Reconnecting With Your Own Yoga Flow

As a busy Independent Parent, small business owner, and human being, time just seems to fly bye. I wake up early, do my morning practice, walk the dog, drink my tonic, wake the kids, make them breakfast, get them to school, and start my day seeing clients. My days are spent giving massages, teaching Yoga, Sharing Energetics, Creating Online content, Making Meal-Plans, and sharing Self-Care techniques. I then get the kids from aftercare, make them dinner, have a little family time, and most nights, pass out before they are even in bed. 

Sound familiar?

I am an Independent mom and one-woman entrepreneur often called a “Onepreneur.” My life is literally about serving others and catering to my family’s needs. I spend a lot of time in a mental  “stress-fest” – fatigued, overwhelmed, thinking and feeling that I can do it all, and all by myself, stressed that I have no one to help me. I often dream of the days when I will be making money in my sleep and able to take a day off from serving other people and just focus on myself and my own meal plans and self-care regime.

Checking in with My Higher Self

Thankfully though, I am a Yogi and intuitive and have lots of tools and have had lots of unexpected Life training. I know when to check in with my higher self and take a moment to notice what is serving the greatest good, the bigger picture. Realizing I’ve also had my share of wins and have been able to create my own Daily Practice being able to be aware and stay present when life throws me a curveball of Covid, Inflation, or having to pick up everything and start over. There have been many times when I’ve felt like I’ve hit rock bottom, and I have to re-connect and manifest another type of Magic and way of living.

Let me not sugarcoat it though, once you get so wrapped up in figuring out where you are in life and start having some pretty dark moments, shadow work, and old patterning coming up, it is hard to hit the mat and focus on a daily flow, self-care regime, or a meal plan. It’s hard not to feel like a fraud or a bad parent or a character from a Netflix show you’ve been bingeing… It’s hard not to drink a big glass of wine at the end of the day to disconnect and numb out. It is hard to just unwind and feel a bit of peace and normalcy.

Let’s face it, in this world at this time, just being alive is a hard thing to feel good at. As a parent, especially an Independent Parent, taking care of others can be more than challenging. Dealing with social media, comparisons from outsiders, and comments from family and friends can almost make it feel ugly and like there’s something wrong with you. As a Single Mom, I am constantly hearing other people’s comments about how hard it must be to be a single parent, especially a mom, and on top of that a Female Business Owner of a small healing business…. So many opinions thoughts and ideas are shared with me! Even when I am not seeking them.

Familiar Parenthood

I see and know the troubles and traumas of both single and dual parental relationships. I also know the issues of not having family or friends or helpful people in your community or even a community to turn to. There are so many different scenarios in a household. Both parents are together but only one takes care of the children and household while the other works or the parent taking care of the children also has to take care of the partner in the household and work. Maybe they are new parents and neither really know what to do and just need help to reconnect with each other or themselves. Some parents have adopted a child or care for another family member. If you have a child with special needs, acronyms, or tested gifted, that’s a whole different set of stressors and lifestyle disciplines. There can be divorce, second marriages, abuse, trauma, illness, disabilities, the list goes on and I will address these and some others in later posts. (For the benefit of this topic we will focus on the individual needs of establishing a positive Daily Routine.)

Establishing a Positive Daily Routine

In every stage of Parenting come different types of issues,  a lot of ideas and feelings of inadequacy, questions, concerns, self-doubt, comparisons, emotional, mental, and physical traumas. Feelings of losing yourself, your identity, or your connection to yourself and/or your partner. As a new parent, you may experience body Image issues or feel Body Shame from others. There may be Postpartum Depression, but most often there is stress and fatigue. There are countless reasons that as a parent we forget about our own Self-Care or find excuses to not show up for ourselves. 

I am here to tell you that no matter what stage you are in parenthood, you can always find time for Self-Care and practice. Even if it is strapping the baby to you and taking him to Yoga Teacher training for the first 6 months of his life. (More on that in another post) 

Doing The Work

It begins with Drive, having a strong desire to do what is best for you and your child or family in the long run… It starts with Forgiveness, giving yourself grace and compassion, being thankful, and finding reasons to Show Gratitude.

Stepping back and taking a breath allowing yourself to Let Go.

Showing up for yourself, knowing that, as the airplane manual says, you have to put the oxygen mask on yourself before you can help another!

Start slow, Yoga is a practice and we must build up a resistance to procrastination and feelings of inadequacy. Finding clarity, confidence and competence are all needed in establishing a positive daily routine, and there are steps we can take to become calm and centered, and less judgmental with ourselves.

Creating a Morning Practice

One of the best pieces of advice I got when I was young was to wake up earlier than everyone else in the house and take some time for yourself.  Enjoying the experience of peace and quiet without distractions and demands of everyone else and their energy. Also, set a timer for yourself, and don’t get distracted by checking your phone, social media, or emails, which could lead to comparing yourself with others, and getting lost in thoughts of other people’s words. Just Wake up, go to the bathroom, splash some cold water on your face, brush your teeth then find a safe quiet space, roll out a mat and take a seat. 

Take a minute to let your body relax and quiet the mind, connect with your breath, clear your mind, and set an Intention. 

Create and repeat a mantra or affirmation as needed, a statement beginning with  “I AM.”

“I Am at peace, safe, secure, and stable.” 

“I Am one with the flow of the universe around me.”

“I Am manifesting Only that which is of the greatest and highest good.”

Or you can ask Spirit to guide you.

“Spirit, (God, Universe) Send me a message or a sign to let me know I am on the correct path at this point now.”

“Spirit, guide me in the direction of the highest good.”

Move your Body 

You can choose to sit in meditation as long as needed before or after your moving practice. Begin with 15 minutes of yoga or sun salutations. Let your body just flow and move how it wants. Some people even do EFT Tapping, Shaking, or Qi Gong movement. Stretching away the nights’ aches and pains, finding positions that soothe you and give relief, making a mental checklist of what works for you. Take the time to breathe with an intuitive meditative flow, asking your higher self what it needs to hear, see and feel in this moment. 

If Asana is not what your body is feeling, go outside, take a nature walk, move with your breath, take in all the morning sights and fresh air, connecting to the earth, and that which is outside of you. This is a good time to ask Spirit for any messages or signs you need to receive. Signs and messages often show up in nature through symbolism, presenting to you an animal, a feather, a tree, a body of water, or flowers. I talk a lot about this in my Walking Meditations which I often post Live on Social Media Posts.

Sharing with Others

After a few mornings to yourself and when you feel grounded enough in your own practice, you can always have your partner or child join you some mornings during the week or weekend. Incorporating a daily practice of movement, meditation, and mindfulness into their lives may be exactly what the family needs. But do you first! Take the time to reconnect to yourself and your roots. Become the best and most positive version of yourself so that you can show up as the light being and healer you are, and then you can help and serve others at a way higher frequency with happiness authenticity, and love.