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Hi Bill,

I've definitely experienced the tensions of trying to give my practice time and space in the context of my family. It's mostly not an issue now, since visits are limited to less than 48 hours, and I basically approach the whole thing by surrendering my own desires for the duration, and also limiting the duration. It works fairly well that way. But in the past, when the visits have been longer, I remember some of the insane dynamics in my own head. Please remember, this was a much younger me having these impulses, 'cause it's kind of embarrassing, being immature and ego-filled: Foremost was the question "Should I practice where I can be seen (to show off that unlike my parents, I'm trying to take care of my body) or try to hide so I won't be interrupted?" Then there were the raw logistics of finding space for practice in my mom's thing-cluttered house. Then there was the issue that, no matter what, once I started, I would be interrupted my my mom, always ever so politely, asking what I wanted for breakfast, or some other question that just had to be answered right then. I would make sure I completed a breath or came out of a posture before answering, both to honor the practice and to push back a little, and I could tell this irritated the hell out of her. (Obviously me and my mom could never co-habitate without major trauma and adjustment.) My husband, OTOH, never interrupts my practice unless its something really time critical, and I try to practice when there's not likely to be something time critical. I never feel that tension with him around my practice; he knows it is important to me, and he is supportive of that. For mom, anything that makes space (physical, psychological) is a threat. It was totally different when visiting my husband's family; I just did my yoga every morning like, yeah, this is what I always do, and they didn't make any big deal about it. Well, sorry to go on about me; I'm just trying to say, I sure can understand the tensions of trying to keep a practice going with family competing for your time and space. For limited duration visits, I find it's easier to let the relationship dynamics be your yoga, and get back to the mat afterwards. Obviously this wouldn't work long term.