I hope you are all doing as well as possible during this time. I’ve had so many things going through my head all day that I wanted to share here with you, mostly wanting to find ways to connect and maintain as much of a sense of community as possible.
First, I wanted to tell you about two class opportunities for connecting online.
This is such an interesting time with some generous learning curves but also a generous amount of understanding from those watching and participating in online classes. My children and family classes are typically very interactive, and I hope to continue maintaining that with whoever shows up during the live stream. I value holding space where kids feel seen, heard, and safe, and want to find ways for that to translate as much as possible to the online format.
1) Tomorrow, Saturday March 21st, 9am (roughly 35 minute practice)
Family Yoga class via The Little Yoga House
Donation based, via Venmo or Paypal
2) Monday, March 23rd, 3:30pm (45 minutes)
Children’s Yoga (Families are welcome to join!) via Studio Satya
Donation-based, instructions in the link above
Both offerings will come through Zoom, an online meeting platform. I’ve had the app installed on both my phone and computer, so I’m unsure if you can access the live classes via the link or if you will need to download something ahead of time. Just give yourself a little extra time for any troubleshooting before your first class.
There will be more classes coming up, and I will post regularly on my Instagram (@holliebyoga).
Second, there are additional ways to practice from home.
Many studios and teachers are offering classes online. The Little Yoga House is working on creating a constant schedule including Prenatal, Postnatal, Baby & Me, Toddler Yoga, Storytime Yoga, and more Family classes.
Studio Satya is offering classes for adults throughout the week. There are live stream classes and recorded options, all found via the Studio Satya website
Third, I want to offer myself as a resource during this time.
Not just for yoga, but for any questions you might have regarding life right now. As a homeschooling, work-from-home mom of two, I can relate to the experience of having your kids home 24/7; but I have the perspective of it being a choice and have a few years under my belt. I feel for how uprooting this is for everyone’s unique experience. It seems well-timed that last week was Spring Break, as I had scheduled to allow for lots of free time, but as we move into next week when our regular activities should start back up I imagine there will be some confusion in the form of misbehavior showing up. It was also my youngest son’s 6th birthday on Wednesday, so we spent some time navigating the disappointments of it not being fully his day as we had intended. I’m sure each of you has a story of difficulty through this time, and it is normal to go through the gamut of emotions, even on an hourly cycle!
If I can offer one bit of advice at this moment, it would be to set intentions… but also release expectations and embrace observations. What do I mean by this? Figure out what needs to get done in a day. Make plans to work if needed, schedule the kids’ screen time for those moments, plan activities, play games, do crafts, require quiet time, but release what it all actually looks like. Instead, focus on how you want to feel at the end of the day and allow that to be your guide. When I put the effort into making kindness my goal and not my to-do list, I feel more accomplished at the end of the day.
Again, please feel free to reach out. I have ideas for future class topics, and various ways to join the community together (farther than scrolling through social media, which I’ve certainly done my share of recently!), but if there is anything specific you would like to hear more about please do let me know.
Oh, one last thing! This article is great for helping with anxiety that might be showing up in your family: https://genmindful.com/blogs/mindful-moments/naming-and-taming-childhood-fears-and-anxieties-7-tips-to-regulation?fbclid=IwAR2QHXrqjaNWiumGJAqwQpPbjT12RijzKcG3M7vY_wXUl0X9v4fAAJQ5ODY