A busy life

The Dalai Lama is reported as saying the following:"I meditate for one hour first thing in the morning, except for days when I'm really busy. On those days I meditate for two hours".We all make excuses for neglecting our practice, and the "too busy" excuse is probably the most common.But it's during those intense periods of busyness, hyperactivity and stress that we most need to practise.We all know this already. I'm not coming up with a new idea here. But it's not easy to fit in yoga practice when life is already full.I've had a pretty busy time of it for the last while; looking for a new shala, taking care of two small children, lots of music practice and concerts, and teaching of course. But I haven't sacrificed my daily, morning yoga practice and I've added a short sitting meditation practice every evening to help calm the mind. I'm not quite at the Dalia Lama level yet but, I'm hoping a few more weeks will do it!The reason I love the above quote is that it speaks a truth about our usual mindset. The fact that we're expecting him to say he doesn't practice meditation when he's busy shows how our mind lets us make excuses for ourselves.So maybe we can't create the space to increase our practice time when we have a very busy day but maybe we can just keep going, keep doing the thing that keeps us on the straight and narrow and helps us to deal with, and maybe even deflect, the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.Don't stop practising.Never stop practising!