Awesome adaptability
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There is something really affirming coming out of the situation we are all in at the moment. Something really positive amidst the anxiety and suffering. The way people have reacted to being forced to socially isolate affirms for me how adaptable we are as humans; and how quickly we adjust. This need to adapt is driven by the deep desire we all hold within us as social beings, our desire to be connected to one another.
So, this weekend started for me with a beautiful yoga movement dance class with Oshun Yoga. The music and motivation to reclaim our power coming via the live Instagram event streaming from their yoga studio to whoever was interested in joining in, together, to dance it out, to move and heal. A class where I found myself crying in the middle of the second song as we danced our hearts out in our lounge rooms. I didn’t realise how much tension I was holding; how much tension we are all holding.
On Sunday morning I did a breath work session with Dynamic Stability. I lay down on my yoga mat, headphones on and escaped into the session. I haven’t been able to make a breath work event since I first did one in June last year. Time, other commitments and the physical distance to travel, all barriers. I noticed from the comments there were people who were new to these sessions. It was great that they had the opportunity through technology and the circumstances to join in. To experience something they may not have got to, if things hadn’t happened the way they have.
Sunday afternoon I tested my online meditation classes with a small group via Zoom, in preparation for my Meditation Muse classes to move online. Holding online classes was not an offering I had considered when I launched Meditation Muse in early February this year. I had simply thought I would run small group sessions once a month on a Sunday from my home. I never imagined just two months later I would be setting up a dedicated space in my husband’s photographic studio to run online classes. And yet, here I am. Any fear or trepidation in doing my meditation teaching online, I have had to hurdle over, as people are asking when online classes will be starting. Under normal circumstances I may have given in to this fear and never made time to investigate how to deliver my sessions online and actually make them a reality.
This morning, I joined a collective meditation practice with Deepak Chopra. With 15,000 people across the world connected to this event, the system crashed and they had to move to live streaming from Facebook. But they moved quickly and within 10 minutes we were all listening to Chopra and meditating together. It was amazing to be part of this collective meditation, so many people coming together with the same intention: to heal the world.
Tonight I am doing a Pilates mat class with Body Brilliance Pilates. I am really looking forward to this class with the talented Alison Shirley who has dusted off her pilates mat to once again provide her gift of teaching us about our bodies and helping us strengthen them. At times like this a strong body is so important.
I would never have been able to do all of these things for me, and my wellbeing, in a weekend before. There is no way I could have done a yoga class, two meditation classes and a pilates class, alongside some gardening and reading, in that timeframe, and in between my other weekend commitments. Of course, it was possible this weekend because they were all online, and there was no need to travel. It was also possible because my weekend commitments have become very limited. There is no need to rush off anywhere, there is time for me. Time to sit in the sun on my back deck. Time to watch TV with my daughter. Listen to my son play guitar. To sit on the couch and read. To spend time in my garden. To cook something I haven’t tried before. There is time for looking after me and looking after others.
Plato said ‘our need will be the real creator’. And so it is. I work at a school, and I was amazed to see the move from classroom learning to online learning happened in under a week. With very little fuss. Sure there were some challenges but it happened relatively smoothly for most. We achieved in three or four days what would normally take us, and other schools, months or years to implement. I couldn’t help but wonder, when this is all over, how do we achieve a similar level of adaptability and ability for change under ‘normal’ circumstances. How do we hold on to what we have achieved as a way to teach us how to move more openly into things, going forward?
Not that I want us to move fast. A real positive to come out of limiting what we can do at the moment, is we are all forced to slow down. To stay at home. Connect with out family, and simply hang out together. And we can do it at a time where technology affords us the opportunity to connect with others beyond our homes, despite our physical isolation.
The amount of online wellbeing classes available in such a short amount of time is astonishing. We are spoilt for choice, as my array of weekend activities demonstrate. It is also heartening to see so many free activities are available online. Everything I did on the weekend was a gift to the collective, an acknowledgement of the tough times we are facing. A gesture of good will for people to find tranquility amongst the turmoil. And although it is wonderful to experience this generosity, please don’t forget those who are out there who do not have the luxury to offer their services for free. Those who need to charge for their online classes to keep their businesses going. Please support them if you can.
I am really hopeful that for these businesses, their need to adapt so quickly and offer online classes for yoga, pilates, meditation and the like, is the start of something new and exciting. I am hopeful it will now be a standard additional offering where they can reach more people, when their businesses physically open once again.
Our need to connect with each other is strong. So strong we are creating new spaces to do this, despite our physical distance. Coffee and wine catch ups with friends via Zoom. FaceTime dinners. Skype birthday parties. It is beautiful to hear about these activities. It is also beautiful to watch the creativity born from this time, from some unlikely sources. I had no idea of some of the hidden talents of many of my friends.
Connection at a time like this is critical. This is a time to reach out to those in your circle, and those beyond. Not everyone is zooming coffee catch ups. Check in on each other. More than ever before, it is important to notice who is quiet at the moment, who might need a friend. A quick call or text message, can make a world of difference to those feeling alone and isolated. We have a responsibility to care not only for ourselves, but for each other. That is what makes us human.
‘Technology is just a tool. It's a powerful tool, but it's just a tool. Deep human connection is very different. It's not a tool. It's not a means to an end. It is the end - the purpose and the result of a meaningful life -and it will inspire the most amazing acts of love, generosity, and humanity.’ Melinda Gates.