I went to a Bikram yoga class today which I thoroughly enjoyed, as usual. Towards the end of the class, the teacher asked a question that Bikram himself usually asks: what is most important to you?
My immediate, gut level response was "my body". And what I meant by that was the strength and health of my body--not some superficial "look" but a substantive, long lasting well-being.
Then my intellect took over and I changed my response to "my boys," meaning my sons.
The teacher left a long pause for us to think over things and then said, "Your family? You car? Your job? WRONG! The health of your body because without that, you can't be of use to anyone or anything."
My gut level response was right! And I know it's true. But society has conditioned mothers to believe that everything else takes precedence and is so much more important than taking care of themselves.
I fall into that line of thinking from time to time. I feel like I'm stealing time and attention from my kids when I go out for a run or hit the gym or go to a yoga class. But that's simply not true.
I'm grateful for the reminder today. One more reason to love Bikram yoga.
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