I’m not one to panic very easily. In fact, although I am all for preventive measures in any situation I don’t easily become fearful or freaked out by epidemics. As fear has sadly been a political instrument to make us gullible while distracting us from the truth on multiple historic occasions. Said this, the virus which is spreading faster than light is nothing we should be taking lightly. It is in fact, unfathomable to most of us. In Italy, my birth home, my friends and family hurtled from seeing it as a distant Chinese problem to having it permeate every crack and crevice in a matter of weeks. Everyday habits were turned inside out in a matter of days. Isolation becoming the norm over night. The speed and intensity with which Coronavirus is spreading and changing our deep rooted habits makes it hard for us to grapple with as it feels surreal. As the days progress and changes here in NYC are already on their way I’d like to share a different perspective on some of these issues for us all to have food for thought these coming weeks. In addition, as I will not be able to guide you on the mat these next few weeks I also want to offer you a few simple practices, which you can keep doing at home to strengthen your immune system while promoting a healthy body and relaxed mind. I will also be streaming a number of different classes online so check my website, Instagram and the AlignBrooklyn website for those.
“When you listen to yourself, everything comes naturally. It comes from inside, like a kind of will to do something. Try to be sensitive. That is yoga.”
Petri Räisänen
A gift
As yogis, every crisis or challenging time should be welcomed as a gift, an opportunity for growth and evolution and this crisis is no different from any other. I truly believe Mother Nature to be our deepest truth and teacher. She sends many messages although humans have difficulty hearing. This may be one of the loudest messages we receive in some time so we have two options. The first being, to ignore her cry which we sadly often do and the second being, listening more deeply, re-evaluating priorities and making changes. As yogis we know that everything is interconnected. This crisis is deeply connected to climate change, the production of food, global political systems and socio-economic values. Especially in the West we tend to think that financial wealth will get us out of anything and that we are immune to everything but the current situation is shedding light on the fact that that’s clearly untrue. What goes on on the other side of the world is in fact very much our responsibility and problem and so is what is happening right under our noses. Borders are not real and my health is your health. The way I eat and the consumer choices I make will impact everyone. Just like the way I take responsibility in this situation will affect many other beings. Everyone and everything is deeply connected. It will take courage to change our habits and rethink our values, but can we learn from this and grow?
“Yoga does not just change the way we see things, it transforms the person who sees.”
B.K.S Iyengar
Choosing to be Alone vs. Isolation
We are social beings. I see it in my own friends, in myself, the panic around simply considering staying self-quarantined at home for a few weeks. How can we not socialize, got to yoga, eat out and meet in bars? Well I’d like to offer a new perspective on this point. In our hectic modern day lives it is so hard to carve space for ourselves and yet when we are given the opportunity and gift for free we seem to fear it! It makes me think of the koan of meditation. Most people I know are craving a meditative practice and yet sitting even just a few moments in silence with closed eyes provokes anxiety in people. So let's take our self imposed quarantines as a well deserved retreat! Our everyday lives suspended as a blessing. Make the best of every moment and try to really value the time for yourself whether it’s to learn something new, read, play music, or practice more yoga. Please find a few minutes every day to just practice sitting with yourself to learn from this moment. Sitting with uncertainty is in fact why meditation is so difficult. Life is always uncertain and unexpected although it may seem this way some times more than others. Choose to see being with yourself as an opportunity. Learn to sit with uncertainty. Words are important too and isolation has negative connotations whereas choosing to be alone and grow should be seen as a positive gift.
“Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom.”
Buddha
Cooperation, Generosity & Compassion
I was at a bar last week (do not worry I am not going to any more bars at the present moment!) and heard some disturbing opinions. The guy to my left was making jokes and saying that if sh** hit he couldn’t wait to take a vacation and escape to the Caribbean while the girl to my right was in complete denial and said that clearly it’s a European problem and not an American problem as Europeans quote “don’t have their sh** together while Americans do”. As you can notice both opinions are incredibly disturbing in addition to the fact that New Yorkers use the word 'sh**' too often!
One of course puts the ego first. Young people will certainly be impacted less. We have stronger immunity and the virus has killed much less people under 60 than it has the elderly. Yet as a yoga teacher I was baffled that the guy had no concept of how diseases are transmitted and of social responsibility. While you might not show symptoms or be sick you might in fact be the larger part of the problem by thinking you’re just fine and putting yourself before others by going around (including travel) and spreading the disease to others, less fortunate than yourself whether by age or pre-existing conditions. The second option, also troubled me. This idea of us vs. them is exactly what this crisis can shed light on as a fallacy. This is a moment for cooperation, a moment to be as generous and giving as possible. A moment to grow our empathy and compassion for others. As yogis, it is our responsibility to think of the greater good and of every chance we get to evolve more deeply. To think outside our small selves and be greater souls. This is not a problem for some and not for others. This is everybody’s responsibility and problem. So if you are asked to stay home to help others, stay home. If you can help, help. If you can advise and add your opinion, please speak up. The karma yogi is the yogi who takes action. We all have responsibilities and can change the world one stance at a time. How can you be of service?
