Resilience
While I'm 100% wishing you all strong immune systems, I invite you to consider that none of us are immune to what's happening in our world right now. Much of what we unconsciously took for granted about our safety is no longer true. Our whole physiology is in uber fight, flight, freeze mode and the ever changing landscape and our ability to get constant access to facts and rumors about the threat to our lives and our loved ones lives is keeping us pretty revved up. This is especially true for those of us who are on the front lines of exposure while working to keep the rest of us safe and healthy.
We all cope in different ways and no strategy is wrong. It's instinctive and intended to protect us and ensure our survival. Some of us become very sensitive and emotional. Some of us become very anxious and worried. Some of us shutdown and don't have much reaction. Some of us become dismissive and downplay what's happening. Some of us move into endurance mode and have frustration and anger about what's happening. Some of us start to crack jokes. I've really enjoyed some of the humor memes about the pandemic that's out there right now and love the tension release that laughter offers me.
It's really important during this time to have lots of compassion for ourselves and those around us as we work through and process what's happening and how much our lives have changed. Spending time judging ourselves and others about how well or poorly we are behaving is not the ideal way to use the precious energy we have.
That's the thing. When we don't feel safe we burn a lot more energy. It might feel surprising to you that you have more time on your hands but feel more "lazy" than ever. Our ability to think clearly and make thoughtful decisions is limited which makes our ability to "get shit done" compromised. Whether we are conscious of it or not, our whole being is really busy trying to relearn how to make sure it's safe. That makes it really easy to get run down and to short circuit mentally. There's a reason that I can't help stopping in the middle of the day to work for an hour on my 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. I'm fried.
Not being able to be on our best game is really tricky when we are trying to work, or figure out how we are going to pay our bills because we are out of work or working less, or how we are going to homeschool our kids, or how we are going to stay alive and keep our family safe and keep working on the front lines of this pandemic. It can be really easy to push yourself beyond your limits and then feel badly that you aren't able to make it work. In order to survive this and to stay resilient and healthy, it's critical that we find some balance to the stress and tension.
Contemplative practices are pure magic in this regard. Magic based in science that is. Research has proven that practices like yoga, meditation, and breathwork help shift our mental state and our physiology out of fight, flight, freeze mode and into rest and digest mode where your body, mind, and spirit can replenish what’s depleted and re-calibrate and integrate you. These practices offer easy, accessible and intentional ways to re-energize and nourish yourself.
They fill your tank. They are the oxygen mask—as in put it on first.
Yoga also helps reduce anxiety—not by giving you rose colored glasses through which to smile your way through a global crisis—but by giving you the space and time to recognize what you have control over and what you don't, and to let go of the suffering that trying to control what you can't creates.
I know I'm preaching to the choir sharing all this with everyone here but I do think it bears repeating, especially right now when I'm guessing it feels harder to motivate and/or carve out any time to do these practices.
Here's the thing. It doesn't have to be acrobatic or demand hours of your time. Gentle stretching and strengthening your body and intentionally breathing even for a few minutes per day lowers blood pressure, calms the nervous system, increases your metabolism, and boosts your immune system among other things.
And being homebound doesn't have to stop you. Many instructors, like me, have begun offering these practices online. I know how well these tools can work and I want to make sure it feels as easy as possible for you to use them. I've even created a list of tips for how to set up for a successful home practice. You can download it here.
Starting tomorrow, March 27th, Yoga Grace will be offering online classes 5 days per week and online private yoga sessions 6 days per week. I teach both gentle yoga and yin yoga classes and have a therapeutic background to help support people with specific issues and needs. I'm trying to make these as accessible as possible and you can check out the rates and register to attend at www.yogagracevt.com/onlineyoga.
I am so grateful for all of you and the support you have shown me and your continued interest in connecting with me! Sending lots of love and wishes for good health and humor!
