. etc. So thanks to me we left their house unlocked and with the oven on. (faux pas numbers one and two)

They were home shortly after we got back and they served a delicious dinner that I had no part in making (nor did we remember to bring anything to contribute. faux pas number three). Will cleaned up after dinner and the rest of us fought to converse over kitchen duties, childcare duties, and fatigue. We tossed the kids upstairs for their sleepover and giggled as we eavesdropped on the 3-year olds' bedtime chatter ("good night train-head! good night diaper-head! good night stranger-head!"). And then I just didn't have the energy to do anything. The wii controllers just lay there. We just lay there. So. Very. Tired. (crashing out on their couch. faux pas number four.)

In the morning, C. woke me up at 6 and I took her downstairs in hopes that we wouldn't wake anyone else up. I was too tired to monitor her well and she turned on a musical toy. Which woke up J. Which woke up Heather. and so on down the line. (tipping the wake-up-alarm domino- faux pas number five.) I'm glad that I was there bc Heather and I crammed as much chatting in as we possibly could, not wasting a moment of silence the whole time we were together! : )

She had to run me out to the metro line before 8am so I could get to the next day of training (mandatory early morning shuttle. faux pas number six.). As I was getting out of the car, she handed me a brown lunch bag. Oh my God, I love this girl. She packed me fruit, BROWNIES, and some other stuff that I forget now. But really, it was so sweet. No one's surprised me with comfort food like that in a long time (though an ice cream cake from my husband comes to mind...) I could have stayed with them forever, but I had to take the food and run (faux pas number seven). How lucky am I???? Love you Heather!

BEST MOMENT LATELY: A nice family day, where all 4 of us stayed together the whole day (unlike how we usually split up so we can take turns getting things done). We went to the Chesapeake Children's Museum and played and then to a family playdate. Good times.

WORST MOMENT LATELY: The kids were very sick all last week. I had to keep them home- no playdates, no activities, no preschool, no meetings. Coughing, fever, vomit, fatigue. A virus with the croup, we were told. Being stuck in the house was tough for me. I got a little sick too. All the laundry made me numb.

THOUGHTS OF THE DAY: Yoga! I'm starting my community classes next week (free or reduced-rate classes that I have to teach under certain specifications in order to qualify for that part of my certification. After the classes I still have several months worth of reading, quizzes, and essays.). This is my first time teaching this material, which is yoga geared for babies, tots, and tykes, and is VERY different from regular yoga, which I'm accustomed to. I'm nervous.

The worst part is that I've been spending a lot of time writing a brochure and making fliers for the three different classes and driving around to stores and libraries to get them to hang them up. Advertising takes so much time! And so far my classes aren't full! I think I'll be able to run my tot and tyke classes even if no one else signs up. But my baby classes only have one person committed to attending! There are lots of variables that might account for this, but still. It will be a lot of time wasted on advertising if I can't teach them. And I have to rework my schedule some other way to hold them at another time before January in order to fulfill my certification requirement (or I guess I'll have to request an extension until March...).

I met so many amazing women who are teaching this and doing well. And here I can't even get a discounted class off the ground! I'm trying to blame it on other factors, not me. But here again is another example of how my plan isn't working like I thought it would and that makes me doubt if I'm doing the right thing... Maybe my wheels are spinning in place because this is not a good time time in the universe for this to happen. Maybe my energies are needed somewhere else, like behind Jeremiah's campaign. That doubt keeps plaguing me as spend money on yoga eye pillows and spend energy designing my yoga website and spend time on class planning and advertising. I think he could really use this money, energy, and time on his campaign.