As we all keep looking on the horizon for clues of what's to come in the next few weeks and starting wondering if we'll ever get back to face to face classes, it may be a good time for some reflections on what this whole experience has meant for your yoga practice.
At the start of the lock-down I was a bit dubious about teaching on-line for several different reasons : will people enjoy the experience ? will they turn up ? will they re-play the classes ? etc... but as the weeks keep slipping passed it seems the answers to all of the above questions is a big resounding YES! I have absolutely loved it so far and discovered a new love for all things fitness and broadened my own personal practice to include new disciplines as well as kept studying and researching new themes and sequences to keep your classes fresh and engaging.
From your feedback the on-line classes seems to have worked out pretty well for so many of you and it has been so uplifting to hear stories of how many of you have now established good habits and brought more yoga into your life than you would otherwise have ever been able to do.
This will be seen as a watershed moment in our lives but also perhaps in our Yoga practice : some will have fallen off the rails completely and fallen out of love with their practice and maybe yoga and perhaps embraced other things , some will have stuck to their usual classes to maintain a sense of normality and routine and others will have embraced the opportunity to find out the benefits of a more regular practice by taking part to several sessions a week.
Perhaps you have gone through phases of all of the above , whatever you may have been doing with your yoga practice during this time I am sure it is what you need to do right now in this challenging time.
I believe the pandemic has allowed us to discover that perhaps we have more time than we thought we had if we let go of some of the things we used to think were essential and that this experience can still help us lay the foundations to revive, re-inforce or maintain a more frequent and regular personal/home practice post-COVID19.
For those who may feel like they have gone off the rails a bit and for whom their yoga practice may have slipped right down on the list of priorities due to other commitments (home schooling, caring for an elderly relative, working from home, life in general etc...) be kind to yourselves.
If you feel like Yoga would just be one more worry for you at this time then just let it go. You can come back to it when things settle back down , Yoga has been around for thousand of years and it is not just about to disappear overnight.
If however you need some motivation consider these few things to get you started :
every day it is the beginning of the rest of your life, start a-fresh with this new opportunity and decide to do something different
start small, commit to perhaps just 1 class a week, turn up and stick around for the duration
have a plan, schedule a fixed time just for you and your practice and do not change the plan for any reason
repeat 1, 2 and 3 until it becomes second nature ( and email, call me, text me if you need support or encouragement )
For those who have kept their groove , you are doing a fantastic job holding on to your routine and using your yoga practice to add structure to your days/weeks, keep on going!
One of the things you can do to support your newly found home/personal practice (maybe you are already doing it) is to perhaps add a little reflection/quiet time at the end of the on-line classes you are attending or replaying. This can add some depth to your practice as you slowly learn to manage your practice unguided, this post-class time can include some gentle/Yin like stretches, some reading you may have selected before the class , some pranayama practice or simply an extended Savasana.
If you do this on a regular basis you will eventually start to develop small rituals that can so easily be incorporated into other non-yoga days. Just go with the flow and see what feels good for you.
Finally for those who have ramped up your yoga practice considerably during this time, it may be time to seriously reflect on Yoga journey.
What sort of measurable changes if any has this change in frequency brought to you and your life and what is your plan to maintain some sort of regular home practice once the restrictions lift completely ? Will you go back to one sessions a week? Will you add some alone , at home sessions? Would you feel comfortable getting on your mat unguided and create your own practice?
Remember that the only truth is that everything changes including your relationship with your Yoga practice so wherever you may be at the moment remain positive and take from the practice what you need and what is right for you right now. If you need help in establishing or re-establishing a routine, if you would like some coaching get in touch for a quick chat , it's absolutely free!
May you all be well
May you all be happy
May you all be free
Namaste
Marzia
07879 339305
Classes continue on-line via Facebook private group for 8.99£ month/ per household
