In the current crisis many yoga studios have had to adapt to a virtual class environment.
To be honest I was skeptical. I have been a member of pay monthly online yoga platforms for years. You get great sound and image quality, you can start and stop whenever you need and the monthly payments can be quite reasonable. I wondered what the live medium would have to offer. So yesterday morning I got myself ready to practice online.
And here’s what I discovered…
Accountability
Paying for an online monthly yoga service is in some ways much like paying for a monthly gym membership. You know it’s there and when you have time you’ll use it. Sometimes you do and sometimes you don’t! When you schedule yourself in for an online, live yoga class and you pay for it, then you’re much more likely to show up. You’ve made a specific commitment to yourself at a specific point in your day and people are expecting you!
Accountability
Am I repeating myself?! If you’re like me and sometimes go through phases where you lack a little self-discipline, home practice can be a struggle. You can’t put a live class on pause and rock out in childs pose for 10 minutes, you have to commit to the rhythm of the class to squeeze all the juice out of it.
Connection
Knowing that there are other people practicing at the same time gives you a sense of motivation. It’s kind of like the difference between listening to live radio and a pre-recorded show. There is a sense of group experience, that the moment exists now so let’s try to remain present for it.
Support
By paying what you can and participating in yoga studios online schedules you are supporting small businesses and ensuring that they will be able to stay working virtually and eventually again physically.
Structure
One of the top tips of keeping sane during this time, that you may of seen coming up over and over, is to give yourself a daily structure. By taking a look at the online yoga sessions available to you, it may help to structure the rest of your day, give you something to look forward to or give you a break from the people that you may or may not be living with! As Stephen Fry said on the news recently, in situations like this time takes on another dimension.
Happy home practising everyone.
Stay safe and stay indoors for a while!