Quarantine: Day 19 and Online Classes
Hi Everyone!
Thanks to all of you who have sent greetings, love and well-wishes to my family and me in Spain. I am so grateful for your care and your interest. I’ve been thinking about all of you as well and have loved catching up with so many of you online. As promised, here’s how we’re doing in quarantine…
Quarantine has actually been a sweet time for my family and me. We’ve fallen into a routine of work and studies, meals and teatime, cards and scrabble, yoga, meditation and exercise, and making music. It’s not that different from our normal life - it’s just more compact. We’re down to the essentials and built into the essentials are all the things we need to thrive.
In some ways, this last year and a half in Spain has prepared us for this quarantine. We’ve let a lot fall away. We have less, do less, buy less and use less. I don’t want to confuse less with small. In most ways, life feels bigger, more expansive and freer. All that paring down has left me with more time, more choices and more bandwidth. With fewer demands on my attention, I’m more able to focus on my present moment experience, leaving me more available and more engaged. This quarantine has simply taken it to the next level. Again, we find that we need even less than we thought. And again, the more I subtract, the more spacious and expansive I feel. The days are still shorter than I’d like but not because of my to-do list. Instead, this spaciousness is feeding my curiosity and my creativity.
It’s also nourishing a sense of purpose.
When we’re in difficult or traumatic situations, feeling both self-agency and purpose is a necessity! Without it, we can feel anxious, fearful or even paralyzed. In quarantine, we can feel isolated, both from our support systems and from what’s happening in our communities. I’ve had moments of guilt for feeling good, for not suffering in the way other people may be suffering. I’ve had moments of feeling useless for not having a role to play in this world crisis. And then I’ve stepped back and recognized that like all of you, I do have things to offer. The size of the offering, is not what’s important. We don’t need to measure our actions. We only need to trust that we have something to offer and we can’t possibly know what ripple effect it will have on the planet. With that in mind, I encourage you to find your purpose in these times. What small actions are you dropping into the limitless sea? And most importantly, remember that less can often be more!
Here are 3 examples of things I’m offering to nourish myself and others during this pandemic.
I’m staying inside
The action of staying inside means I won't become an asymptomatic carrier. That could be having a huge impact around the world. Because of the ease with which this virus moves my quarantine could be keeping someone safe on the other side of the planet. This is the most powerful ripple effect I’ve experienced in my lifetime and one that leaves me feeling hugely connected.
Compassion meditation
Yes, meditation is a quieter, less obvious ripple. That said, through my meditation practice I feel less anxious and fearful and more connected. And I believe that loving kindness meditation (or metta) reaches others in a magically invisible way.
Offering online classes
While initially resistant to teaching classes online, I’ve been amazed this year by how intimate and connecting they feel. Offering these classes has been incredibly nourishing. They’ve left me feeling more at peace, much more connected and they’ve fed my own sense of purpose. If you’d like to give online classes a try, check out my current offerings.
In these difficult times, I believe that these are the “big three” to stay focused on in order to thrive:
Peace over Fear
Connection over Isolation
Purpose over Disempowerment
Consider taking a moment here to reflect on how you might strengthen your own states of peace, connection and purpose today?
As always, I'd love to hear your reflections! And if I can support you through yoga therapy or online classes, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
With much love and my deepest prayer for your health and safety,
Rachel