When I was a beginner student, I was told to cultivate my practice at home. So, like any earnest student, I went home and cleared a space in my very small apartment. I remember specially working on my inversions at the time. “Go home and fall!”, he told me. I fell over and over again. For many months I would fall, until one day I didn’t fall. It worked. His crazy instruction actually worked. It taught me to trust. Trust in him, in the process and in the benefits of home practice.
In this time of a global pandemic, you have been forced to practice at home. I know I have told you to for many years, but sometimes it takes drastic actions to change us. Now that you have had to practice at home (or on the road) I wonder what’s it like for you? Do you like it? Why and why not? It certainly is convenient. No extra time to plan for traffic or going to work sweaty. Taking a one hour class was at least two hours of your time. That isn’t the case anymore. You can literally roll out of bed and onto your mat. When you’re done, you can roll right back into bed if you so choose. Dreamy, right? Maybe not.
Everything has its price, and convenience is no exception. You can have something cheap, fast or quality- but you can only have two of those. You will rarely get all three. Zoom yoga is no exception. We sacrifice a lot with home practice too. Personal instruction is one. No manual adjustments. No class energy. No sacred space to go to and leave all of the madness of your life outside those doors. Sometimes, if things are too convenient, you don’t appreciate them as much. It’s kind of cute when your kids or your pets want to play with you while you’re in a pose, but that gets old really quickly.
I miss the classroom. I miss the energy. I miss the connection that happens in class and the community that builds over time. I miss it so much. It is a sacrifice. But, I also love not having a commute. I love that many of you can now maintain a more consistent practice. I love that people from all over can practice at the same time. It used to be that students who lived on the other side of the hill or west of the 405 would rarely be able to come to class. Now, we have 5-6 countries practicing with us. It is truly amazing. We are finding our way together through this very trying time. Together, at home.