Who has less time since the schools have been closed? I know I certainly do. It’s funny to see single people’s posts on social media versus people who have children’s posts. During this time I have to admit I’ve fantasized about what this experience might be like if I didn’t have my 7 year old home all day with me. I’d write more and workout with the live streams that my yoga studio is hosting at random times throughout the work/school day. I wouldn’t be eating leftover pizza crust for lunch because my kid can never eat the crust and I can’t seem to waste. I’d do some studying and reading. My focus at work would be higher and there would be this thing called freedom over my schedule for the day.
It’s tough to be saddled with additional responsibility throughout the day. It’s tough to give all of your energy away to others constantly. The situation is compounded when you are an introvert by nature and derive your energy from solitude and introspection. In these times, it’s so critical to maintain your self-care routines. I’ve been consciously carving out time to go for walks alone when my partner gets home from work. I’ve realized a larger need to communicate clearly what I need to remain happy and healthy during this period of confinement. I am asking for what I need. We live in a small 2 bedroom, 1 bath ranch at the moment so there isn’t much space to separate from the pack. I’ve been “reserving” the living room for an hour a day so that I can practice yoga away from my housemates.
I need solitude to reset and muster the energy I need to give away the following day. When I don’t carve out this space, I see myself become irritable and it’s much easier to turn into someone I don’t wish to be… someone who is reactive rather than consciously choosing how to respond. Jesus’ words “Love your neighbors as yourself” have never held so much weight as right now. In fact, many of the spiritual teachings I’ve been soaking in over the past few years are really showing themselves to be absolute truth as I watch the evolution around this high stress period of the Covid-19 pandemic. I realize, the lessons I’ve been taught over the past few years have prepared me to handle this season of life with grace and peace. I have never been so grateful for my personal practices as I am right now.
As the saying goes, “God doesn’t give you anything you can’t handle.” I know I’ve been preparing for these times for awhile now and the practice has paid off. I’m maintaining my sanity and my rate of adaptation has been rather short… little complaining, just gratitude and taking each moment as it comes. It’s all that any of us can do when things shift… bear witness and watch as they unfold while nurturing our inner world so we aren’t overcome and overtaken by the external one. Whether you choose to adapt gracefully or fight change every step of the way, it’s coming. In fact, some of it is already here. Resisting what is doesn’t make it easier, exactly the opposite. When we resist, we only add to our struggle.
In yoga, we often learn to soften in a posture… to find the ease and peace within a challenging situation. Many of the asanas are not “easy,” but rather a play between tension and ease, softening, and grace. Asana allows the mind to explore within the body, to examine for areas that are being stressed and always and option of what to do in that moment. Do I find another part of my body that can lessen the stress on that part while still remaining strong in the posture? Do I give up and come out of the posture? Am I accepting what is arising for me at this moment? Is there struggle and resistance? How am I feeling? Can I choose a better thought that will ease those feelings?
This practice on the mat translates nicely to the world we currently find ourselves living in. It’s a time of tension. None of us knows how things will unfold here with covid-19. We don’t know how many lives will be lost. We don’t know how much impact this will have. We can’t see ahead into what industries and businesses will be forever changed as a result of the lessons that come from this time. We can’t predict how our own lives will change. The fact is while this time is highlighting this, we NEVER have and never will know how life will play out. We are always living in this tension, but often aren’t as aware of it. In these times do we run (give up on the posture)? Do we accept? Can we witness our emotional turbulence and internal resistance yet remain present and stay with it all? Can we choose a different set of thoughts that will help us move through the experience?
Though many of us are on “lockdown,” we still have our freedom. We always have the freedom of choosing our inner world no matter what is being projected on the external screen which is our world. We have the power of being at peace when the world is in pandemic. Viktor Frankl had it right in one of the best books I’ve ever read, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” Master this and you master life.