Yoga with a 5-Year Old

After some deep and meaningful thought, I have nothing to add to my previous comments about packaging—other than to say that, well, society should have less packaging. There, I've said it, and now it's up to you, dear reader, to go out and make it happen.

On the other hand, I do have some comments about the benefits of yoga. Mr. Bastish has commented several times over the past few months about how yoga makes him faster, smarter, more relaxed, blah, blah, blah. Take note of some of the following:

My body feels amazing. And not just to the lucky people close enough to rub up against it on the crowded train. It also feels amazing to me - the person lucky enough to be inside it. (My Amazing Body, May 23rd)

For the past two months I have focused on creating a lot of guilt-free free time for myself to work on the dream, and have been taking advantage of it by working out 2-4 hours each day (a little less on weekends), doing yoga, running, weight-training, and biking. I feel great physically, and want to do more. (Making it My Job, June 25th)

Yesterday my regular one-hour run took just over forty-five minutes (same distance), and I was hardly breathing hard. Likewise, during yoga I found that I am suddenly able to stretch things further than I have ever been able to stretch them. Could it be that my childhood dreams of having super-powers were suddenly realized. (Not So Superman, June 29th)

I've long been a proponent of yoga, ever since the "Yoga for Everyone" class every Thursday at noon, during my last "normal work" job. When I went to Sweden, I brought a couple of yoga DVDs with me and even now do the occasional random yoga class at my gym. But while I love it, I'm not exactly manic about it--although I do enjoy the all-over feeling of stretchiness the next day.

Anyway, as part of my 30 Days of Bastish, I thought I would break out the power yoga DVD (with yoga god Rodney Yee) and see if I could find Basish-like super powers somewhere in the following 45 minutes. Dear reader, it was more difficult than I thought--primarily because I was striking the poses directly next to a 5-year old.

First off, let me just say that small children are endowed with a natural flexibility that puts all of us 20-somethings to shame. As I was deep breathing (read: panting) my way through the downward dogs, Ms. Janie was giggling and making faces and instructing me on the "proper" way to do it--based on her "Yoga Kids" video, which includes an animal noise with each pose. Not exactly relaxing to hear dogs growling, snakes hissing, and lions roaring during the routine, ya know?

Secondly, 5-year olds don't exactly have the patience for an hour-long yoga DVD. Somewhere in the middle of our sun salute series, Ms. Janie began peppering me with questions. "What is Warrior Two?" "That man has a funny ponytail!" "He is very handsome." "Who is talking?" Sigh. While I got a good workout, the mental relaxation that usually accompanies the process was somewhat lacking. Thank goodness Janie left halfway through to go show her mother the *right* way to do a mountain pose.

Long story short: once again, the 30 Days of Bastish falls short. Next on the agenda is a bike ride. Now that the torrential downpours of the last two weeks are behind the good people of Washington, D.C., it's time for me to find a good bike path.