It felt like a matter of days in March between reading headlines about Italy’s struggles to contain COVID-19, and watching my little world in Wilmington, NC shut down. Suddenly I was working from a laptop on my kitchen table, my office closed indefinitely, and wearing a mask in public. The places I teach – and take – yoga had also closed, from fitness centers to studios to church facilities.
Initially, I remember speaking to some of the students in a regular community class about pivoting to virtual classes on Zoom, after the church where we met closed temporarily. We’d do classes on Zoom “for two or maybe three weeks, until everything can re-open.” Weeks quickly turned into months.
But those students kept showing up each Saturday morning, on Zoom now instead of the youth rec room at the church, to take an hour to focus on gentle (or sometimes more challenging) movement, on their breath, and on finding a place of calm within themselves. I added more Zoom classes, as did the studios and teachers who I practice with. Pets, spouses and children have all made appearances in videos, and I’ve become quite good at picking the angle for the laptop that doesn’t show the laundry waiting to be put away.
“Unprecedented” has been overused during all this – but it’s a great word. Most of us have never lived through a pandemic, and none of us have experienced a virus quite like this before. But we’ve also never before had the breadth and depth of technology available that we do now. We’re all taking our best guesses, with whatever information is currently available, and adapting as best we can.
Whatever your new day-to-day looks like – and however much it changes between now and next week or next month – remember to show kindness and compassion to yourself. Let yourself feel whatever comes up – whether it is fatigue, worry, restlessness, the jitters, or sadness. Feel it, and then release it. Know that these feelings are tied to a situation that IS impermanent – it WILL change. Life will not always look like this. And then give yourself what you need, whether that is time to move your body, time to be still and rest, time to be outside in the sunshine, or time with a loved one, in person or by phone or video chat. None of us knows the exact best way to handle a COVID-19 pandemic – it’s new to all of us. Follow what feels right for you, and what helps you feel centered and grounded at the end of the day.
If you want to learn more about my virtual yoga and meditation offerings, contact me here.
Yoga with Amanda 