Hmmmm....so given that we are still in this, how are you doing? I have my ups and downs. But one sustaining constant is my yoga and meditation practice....it just looks a little different.
I know there are a jillion online yoga options. I know of a group of friends who are doing "backyard yoga" together while keeping their distance. I know many of us have found our way back to Yoga Circle, either with the library of videos or the live stream classes. It feels good to hear our teachers and see the studio.
I also try to throw in a pose here and there during the day just randomly. I am in Tree Pose while I wait for my tea water to boil; I stand in Mountain Pose and reach high arms overhead, on tiptoes, when trimming branches on our Japanese maple; I kneel in Hero's pose while weeding until my knees scream at me, then I switch to a squat, or just plop down on my bottom and twist and reach. One day my back called out for Child's Pose right in the middle of a planting session. Boom! Down I went, nose to grass, recalling how many childhood hours I spent crawling around my yard, playing in the dirt, making daisy chains, watching ants busy at their anthills.
My meditation practice is centered around the app, The Daily Calm, that I have downloaded on my phone. Every day there is a pre-chosen 10 minute meditation that I do right away. It's a wonderful centered practice to start the day. Other times I can run through the extensive menu and choose just what I need -- meditation for anxiety, meditation for peace and calm, meditation to help me sleep, and on and on.
I have had so many good intentions to use this enforced down time to be productive and tackle projects long on the back burner. I've done some, but not with gusto and not with unlimited attention and energy. This time has also been one of just quiet. Just "vegging". Just contemplation.
I think we are living through a national trauma, a time of intense transition, that takes an emotional, psychological, and even physical toll. But we have a secret weapon at our disposal: Yoga. Remember....the entire purpose of yoga is to calm the fluctuations of the mind. If you are like me, there are some days when all there is is fluctuation! We all need our yoga practice to come back to center, to the seat of the True Self.
We are in this together. We can do hard things. Lean in to kindness -- toward others and to yourself. One day we will look back and remember this time. One day it will be over. Just not yet.
Namaste, donnajurene
Photo Credit: www. pixabay.com
I agree about the trauma, but I would characterize it as "international" trauma. We all need to be kind to each other, and cut ourselves and everyone else a lot of slack. We need to remember that not all of us will make it through this alive.
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