"Getting through Coronavirus will be an exercise not just in building societal resilience, but relearning the values of cooperation, compassion, generosity and kindness, and building systems which institutionalize these values. It is high time to recognize that such ethical values are not simply human constructs, products of socialization. They are cognitive categories which reflect patterns of behaviour in individuals and organizations that have an evolutionary, adaptive function. In the global phase shift, systems which fail to incorporate these values
into their structures will eventually die".
Nafeez Ahmed
Rest and Replenish Yourselves
My students know all too well that I am a great supporter of rest to support overall health and well-being and there is a lot of research to back me up! Restorative yoga and many other receptive, meditative practices such as savasana, yoga nidra, meditation and yin yoga have been proven to boost immunity and help us confront difficult, stressful times. This is the time to practice more than ever! Even if you are home and most studios around you are shutting down I want to leave you with a few simple practices you can do on your own. I will be going streaming in the next few days so we can also practice ‘virtually’ together but in the meantime here are some things you can do!
Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.
Etty Hittlesum
Below is a short 30-45 min sequence to boost your immunity that will allow you to feel more connected and less fearful:
Belly breathing
Take a minute and come to lie on your back. You could be over a mat or even on a bed. Legs are bent, knees hip distance and feet on the ground. Place your left hand over your lower belly and your right hang over your heart. Slowly close the eyes and relax your face. Very gently start breathing into your palms. Simply breathe in and expand your whole front body with breath and breathe out surrendering your body towards the ground. You can internally count to 4 as you breath in and breath out. Optionally you can include a few seconds of retention between every breath. (Repeat for 5 to 15 minutes).
Legs up the Wall
Place your mat adjacent to a wall and bring your legs up the wall. Softly close your eyes and come to a relaxed steady breath. Optionally you may want to place your seat over a blanket before lifting your legs up. You can also add a blanket to cover your body and an eye bag to cover your eyes. Hands can be placed over the body or alongside over the ground. Relax your legs and breathe for a few minutes. (5-10 mins)
Supta Baddha Konasana
Come to lie on your mat. If you wish to, you can lie back over a pillow or bolster while keeping your seat on the earth. Bring the soles of your feet to touch and allow the knees to fall to the sides. Bring one block under each knee to support them up. If you do not have blocks do not worry books can work just as well! Just make sure the books you choose reach the same height. Bring your hands over your lower belly. Eye bag over your eyes. Breathe quietly for a few more minutes. (5-10 mins)
Savasana
When you are ready simply come to lie on your back. Make sure nothing is touching your body which is not intentional. Feel free to cover your body and use your eye bag to cover the eyes. Arms alongside the body. Simply notice your breath breathe your body for a few minutes trying to relax the body further. (10-15 mins)
Seated Meditation
After final relaxation bring yourself to your seat. You can sit on a block (book) or over a blanket. Sit up nice and tall yet relaxed. Simply watch your thoughts move in and out of your field of internal vision for a few minutes. Be patient. Be spacious. Be relaxed. There is no perfect way to meditate. For a few minutes simply do the best you can at watching the mind without expectations and without judgment. Be happy to be able to sit, as even sitting is a gift and I can promise it gets easier and more pleasant with time! (5-15 mins)
Chant a mantra
Firstly, choose a mantra, unless you have one. A mantra could be as simple as ‘So Ham’ (I am that). You might also simply chant 'Om' in a repeated fashion or ‘Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu’ (May all Beings everywhere be happy and free and may our thoughts and actions contribute to the freedom and happiness for all). With time reciting a mantra will allow you to move past the habitual patterns of your mind. Past limitations and fear. Simply sit for a few minutes and chant the mantra over and over again. You are welcome to put a chant track on Spotify or the like and recite along if you are newer to chanting but it could also be as simply as chanting OM 10, 20 or 50 times over on your own. Whatever you choose try to simply be relaxed and chant with intention from the heart. There are so many benefits to chanting! (5-15 mins)
“By vibrating in rhythm with the breath to a particular sound that is proportional to the creative sound, or sound current, one can expand one’s sensitivity to the entire spectrum of vibration. It is similar to striking a note on a stringed instrument. In other words, as you vibrate, the Universe vibrates with you.” Yogi Bhajan
The light in a crisis
I saw a photograph of Wuhan the other day. Where it all started. Permeated by blue skies. Now, that looked as surreal to me as hearing about the virus rapidly spreading worldwide! I spent a few months researching as an Urban Planner in Wuhan more than a decade ago and never saw a blue sky. In fact, you could barely see the other side of the Yangtze River from the shore as pollution was always that bad. That image stopped me in my tracts. I had a choice; I could recognize this crisis as a catastrophe or as a gift. I could choose love over fear. Mother nature is breathing better than she has in decades these days. Traffic has stopped or slowed down. Many factories and businesses have closed. Families and loved ones have reunited. People have time to think, to eat, to pause, to contemplate. I know it is just a moment in time but can we learn from this? Can we all slow down and make long lasting changes that will affect the majority of the world from now on. Can we all focus on this gift and see the light at the end of the tunnel… the light in all crises?
Please reach out directly via my website if you have questions, comments, need advice or just want to stay connected. I’ll be happy to be there for you ‘virtually’! during this time And look out for videos to come so we can keep practicing together!
Love and light,
Lavinia
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