I get up each morning just after 6. I sneak downstairs and spend an hour or so writing, reading, and prepping for my day. Really I should be running or exercising – I’m working on that motivation, but it’s not there yet.
After I returned from the Dad 2.0 Summit this weekend, refreshed and re-energized as an engaged father, I pulled Zacharie aside and suggested to him that we should do a quick yoga practice each morning.
It would be a chance for us to center our spirit, find inner peace, and greet the day with a smile and positive outlook. You see, Z, like his father, has a short temper and it can be disruptive. I’ve been wanting to get my head in order lately, and figured this could be a chance for Zacharie and I to spend time together and find some inner peace.
The best I have ever felt in my life was the summer I had an unlimited yoga pass. I would go two or more times a week and my head has never been screwed on as straight since. As I look to take control of physical and mental health this year, I know I need yoga and I know it would be good for Zacharie to do as well.
Yet, it was Charlie, who overhead the conversation, who was eager to participate. Charlie is a yoga fan, loves saying “namaste” and even created a fun Yoga For Ninjas video last year.
This morning, Charlie was the first to awake after me. He shuffled down the stairs, rubbing his eyes just before 7. “Daddy, did you do yoga yet?” No, I responded. “I want to say Namaste. Let’s do yoga,” he insisted.
So we went downstairs, I popped open the Pocket Yoga app and we did a couple of simple sun salutation poses, sitting quietly at the end cross legged with our hands folded on our chest.
“Namaste, daddy,” he whispered.
“Namaste, Charlie,” I replied. “Namaste.”