Keeping faith...

At the time of writing this, lock-down has been extended until the beginning of May. The Furlough Scheme has been extended until the end of June. It looks like we're all in this for a while yet!

Life has changed in inconceivable ways for everyone. I'm being furloughed from my full-time job from today and, if someone had told me that at New Year, I'd have said they were mad. Yet, we have to stay positive and help where we can - we're all in this together.

Online classes let me do my yoga practice every day. Just someone saying "are you joining tomorrow?" motivates me to keep going. The same goes with teaching. Even 30 minutes a day I can see real progression in my students. They are feeling the benefits of regular movement during their day and it keeps people connected.

Communities are banding together at a national level. We've seen Captain Tom Moore raise over £25 million for the NHS. Rajinder Singh, "the Skipping Sikh" has also raised money along with many others, which is just amazing.

At a local level, people seem to be out and about walking more and starting to have proper conversations with neighbours. I was hearing yesterday, from a nurse about the fears that healthcare professional have about working with Coronavirus. I felt helpless that I can't do anything to help her, except listen.

The lock-down has enabled me to (at last) reach for some of the books that I've been storing up for a while. I've been reading The Art of Happiness..." by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Written more than 20 years ago, its reflection of our current situation is spookily uncanny! When discussing change the Dalai Lama says "...if I encounter some obstacles or problems, I find it helpful to stand back and take the long-term view rather than the short-term view..."

Personally, when I practice yoga, I find this a great aid in taking a step back and assessing the situation. Nobody knows what is going to happen, so all we can do is live in the moment, be grateful for what we have and follow the guidelines that have been set out.

I hope you all stay safe, stay well and stay connected.

Back to main sites