Breathing is at the frontlines of our battle against COVID-19. From an action that we take for granted just six months ago, breathing has become something that needs to be regulated, in every nuance of the word.
 
            From as simple as wearing facemasks when leaving the house to hooking up patients to ventilators in acute cases, the impositions that we have put on the breath has reached new levels of sophistication!

           Just today, for example, my partner Will bought us a pack of “copper masks”. They’re supposed to offer us “better” protection. But for me, as long as I see that other people are covered up just like me, I already feel better protected. And it’s good news to know that more than 90% of Filipinos wear mask all the time when they leave the house. It just helps make me feel a lot less anxious.

           Aside from COVID-19, anxiety is the biggest health issue in this “new normal”. Ironically, the solution to anxiety is the same thing that we are anxious about: the breath! But don’t worry. It’s not other people’s breath that can help us feel a lot less anxious but our own.
I’d like to share with you this 17-minute podcast episode about the breathing process and how it can translate to more energy and deeper relaxation. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Breathe easy!

​-Teacher Ben

    When the pandemic hit, I was hesitant to teach online. The struggle of internet connections, setting up your equipment, and being away from the energy of the Yoga studio felt overwhelming. It felt like a lot to handle on top of the grief I was feeling over how different my life became. I was scared that the experience wouldn’t be good enough or comparable to the energy of a live studio class. It was difficult to let go of thinking about the way things were and the pressure of delivering a quality class held me back.

        The first step I took was to acknowledge what I was going through – the sadness, the grief, the loss. I realized that I needed to accept things as they were because at the end of the day, my why was more important – the passion to share the change this practice made on me to others. COVID-19 has created such an impact on people on a physical, mental, and emotional level that it is clear how much we all need it now more than ever.
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          Yoga is about being in the here and now and the biggest thing I’ve learned from all this is that the difficult moments in our lives never last and that change is inevitable. Yoga teaches us to stay present in order to take things with grace, to be responsive instead of reactive. So for any of you that have been hesitant to this digital shift, all I can say is that it has been such a comfort in these crazy times. And guess what, the energy is still there! Let Yoga help you go through what you need to go through because all you need in this practice is you, your breath, and nothing else.

​-Teacher Rianna