My yoga practice took a back seat for several reasons. Mainly it was impossible to do any type of asana practice while moving. I was co piloting our tank of a boat and when I wasn't on first mate duties I was asleep. We had a pretty rigorous travel schedule down the ditch. And even if I could make it happen before the sun was up (and we were under way) everything was soaking wet.
I tried a few times on the dock when we were tied up at marinas. In both instances it was really cold so a full practice would have been unsafe for the body. I did work on breathing and trying to just be (and that is just as much a part of practice as the movement).
Then, we finally made it to The Keys and it was non stop raining and crazy wind. I had no where to practice. On our bow is where it's at. There isn't space to do it anywhere else on board. Well, not without taking out a person, dog, shelf, bulkhead etc... 34 feet people is a decent amount of space for a boat, but by no means is there room to spread out. Spread out... What does that mean anymore?
I'm pretty confident our 850 square foot house is going to feel palatial after this little journey.
But I digress~ yoga.
Mid January I was totally moody and kind of over it. I was over the whole thing- the boat, the rain, the wind, my family (lots of face time in tight spaces with all the weather. I love them, but if you were squeezed into a tin can with the ones you love the most for weeks at a time... You might be over them too).
Then Hubs reminded me that I hadn't rolled my mat out in awhile. A long while. And even though they were totally legit reasons I needed to start making it happen, for everyone aboard. That's the thing with yoga for me- yes it's great physically, but it is so much more a mental thing for me. And props to my Hubs for recognizing that and then reminding me.
So slowly, but everyday (unless there was rain) I rolled out my mat. It took some time to find my groove again. I started with what I know- Ashtanga. I worked my way through the primary series. Some days I modified because I just wasn't back yet. Sometimes I modified because, while I have the space on the bow, there is wind and boat wakes to contend with. I'm not trying to hurt myself.
That's something I had to come to terms with too. I absolutely have to be mindful of what's going on around me when I practice on the boat. Mindfulness is part of yoga. But this is different. Take inversions for example. I love inversions. When I'm home or on land I always make extra time to work on going upside down. I can't do that on the boat. I could be upside down in a headstand or handstand and another boat flies by and I flip over the bow and break my back. It's just not worth the risk. So, when I can't make it to land I focus on seated postures. I have more control there.
I thought it would hurt my practice. But, the opposite has happened. I am more open to what can happen as opposed to what should happen.
Sometimes Coco will join me. She will drift up do a few postures, occasionally help with an adjustment, then go back to what she s doing.
I use to have a bit of a complex about practicing on the bow in the full harbor. I'm over that. Admittedly I was a bit of a novelty for passers by in the beginning. Now, I'm just part of the back drop.
I am back to practicing 6 days a week.... And everyone onboard is better for it.
Namasté
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