One Pose Restorative Practice: Supported Child's Pose

Welcome to this exploration of Restorative yoga - one pose at a time! Restorative yoga is the practice of being comfortable in passive poses using props like pillows, bolsters, and blankets which support and stabilize your body. The goal of Restorative yoga is to release tension and relax! 

This short video (16 minutes) is an introduction and explanation of one of my favorite poses! 

Supported Child's Pose

https://youtu.be/YtHH-aZqJPM

Should I go to the yoga studio or not? - Yoga in a Pandemic World

In the past we couldn’t imagine something as minuscule as a virus would close yoga studios but that is exactly what has happened! Now as more and more yoga studios are re-opening it is time to decide how you will react.

One of yoga’s central teachings is that everything changes. If we try to remain attached to the way things were pre-pandemic, we will suffer. Now is the time to question our attachment to;
· how we used to live our lives
· our aversion to initiating and continuing public health strategies to mitigate the risk of coronavirus transmission
· and our fear of the unknown.

Living your life

The pandemic has definitely changed our world.  I am sure we all wish we weren’t living through this time, but here we are.  When contemplating whether or not to return to the yoga studio it is important to practice self-study (svādhyāya).  Self-study is an examination of your desires and motivations in order to weigh the risks you will take. Our desires and motivations play a major role in driving our behavior. So ask yourself:

• As a student, what are my reasons for attending an in-person yoga class? - social, emotional, mental, etc.
• As a teacher, what are my reasons for teaching an in-person yoga class? - financial, social, emotional, mental, etc.
• Why do I need to attend/teach an in-person class now?
• Am I concerned about what others will think of my choice to go or not to go to/teach an in-person studio class? - professional or personal reputation, etc.  

Whatever your reasons are, they are valid. But you also have to be willing to look at them mindfully. If you decide that your reasons are important enough for you to attend or teach an in-person yoga class, then you have to focus your self-study on the impact of your actions. So ask yourself:

• What are the consequences of my actions to myself and what are the consequences of my actions to others?
• Am I in a high-risk group?
• Am I willing and able to follow all CDC guidelines?
• Do I live with or am I in close contact with someone who is at risk for severe disease if I were to be asymptomatic?
• If there’s a chance that I am asymptomatic and go to a class, how would I feel if I inadvertently pass the virus to someone else?
• As a teacher, even if I have taken precautions, how will I feel if someone becomes infected because they attended my class?

It is unlikely that any community has achieved high enough levels of immunity from this first wave of infections for there to be herd immunity. Even in places like New York and New Jersey, it’s likely that only about 16% (NY, NJ) or 13% (MA) of people have antibodies.

What about the other way to achieve herd immunity – vaccination? Though there are some promising candidates in the pipeline, we are still many months away from a viable vaccine. Then, once one is available, we will have to be able to distribute it equitably and convince people to take it.  We will be living with this virus for a considerable length of time.  The choice to return or not return to a yoga studio is yours alone but before you decide, consider the scientific research and data.

Mitigate the risk of coronavirus transmission

When you consider the impact of your actions on others, include scientific research and data in your decision. Transfer of virus by touching surfaces appears to be less important as a route of transmission, but this depends some on the type of surface, with infectious viral particles persisting longer on hard surfaces than soft surfaces such as paper or fabric.

And while maintaining a distance of 6 feet helps to reduce the risk of coming into contact with infectious droplets, certain activities have the potential  to spread viral particles more widely, such as, talking loudly, chanting, or singing.  We also have to think about students breathing hard and expelling respiratory droplets, even if they are not talking, and also inhaling aerosolized droplets if they are breathing deeply.

Because it’s possible to be infected but not show symptoms, it’s important to wear a mask when out in public. Even an imperfect cloth mask provides “source control,” reducing the spread of respiratory droplets from someone with an active but perhaps unrecognized infection.

Finally, not all of our current coronavirus strategies and risk mitigation activities are going to be equally effective. As we try different things, the research data will begin to make clear what is working and what is not. It’s crucial that we be able to recognize what science is telling us and to communicate clearly about how our behaviors and social policies will have to change to accommodate reality.

The choice to return or not return to a yoga studio is yours alone.  Whatever you decide, consider how you will compassionately deal with people who disagree with your choice.

Fear of the Unknown
Pandemic living is particularly challenging because the decisions you make about managing your own risk affect other people. It gets even more complicated because the ways in which coronavirus mitigation strategies have become politicized. People are expressing a deep-seated fear of what other people are doing or not doing. We are frustrated by our inability to control other people's behavior. Shaming and threatening behaviors indicate fear of the unknown and are not an effective pandemic strategy. This just isn't the way life should be.

Unfortunately, there is no going back to the way we think life should be - the pandemic is our way life is now. The initial transmission of this coronavirus from an animal to a human was out of our control ... but we do have control over the steps we can take to reduce transmission from human to human. 

Our choice to look beyond ourselves, and place the good of others first is an approach rooted in compassion. Acknowledge that other people will make different choices regarding wearing a mask or stepping aside to allow for social distancing. Pause and consider your own choices. Are they rooted in compassion? Are your actions grounded in an approach that places the good of others first?

Pause & consider your life choices

Pause & consider our shared humanity

Then act in ways to reduce suffering in the world

Additional Resources:

CDC Covid-19

Yoga Alliance’s Best Practices for Re-Opening Guide

National Institutes of Health