let the sun shine in

Welcome 2012...we just returned from a family vacation to Grand Cayman. One week of warm weather, palm trees and surf beating rhythmically upon the sand. I used to dream all year long of a week off of work, mostly because I hated to go back. The hours, the drudgery, the call, the never-ending grind. This was the first vacation in years I can remember when I was actually looking forward to coming home. Today I thought: yeah home! Shivy can sleep in her own bed, I get to snuggle with the puppies, practice at the shala, see my friends and finish that baby afghan I've been working on. I guess you know you love your life when you are excited to come home, even if it is Detroit in January!

The practice space in our condo was somewhat small, and often times I practiced while my daughter napped, as it was a guaranteed place of undisturbed quiet in the middle of the day. Sometimes she woke up early and I had to cut my practice short, but most days I was able to do primary series in full (or should I say, fully-modified for third trimester pregnancy).

With 7 weeks left to go (or less!) I'm losing a fair number of postures to my size and the best interest of the baby. Most recently, this week I stopped doing the full finishing series and have started doing baddha padmasana, padmasana, uplithihi and savansana as my finishing. Even still, it's a crossed legged seat instead of a lotus these days, no heels in the abdomen. And just as it was with my daughter, I can no longer do savasana on my back because I get short of breath, so I'm now laying on my left side for corpse pose. This photo of Shivy and I on the beach says it all in terms of my ever expanding size...

It's hard to believe that in just a few weeks Siobhan will have a brother! Big changes are coming and soon! I'm always a little ambivalent about the required 3 month full-practice hiatus, but as my teacher Matthew Darling reminds me, it will always be there waiting for me...