Recently you may have seen on Instagram we reached out to our community - we wanted to gather your voice on how yoga has helped you and how you’ve found your place in yoga land. Here is our first submission from Suzanne!
“Breathe in, breathe out. And log off. One of the hardest parts about working from home for me is getting away from my laptop at the end of the day. There’s no train to catch, friend to meet, or place to be. The first four, five days in self-isolation I manoeuvred from my new desk (read: dresser without drawers) to the comfort of my bed, and back.
It took me a couple of days to find my groove, as well as my mat. I’m not naturally a sporty person – I’ve never experienced a runner’s high, though I dutifully do parkrun every Saturday. And so when my routine changed and my local yoga studio closed, I stopped exercising. But while my mind was exhausted from work, my body was buzzing from stress, waking up in high alert at 4 am. I got back on my mat to try and release some of this tension, get the blood flowing. And I’ve found my way back at least three times this week, strengthening, lengthening, releasing.
I initially approached yoga purely from a physical stance, and I still highly recommend a weekly Vinyasa to strengthen your arms, legs, core and to improve flexibility. But it’s also a great way to work at spiritual, mental, and emotional levels, connecting the mind and the body and relieving stress and anxiety: unclenching your jaw, rolling back your shoulders, unfurrowing your brows.
Yoga has been my sport of choice because it’s so easily available and accessible. You don’t need a wide assortment of fancy tools to get started, just a mat. You don’t even need to leave your house for it (was there ever a better time to start?). While it may be daunting to join a yoga studio and attempt Chaturanga alongside experienced yogis, doing yoga from the comfort of your home means nobody will see you face-plant when you practice Crow (tried and tested!).
I’ve been joining free live streams, as well as my local studio’s online classes, and the sense of community has been incredibly moving and motivating. It’s helped me stay sane during this all-consuming rollercoaster ride. So much is up in the air, and so much changes every day, completely out of my control. But at least this new, quarantine routine is something I can control, and so I log off, get up, and roll out my yoga mat. Breathe out, breathe out.”
@suzanneverheul
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