June 16, 2010
For quite some time I've wanted to write an article about the men who are doing yoga with me. I have about 10 regulars now and they are each very interesting and fun to work with. They have all made me swear that I wouldn't write about them. Well, most of them have.
So... this article is dedicated to the Father/ Daughter teams that are doing yoga with me. I have 4 of them. 2 young adult daughters and their dad's, 1 teenager (Christine Darlington and her dad Mike ) and my own husband Jim and our daughter Madeline who is 9. What I love about the father/ daughter teams is how much fun they have together. Mike and Christine have been doing yoga with me for about 4 years and they are very dedicated. The class that they attend is one where I do a blend of yin (holding postures (for 3-5 minutes to stretch the connective tissues in our bodies) and yang (faster moving postures where we hold for 30 seconds to 1 minute and then move on - this practice builds strength and flexibility in the belly of the muscle). I also do partner stretches in many of the classes and they happily work together and take on all kinds of challenges.
What impresses me about all the father/ daughter teams is that they are content together in the same class even though their abilities may range dramatically. My daughter often works on full backbends and splits, while my husband works hard to touch his toes. For all the teams it isn't about the perfection of the pose. It is about being together and each expanding their own abilities and capabilities in their own time and way. They support each other, they laugh together and when they give each other a shoulder massage at the end of the class it is a beautiful thing. I would like to add that all of the dad's that do yoga with me are 50+. T
The yogi's have always said that we are as old as our spines feel, and these dads are teaching their daughters to take care of their spines for their entire lives!
Happy Fathers Day!