H’s sickness finally cleared & we have been feeling like normal again. My new gig works out great as I can check him into the child care area while I teach (!). We drive on a curvy road in the woods on the edge of town & I always appreciate how the purity of nature cleanses the palate of my soul.
There have been day long breaks in the weather so that has been very helpful, allowing us to get out & explore & play. Must haves in the toddler world.
Routine always makes me feel more sane. Recently I began to go back to the women’s meeting I used to go to all the time. I also added a new noon meeting. In sobriety I’ve never been the type to go to the same meetings all of the time. I will find a meeting I love & go to it for years, but I also find it helpful to switch things up from time to time. Sometimes you just need it. Palate cleansing as well.
I love my yoga gigs & I’ve been subbing A LOT, which is great. I remember yoga teachers mentioning to me when I first started teaching that burn out is inevitable. It made me feel sad hearing that, like c’mon I’m just starting out here, & it also felt very far away. Some classes, as I call out the trillionth vinyasa it can feel that way, overly repetitive, or even meaningless. Some weeks I’m tired & I don’t ‘feel’ like teaching (which can be true of any job, I’m sure!). At the worst times I feel like I’m letting students down, or that my classes aren’t good enough. Or those classes where 2 people show up & instead of not even noticing it, it bothers me.
I luckily don’t feel that way to often. I can usually remember that every student HAS their own specific yoga practice. Their soul tells them what they need, if they listen, & it’s not up to me to be yoga for them. Yoga is yoga & I’m just a guide. I know this as truth because when I go to a class it takes a rather lot for me to dislike anything the teacher does. I have my own personal practice so the teacher’s cues are always filtered through that first. I try to remind students of this, for them to do their OWN thing. It’s their practice & it’s a sacred thing because it’s so unique.
Just yesterday I went to breakfast with another teacher who happens to be my friend, & then I also went to Portland to meet two teacher training buddies. We took a Hatha class & then went to get some desert. Yoga + friends + desert. Good combo, right? I should make a t-shirt.
As I strive for balance as a single mom, making time to hang out with friends is never a priority. I have to fight for it tooth & nail, fight my schedule, fight for child care (thank you endlessly parents), & the biggest fight is with myself. To remind myself that I need some time with my buddies. I need to speak. I need to hear. I need to laugh!
We had such a good time. It feels so good to have people in your life that you don’t feel defensive around, you can say something silly & everyone laughs instead of judging.
I had that in Long Beach with so many sober women. The biggest change is that most of my friends here are normies. It’s definitely different but good. I do have a couple of sober women I am close with & that’s okay.
This cleanses my palate too.
It’s a big accomplishment for me when I can follow the route of self care. I know it also makes me a better person/mom/friend/daughter/ect.
Looking forward to more of it while grateful living in the present. Wishing some self care to all of you, especially if you think it’s too hard right now. You need it!
~Namaste.
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