What is Dharana?

It is not always easy to keep up with a practice in the shala. Not when you are a working mother to two lovely, exuberant children and a happily married woman to a beautiful, kind-hearted husband. The 12-hour work days are consuming and weekends mean the children want their mom to be where they can see her. So in the midst of the weekend mayhem, I rolled out my mat in my empty space (and i mean a few pairs of 10 inch tiles) between the living room and the dining area/kitchen.

I practiced. I practiced while Smash Bro Brothers was on (it later shifted to Spider Man, apparently) and Ynigo was happy to have his mom contorted but present. Yzzy was careful not to step into the space (or be stepped on, intelligent girl that she is), babbling in what I feel might be mixtures of English, Ilocano and possibly, Sanskrit words (what with the chanting and counting and all).

I had a beautiful practice. I don't know how it is done, in hindsight, but I did. The mindfulness and concentration cannot be underestimated. Somehow, we have that capacity. The grocery and bills and tv and the neighbors were there so unobstrusive like...pipe-in music? or maybe the sound of the sea? There was no effort to ignore. There was just that focus.

The kids went to their rooms at some point only for Ynigo to come back later, in the middle of my headstand. He went near enough, I think, and as I straightened my legs, my inner smile broke because I heard clapping.

It was not a "perfect" headstand but to my son, I was. I am. The inverted mother he loves, without question, with just that certain knowing.

He left after clapping and I moved on, breath by breath and pose by pose.

At the end, I was in perfect peace. Contented in the practice of the asanas that I continue to build, following my breath, knowing my place. And my place for this particular practice, today, was at home.