When you are immersed in doing without being centered, it feels like being away from home. And when you reconnect with being, even for a few moments, you know it immediately. You feel like you are at home no matter where you are and what problems you face. –John Kabat-Zinn, Embracing the Full-Catastrophe
Last Saturday was the first Daily Bread Yoga retreat in Champaign-Urbana. This retreat was about making a daily practice of yoga, even for a few moments. While I was leading the retreat, my parents and husband were cleaning out and fixing our new (very old) house. On Tuesday we loaded up the home we made in the apartment and moved into this old house and spent our very first night there.
Wednesday was hard for me, my daughter, and Rita, our dog. I think I am qualified to speak for the dog and my daughter. We were in this strangely big place, surrounded by boxes of our stuff, but felt so far from anything that felt like home. The three of us spent the day following each other around because we were the only thing that felt like home to us.
It gets better day by day, of course. In a time like this when I am in an in-between space of “home” I am more grateful than ever for my daily practices that ground, comfort, and refresh me. When I roll out my orange mat, sit down, close my eyes, I experience just what Kabat-Zinn wrote; a feeling of coming home after being away a long time. My yoga mat is the most familiar spot in our house right now. And oof, I am so grateful for that mat.
If you are interested in a daily practice (routine) that I teach — ask me about it and I am happy to share. It is based on the 5 Tibetans. If you google 5 Tibetans, you will find more information than is helpful.
My biggest tip is to attach 5-10 minutes of yoga to something else you do, without fail, every day. I used to do it as soon as I arrived to work in the morning – before I said hello, checked the mail, sat down…you get the idea. Now I have the most success when I do it immediately after I put my daughter down for her nap. Others might do it after walking the dog, brushing your teeth, when you wake up, whatever works. I really recommend making it part of something else that you are already doing everyday, so you don’t have to add one more thing to your to-do list of the day. It’s all for you, so however you are going to be able to do it – then do that.
You very well already might have that daily ritual or practice that brings you home every day, even if it’s just for few moments. I hope so. If not – I highly recommend it. Being away from home for too long is tiring.
