Sharing your practice with family
Doing yoga with family and friends makes the practice much more enjoyable for many reasons. It is fun to spend time with family and friends. If you are new to yoga, you will have a bunch of supportive people with you to start your very own yoga practice together. If you are an experienced yogi, you can help your friends or family on their own journey to establishing a yoga practice in a group setting.
Yoga is a sacred, intimate, and quiet practice. Family life can be busy, noisy, and chaotic. Can they co-exist?
They can and do. Many families are learning to weave yoga into their daily routine. Rather than a full-hour practice in a quiet, candle-lit space, family yoga at home often happens in spontaneous bits throughout the day. There are some key times to incorporate yoga into the family routine to cultivate a rhythm that everyone can come back to again and again. Children crave structure and ritual. Pausing to connect at times of key transitions helps families stay calm and centred. It can also help each member become more aware of his or her own unique rhythms in relation to the rhythms of the family system. This allows everyone to be more compassionate, tolerant, and at ease. Plus, family yoga can be a lot of fun.
Five minutes of yoga can create an almost magical sense of time-bending.
Time pressure can have everyone feeling on edge, and five minutes of yoga can create an almost magical sense of time-bending. Three rounds of sun salutations (surya namaskar- Check free on demand), six rounds of “Switch Breath” (alternate nostril breathing), or a few partner poses, set the tone for a relaxed and engaging day.
Mealtimes are also a great opportunity to pause, reflect, express appreciation, and connect.
Mealtimes are also a great opportunity to pause, reflect, express appreciation, and connect. Choosing to establish the evening meal as important family time where everyone sits down together and gives their full attention to the food and the people with whom they are sharing it provides a sacred space where everyone can feel heard, supported, and loved. It’s these conditions that make potentially difficult situations in life more manageable.
Bedtime is another ideal time for a 5-minute yoga practice. Slow sun salutations or some stretching on the floor (or in bed) help the nervous system work out the frenetic energy of the day. Sharing the highlights and lowlights of the day helps children process emotions and thoughts that could otherwise keep them up at night. Chanting is a lovely bedtime ritual. It can simply be a few rounds of Om, singing along to a kirtan CD, or the Maha Mrityunjaya mantra. Many children enjoy falling asleep to these mantras. It’s the secret set-up for a great tomorrow.
Children often come up with creative and clever ideas, too.
The first few weeks with this new kind of routine may be met with some resistance, as with any change. It’s like introducing a new food. Stick with it and let the practice itself guide you. Use your intuition and make it your own. Children often come up with creative and clever ideas, too. They like to make up poses, tell stories, and create characters. This can all become a part of your family’s unique yoga practice. Let it be easy.