Lockdown 2020 – Silver Linings The Yogic Approach

The year 2020 will most certainly be remembered by all who lived through it. It will change many people’s lives forever.

When talking to an elderly neighbour, from a safe 2 meter distance this week, it occurred to me that whether he liked it all not the whole country has come together to look out for him and keep the NHS safe. People have lost their livelihoods and have 0 income, self employed people cannot work due to social distancing restrictions. And many have been furloughed by their employers without any idea if they have a job to come back to after things return to ‘normal’.

Many, many thousands of people have lost loved ones. And others like the key workers, doctors and nurses, put their lives on the line daily to help save others.

The thought occurred to me how unprecedented the past two months have been in recent history. How much the community from the government to neighbours are making people’s health and lives more important than money. For this I believe Boris Johnson and his cabinet will go down in history.

This looking out for our fellow man is such a yogic concept. The idea that we are part of the universe and all interlinked. It is not limited by your beliefs or religion. It is just about caring for your fellow man. And really any situation can be turned upside down if you look at it from a different perspective.

I find myself doing lots of inversions or upside down poses in class at the moment. Saying ‘look at the world from this perspective’ a lot lately. Because if you physically change or move in a new way the whole world looks very different.

Personally, the past two months have been a time of enormous personal and professional growth for me. On 16th March, 2020, the building manager of club I held all my Yoga and Pilates classes called me. And told me to cancel all my classes from the next day. Indefinitely.

4 days later I did my first online Pilates class live via Zoom. Two weeks later I had a new start up called Yoga & Pilates Live which offered live Yoga & Pilates memberships and unlimited On Demand classes. I started an online marketing course and creating my first fitness App.

I wake every morning with a new purpose. To teach our children well. Create and play with them. And then teach my classes in the evening and edit videos and post on social media. I have never worked so hard in my entire life. But never been so for-filled.

I realised I am enough.
You are enough.
You many not earn a lot of money but your contribution to your family, your society through your job or volunteer work is enough.

I have seen this country come together through Covid-19 like I never expected to. And many friends have told me despite the lack of disposable income due to unemployment or being furloughed. They are enjoying spending time with their families. Which let’s face it is priceless.

We may not have the most money personally or as a country right now. But perhaps our children will remember this time fondly as one they spent many happy hours with their mum and dad. And once things get back to normal and they are back at school we will all have a simpler life where we value what and who we have in our lives more.

By Amanda Frost
Yoga & Pilates Teacher
www.yogaandpilateslive.com