Family time

A day or so ago, The Cop mentioned he'd like to try Ashtanga. Last night he said he'd like to practice with me this morning, and asked what teaching method I would use (such a smart ass). I told him I'd just start him like anyone coming to a Mysore class. Then I wondered if he'd really get up with me at 5 AM, since today is his day off.

Sure enough, he did. It was funny for me to set up three mats in the yoga room (lucky I hoard mats). My Gift was also due to put in some time on the mat, though not necessarily Ashtanga. She has been having some problems with sore joints, so yesterday I took her to my old Anusara teacher, who also does lots of therapeutic yoga. He worked with her for about an hour and gave her a brief routine to try out. As I watched, though, I thought about how starting her off with suryas and the standing poses would probably be just as healing. For the time being, she is going to follow his routine. But she will do suryas with me (and The Cop) and then I will also slowly teach her the standing sequence, and she can throw in the routine from her therapeutic session when she feels like she needs it.

So, a very busy yoga morning. Usually I am up by myself, practicing in the almost-dark. It was nice having company. The Cop did a full half-primary with me. He is very athletic, with a good background in martial arts, plus lots of strength training and cardio, so it wasn't like he was going to get tired from practice. The challenge will simply be to keep his ambitions in check, gain some flexibility and balance, and then learn to just enjoy it. Once he is a little comfortable, he can take a led class, and if he really starts to like it, I'll bring him to Mysore at Volleyball Guy's.

Yoga has always been my thing. I had been feeling a little guilty about commandeering a room in the new house just for yoga. So today's family time in the yoga room was quite nice. And challenging, from a meditation perspective. When I meditate, I always feel quite connected to how all is one, and my "me" is an illusion. The hardest thing, over the years, has been for me to contemplate that the individual manifestations that are the people I love are also illusions. I love harboring that illusion! I'm very attached to it, and it is very hard to work through. I had pretty much figured I needed to leave that awareness in the back of my mind, because I wasn't up for really seeing it through. Perhaps that is why we were all there today. Karma brought us all together as a family, and I suppose it makes sense that we all have some issues to work out together. I just always thought that the fascination with cosmic issues was my little idiosyncracy, my weird obsession--meant for me to work on over the course of this lifetime--but apparently The Cop and My Gift are in on this, too. Duh. It seems so obvious now. How could they not be?