The other day I did a restorative yoga practice with Yoga Girl and mid-practice, I had a revelation.

Let me set the stage, it’s quarantine time and my house is full of people. Somehow, miraculously, when I began in my living room-turned-yoga space, everyone in my family was occupied, so if I closed my eyes I almost had myself tricked into thinking I was in a serene yoga studio. I had headphones in with a great playlist going, over which I could hear Yoga Girl softly cueing the postures and encouraging me to love myself. I was fully zenned out.

Then, all three of my kids came into the next room and my husband got on a conference call. I am admittedly head over heels in love with all of these people, but they are VERY LOUD talkers. When they’re all together, you’d think a crowd of 50 had gathered right in my living room. I tried to tune it out at first, but  I could feel the frustration growing with each passing second. Finally, I broke the third wall of yoga and shouted,

“Can you please all talk a bit quieter? Do you not see me in full yoga zone?”

They got quiet. I felt bad.

So, what’s the revelation? I’m a cranky mom who yells at her kids when they’re enjoying each other’s company? Maybe, but not today. Turns out, although I was fully immersed in the meditation of yoga, I was also in a really uncomfortable position. It was a reclined twist that was difficult for me to do so as I lay there trying to “relax” into a tough position, the irritable feelings were already bubbling up and the added noise of the cacophony of children just pushed me over the edge.

It’s simple really: I was less able to ignore the noise because I was already focusing all my patience on my own body trying to do something difficult. It was like I had poured everything I had into that posture and I nothing left to manage their noise and overall jubilance. I had poured out the entire cup of patience and love trying to do something that was hard for me, so adding in their noise was more than I could take.

This revelation is really just a long-winded way of saying now, more than ever, it is important for us to keep tuning in to make sure our cups are full. There is a lot in the world trying to drain us right now. It’s up to us to fill back up.

So, find what moves you. Take a Yoga Girl class. Listen to some funny podcasts. Watch a show that doesn’t make you think. Just recharge however you need to because the world is asking a lot of us right now. We need to be ready for it.