The Sacredness of Yoga (especially in the times of live-streaming)

Just over one week ago I taught my last in-studio/in-person yoga classes at Down Under School of Yoga for the foreseeable future. Since having to close it’s physical doors my beloved studio home, spearheaded by our amazing management team, has made it possible for me & my colleagues to continue to teach yoga via live-streaming. I have to be honest, I was nervous about this change. While I am so grateful to be able to still teach, I couldn’t help but wonder if, with so many options in the online format, would people still join class? Would class still be a way to form a sense of community? After nearly a week of teaching from the entryway of my home, I have discovered what this time is teaching me (what it’s teaching all of us) is what it really means to be in a community. To be in a kula, a community of the heart. Even in our isolation, we are finding ways to connect. We are finding ways to share in what comforts, illuminates, & enlivens us. 

Even though there are many things I miss about being in person with my studio & students, I am pleasantly surprised at how many things I love & want to celebrate about live-streamed classes. 

• Being able to do more yoga! As a yoga teacher, so much of my time is spent getting to/from each studio. Now I can end a teaching session at 10:30 which would have been in Newton & still be able to take a class at 10:45 which would have been in Cambridge! Something that with the realities of Boston traffic & parking would have required teleportation in the past! 
• Getting to see students near & far. Not only am I  seeing regulars in my live-streamed classes, but I am also getting to see students who have moved across the country! Because of live-streaming I’ve seen folks in my virtual classes over this last week that I haven’t seen in years. 
• More freedom! Even though I pride myself when I'm teaching to give space for student exploration, now with students being able to mute themselves, they could rock out a dance party during sun salutations if they wanted to! Not that I would discourage a dance party in my in-person classes, but now, it feels even more accessible to really, truly choose your own adventure in class. You aren’t going to bother anyone (except for maybe your family if they are in earshot, but we all gotta do what we gotta do!) As a student taking class, I realized that if I turn off my video in live-streaming, I can really do whatever the heck I want. Like yesterday before taking class, I just couldn’t be bothered to put on a bra. Great! I didn’t! I didn’t have time to clean up the mess in the background behind my mat. Cool, no need! While I can certainly make a great case for keeping the practice of yoga precious, clean, & sacred - there is a really strong case right now for getting whatever you can when you can. I am a huge advocate for “random acts of yoga” so while of course this practice is one of refuge, maybe it is also an opportunity to remember that yoga can coexist in the mess. Yoga can & should coexist with real life! It doesn’t need to be picture perfect! Sometimes it’s all we can do to even get to our mat. No need to add extra pressure. If I am being honest, I can’t count how many times I haven’t gone to a public class because I was in a bad mood & didn’t want any of my fellow teachers or students to see me in that unsavory light... virtual yoga takes you as you truly are. Boobs hanging out, mess around your mat, family in the background, cooking or watching tv. Yoga is sacred, yes. But maybe that sacredness isn’t in conflict with, or an escape from, real life. Maybe the sacredness comes from the practice of yoga being able to follow us anywhere, into anything. Yoga can offer us sanctuary within ourselves, even (or especially) in times of uncertainty & discomfort. 

Even though it looks different, I truly believe that yoga builds a community beyond having to be in the same room. This practice of yoga from wherever we are, with whatever we are going through - forges us all into a kula, a community of the heart.   

another reason I love teaching yoga from home, I get to share the spotlight with my co-teacher/supervisor - Apollo!