Sunrise Yoga

For over a week I have been getting up early and going for a walk. Not every day, but probably 5 or 6 out of the last 9 days or so. L has been an earlier riser lately (between 6:30 and 7:30), so it started with me getting up early with her. Some days I have gone with just her and a few times E woke up and went with us. On those days we walk slow, look at bugs, pick up rocks, talk a lot and enjoy the sunshine and cool air. On the days that I have gone alone, I walk faster, go further, and pray and meditate.

This morning I woke up a little before 6 and got to go out by myself. I took my yoga mat and after walking for about half an hour, I went to the park and did yoga and meditated for another half an hour. It felt so good!

Now, I am NOT normally an early riser! My usual schedule is to be in bed by 10-12 (with about once a week 1-3) and up by no earlier than 7:30. And even if I'm up by 7:30, I'm not normally alive and functional until 9. Do not ask me to be out of the house before 10.

But I have been really craving being outdoors lately. Our car has been broken down for over 2 months and it has meant that we go outside in our back yard, go for walks and to the nearby park a lot more often. I used to try to get outside once a day, but often would get so busy that I would go a few days only going outside to walk to and from the car or maybe just to do 20 minutes of work outside. I would still try to get the kids outside daily, but sometimes that meant just playing on the porch or going outside with D while I did office work. A few times a week we'd go to the park or on a hike. With the car broken down and being home LOT more, we started playing in the back yard of our apartment complex for hours at a time. Just sitting drives me nuts, which is one reason I love to hike, but since I started crocheting I have been able to do that while the kids play. And of course, with no car, we have been doing lots of walking to run errands!

Now I am craving being outside, craving the sunshine and I know it won't be long before Oregon winter settles in and the sunshine is limited. But even on cloudy days, it just feels so good to be out. I'm not making any plans to keep doing this. Plans always seem to get in the way of listening to my body. In fact, I'm a little afraid I'm going to jinx myself just by posting this. I'm going to keep doing it as long as my body is craving it. Right now, I am actually excited about tomorrow morning!