When I began this piece several weeks ago, the world was a very different place. It was early March. I was elated after garnering a feature in the The Wall Street Journal. Promotions were ramping up for my YOGA WINE SONOMA retreat in August. I had just launched a new Mindful Wine Tasting course in Los Angeles with the first two class scheduled for late March and April. Tickets were beginning to sell.
That was then.
This is now. COVID-19. Global pandemic health crisis.
All those things that were so important then feel insignificant compared to what is going on now. As we all grapple with fears of health and safety, fears of our economic future, fears of isolation, fears of not knowing, of simply going insane from stress, what do we do?
We find a way.
I was taught that the purpose of yoga—the deeper, real purpose—is not physical. Rather, it is an embodied framework for how to find a way to maintain balance in the shifting tides of life. We practice on the mat in order to function and flow with life's challenges off the mat. Yoga is designed to prepare us for exactly this moment in crisis.
Meditation aims to do the same. Practice calming the mind, so that when the $%*# hits the fan, you can keep calm and make sound decisions that are in alignment with your best self. This in turn can benefit your community and ripple outward to be a positive force in the world at large.
In yoga, there is no right or wrong (despite what anyone says). The answer is inside you and you must find a way to listen and go forward.
If you are struggling for a roadmap as I have been lately, allow me to point you toward the first two limbs of classical Yoga known as the Yamas and the Niyamas. They might help you as they've helped me. I've copied them below.
Life right now is overwhelming. However, the best guidance out there that I can find is that of the wisdom passed down through the ages: breathe, take care, do right action, be the light and find a way.
Sometimes that will be crying. Sometimes it will be celebration. Sometimes it will be whaling against a punching bag, running ten miles, watching two days straight of Netflix, or just taking a nap.
Find a way.
And of course, you have all the permission to drink all the Champagne.
Namaste and cheers,
Chiara
Yoga Practices for the Yamas
Ahimsa (non-harming) Satya (truthfulness) Asteya (non-stealing) Aparigraha (non-possessiveness) Brahmacharya (maintenance of vitality)
Yoga Practices for the Niyamas
Tapas (purification through discipline) Santosha (contentment) Saucha (purity) Svadhyaya (self-study) Ishvara Pranidhana (devotion to a higher power)
"You go on by doing the best you can. You go on by being generous. You go on by being true. You go on by offering comfort to others who can't go on. You go on by allowing the unbearable days to pass and allowing the pleasure in other days. You go on by finding a channel for your love and another for your rage.”– Cheryl Strayed
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