Shanti refers to peace (and I totally had to look that up).
School is out so my operating hours and schedule have changed a bit. Because a zookeeper can never really drop off her wild animals and not get random calls from schools all year long- summer is a welcomed visitor in this house because we can march to our own beat (even if we're all out of tune and some are on a different song completely).
This morning began with pulling weeds but quickly broke into a water balloon fight...because that is what usually happens when you set out to pull weeds. Rhino, you may have won this time but you should sleep with one eye open! I will start planning my revenge as soon as my underwear begins to dry out.
Lunch consisted of the usual pots, pans and everyone eating something completely different. That was fun.
One thing that I have to get re-used to is having four playful, hungry and dependent bodies around me all day. Some are better than others at occupying themselves and some are really good at it but can't be trusted. Wanting to maintain my road to health and thus workout schedule, I invited the children to join me. Yesterday we (I) ran/ walked/ carried a child who fell because she had to go to the bathroom for two invigorating miles. Today was Yoga.
I attended a Yoga class and loved it so I got some materials that would help me at home. My book promised that, "if I let it, Yoga would can change my life". I would feel calmer, slimmer and even sexier. (I added the italics because I kind of feel like it's the small print that gets you every time.)
I had to close my eyes and ears just to get through the warm up; the part right before we started (before anyone else came into the room) was pretty calm...
As for the slimming part? I hear laughter is a pretty good way to trim your waistline:
Puppy might have succeeded in taking this seriously if she wasn't standing next to Rhino who has the grace of, well, a rhino. He couldn't stand still for three seconds. It might have been because the stick in his hand was throwing him off balance or perhaps because he has never been good at sitting in chairs let alone standing nut either way, placing him next to the giant beanbag proved to be beneficial in silencing the thumps as each new pose was attempted.
At first Puppy was proud of her flexibility, then she couldn't resist joining in the giggling and lost all hope of breathing through her nose or stopping her shoulders from bobbing. I'm pretty sure at one point she even had her tongue hanging out of her mouth while she wagged her tail.
We had to wait a few minutes while Monkey dressed for the occasion. Fashionably set, she put a ballet twist to her yoga poses and added in a little street dancing flare; at one point I thought she was stuck or maybe hurt but apparently that was the pose she was going for. Ultimately, she dominated the dance... er... yoga floor and managed to match her facial expression with each change of position.
Tiger has been doing Yoga at school for a year now. I asked him to show the others. Note to self: Do not do that again. He couldn't resist lining his stripes right along with me, or in my personal bubble. My Down Dog was quickly renamed London Bridge and as soon as the song and each child's turn was complete, we moved on.
The Lying- Down V was highly recommended by Rhino as his favorite but is served as the beginning of a horizontal version of YMCA for Puppy. The other three couldn't resist. Our seated meditation was a condensed five-second version and everyone felt they were completely relaxed and invigorated.
The only thing left to do, of course, came with the shout, "Dog-pile on mom!"
Yep, feeling sexier by the minute.
And so it is. Shanti...
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