LIVING IN THE ZOOM ROOM

Covid-19 has been a beast in so many ways.   But it brought me back to yoga teaching so that is a small gift amongst all it has taken away.   And I’m grateful for that.  

Grazie = Gratitude.  I’m glad to have that as part of my name as it reminds me to practice it in my classes.   Any new age yoga teacher tendencies I have are tempered by my New York Gen X cynicism.  And I generally feel uncomfortable stepping into the role of “wise yoga teacher” or telling my students what to do or feel.  So I sometimes feel shy about getting too touchy-feely in class.  Life is not all unicorns and rainbows. But this practice of cultivating gratitude really calls to me.  It feels quite practical actually.  Making conscious what I am grateful for and focusing my attention on it is a simple way to shift my perspective.  As does remembering what I am grateful NOT to have in my life, whether that is illness, physical pain, poverty or lack of connection with others. 

So I feel a little thrill when I take a moment to cultivate gratitude with my students.   And truly, I am so grateful to be back teaching.  Upon returning from Thailand after teaching yoga at the New Life Foundation, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever teach again.   I was living in a new city, trying to find my way socially and in terms of work.  I didn’t have connections to any yoga studios in Philadelphia so the teaching fell by the wayside.  It was not a good time.

But when the pandemic started and I noticed others teaching on Zoom,  I thought I would give it a try.   I like it more than I expected.   I miss all being together in one room.  I miss hands-on touch.   I miss a group of people breathing together.   And I miss sensing the energy in the room.  But it has been a great gift for me to reconnect with students I’ve met from all over the world, even if it’s only for a couple of classes.  It has rekindled my passion for teaching and made me feel that perhaps I have some gifts in this area that I forgot about.   And it’s given me a community of people that I am thrilled to see - even if it’s just on a screen --  and share with each week.   Connection in this time of separation.

So, Living in the Zoom Room, is not so bad after all.   Grazie is grateful.