My Yoga Today…Me, a Pizza Floatie, and Beach Boys
BY Heather Zollman
July 31, 2018
It’s a beautiful summer afternoon at the beach! It looks like Tinkerbell came floating by and sprinkled her glittery fairy dust all over the surface of the water. Like shiny little diamond specks everywhere! I am here with my 9 year old and his friend. There are a million things I could be doing at home for work and family, but I chose to be here. I am grateful that I get to make that choice today. Our summer days for 2018 are coming to a close soon. When you are two thirds of the way through a beautiful Minnesota summer, you take every second you can to soak it all in. I am lying on a pizza slice shaped floatie that looks so realistic, my stomach is now craving pepperoni pizza. This is so comfortable that I actually fell asleep or a few minutes (don’t tell our little friends mom). As I am lying here, working on diminishing my REDICULOUS, multiple tan lines that begin below the knee, then another couples of inches above the knee and all white on the backs of the legs, I found my mind drift off to the yin yoga class I taught this morning. It brings a smile to my face because it was AWESOME! Not because of the teaching, but because of the full room of women and their collective, beautiful energy. There was a wide range of ages, body types and personalities all gathered together in our space for one general reason-quieting their minds and bodies. Rest. ME time. Time to rejuvenate. New moms, grandmas, newly empty nesters, young girls that recently entered adulthood and my mom…all breathing their combined energy together. This is a tribe. As I smiled I also felt a little jealous. What?!? Yes mamaz, jealous. About what? That I wasn’t here as a student. Let me clarify, I am always a student, and my students are my best teachers! But this morning I was really tired. Like DOG tired. Like I could definitely down 6 more cups of coffee and lay in savasana (corpse pose) all day. (Or binge watch Riverdale on Netflix with my daughter.) This is a sign that I obviously have not been getting my own yoga in for myself. I’ll get it in later, eventually, hopefully. As I lay on this pizza slice floatie looking to the water, watching the boys play and laugh and splash, I find myself falling into a focused, steady rhythm of 3-part breathing and I am…grateful. Grateful to know this practice. Grateful that it doesn’t need to be done only on a mat. Grateful that I can lay belly to cheese and pepperoni, while observing pure 9 year old boy joy at the beach and…BREATHE. Full breaths. I so hope I get some physical yoga practice in today. Yin is what my body is craving, but if I don’t, I have this. A little chunk of time at the beach. Me, my floatie, the boys and my breath. That’s my yoga today. Gratefulness, breathing and a pizza floatie.
The lady parked next to us at the beach just yelled to her kids,” What kind of pizza should I order for dinner?” I almost answered pepperoni. (I am not making this up.) Maybe my grounded floatie made her hungry too? I love this crazy beautiful life!
Peace Out!
Yogamama
July 31, 2018
It’s a beautiful summer afternoon at the beach! It looks like Tinkerbell came floating by and sprinkled her glittery fairy dust all over the surface of the water. Like shiny little diamond specks everywhere! I am here with my 9 year old and his friend. There are a million things I could be doing at home for work and family, but I chose to be here. I am grateful that I get to make that choice today. Our summer days for 2018 are coming to a close soon. When you are two thirds of the way through a beautiful Minnesota summer, you take every second you can to soak it all in. I am lying on a pizza slice shaped floatie that looks so realistic, my stomach is now craving pepperoni pizza. This is so comfortable that I actually fell asleep or a few minutes (don’t tell our little friends mom). As I am lying here, working on diminishing my REDICULOUS, multiple tan lines that begin below the knee, then another couples of inches above the knee and all white on the backs of the legs, I found my mind drift off to the yin yoga class I taught this morning. It brings a smile to my face because it was AWESOME! Not because of the teaching, but because of the full room of women and their collective, beautiful energy. There was a wide range of ages, body types and personalities all gathered together in our space for one general reason-quieting their minds and bodies. Rest. ME time. Time to rejuvenate. New moms, grandmas, newly empty nesters, young girls that recently entered adulthood and my mom…all breathing their combined energy together. This is a tribe. As I smiled I also felt a little jealous. What?!? Yes mamaz, jealous. About what? That I wasn’t here as a student. Let me clarify, I am always a student, and my students are my best teachers! But this morning I was really tired. Like DOG tired. Like I could definitely down 6 more cups of coffee and lay in savasana (corpse pose) all day. (Or binge watch Riverdale on Netflix with my daughter.) This is a sign that I obviously have not been getting my own yoga in for myself. I’ll get it in later, eventually, hopefully. As I lay on this pizza slice floatie looking to the water, watching the boys play and laugh and splash, I find myself falling into a focused, steady rhythm of 3-part breathing and I am…grateful. Grateful to know this practice. Grateful that it doesn’t need to be done only on a mat. Grateful that I can lay belly to cheese and pepperoni, while observing pure 9 year old boy joy at the beach and…BREATHE. Full breaths. I so hope I get some physical yoga practice in today. Yin is what my body is craving, but if I don’t, I have this. A little chunk of time at the beach. Me, my floatie, the boys and my breath. That’s my yoga today. Gratefulness, breathing and a pizza floatie.
The lady parked next to us at the beach just yelled to her kids,” What kind of pizza should I order for dinner?” I almost answered pepperoni. (I am not making this up.) Maybe my grounded floatie made her hungry too? I love this crazy beautiful life!
Peace Out!
Yogamama