PRACTICING YOGA AS A FAMILY

by Berta Prevosti

What’s not to love about practicing yoga with the whole family? Well, at first it might seem like a great idea, but then children may begin to roll themselves up in a yoga mat, fling themselves into their siblings, bicker that they are standing too close to each other and complain that their brother’s Ujjayi breath smells like feet.

That is how it may often appear in the beginning, but some stories teach us exactly how to deal with these moments in time, and such is the story of Berta, and her journey of trying to raise three boys in a yoga studio.

Berta started practicing yoga many, many years ago, while also raising her three little boys as a single mother. It began with her trying to find some quiet time when the boys were occupied. It was important for her to find a meditative spot and work on her “OM”. This lasted all of three minutes. Just as she began to contemplate the universal life force energy that flows through us all, just as she seemed to arrive toward within arms’ reach of Nirvana, her

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6-year-old son, Mingo, would burst into the room and say, “What are you doing? You’re doing yoga without me!”

Berta was dumbfounded by his reaction. Since she had, just moments ago, occupied a sincere moment of Zen, it would be hard to contemplate any form of annoyance as a reaction, but before another moment could pass, the inspired little boy turned on his heels and ran out of the room. He could be heard running across the hall, and frantically searching for something in his room. He would return dressed in his “yoga” clothes along with a matching bandana. He had his yoga face on and was ready to practice.

That was the first moment the young mother had ever seen a glimpse at how good it could be to include her children into her yoga life. She had always considered this time to be hers, and hers alone, but she was wrong. We say we “practice” yoga a lot in the yoga world, but Berta learned something very different about practicing yoga that day. Her son joined her, he was present and they were silent in their new practice. It was beautiful.

His brothers showed up a few minutes later, jumping into headstands and handstands and, while completely unfocused as far as a “practice” goes, were simply being little boys. Mingo tried to be a serious yogi about it but eventually they all laughed and tumbled as they “practiced” being a family. They practiced laughing, they practiced yoga and they practiced living. This would be one of many moments left to hindsight, as who among us could possibly know how precious those moments would one day be?

Now, nearly 20 years later, Berta’s three sons are all grown, and Mingo—forever and always her little boy—teaches and helps his family’s practice grow with the same enthusiasm he showed when he first walked in and saw his mom flipped over on her head in the living room. The only difference is that he doesn’t “practice” yoga with his mother any longer—he lives it, and he breathes it.

Berta Prevosti offers online yoga and meditation through her new studio platform, RajaYogini.com, which offers online classes in meditation, yoga, yoga teacher training programs, certifications, workshops, retreats and metaphysical studies for as low as $9.99 a month. Connect at 203-902-5090 and RajaYogini.com.

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