BY SABRINA MOSCOLA
In some ways, my life in the time
of coronavirus has probably been
much like yours: one day my
work followed a routine, and the
next, it didn’t. Suddenly, I was
no longer teaching yoga at The
Happie House in Astoria, where a
studio offered the perfect practice environment;
instead, I had to improvise
a studio in my living room so I could
teach my classes online.
I moved my sofa into my kitchen
and arranged the space in my living
room to mimic a studio — bamboo
plants, a statue of Buddha draped
in mala beads, a candle that reads
“Happiness.” The physical change
was not all that was required. I had
mostly been putting the virus out
of my mind until the day they announced
it a pandemic.
Most of us in the yoga community
use our practice to get through times
of challenge and hardship. I connect
to others not only by teaching, but
also taking classes at yoga studios in
the neighborhood. But how would we
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do that in the era of social distancing?
I will admit that other yoga teachers
had additional worries, like not knowing
where their next paycheck would
come from. Teaching yoga is not my
only source of income, but many of
my colleagues do not other revenue
streams. The yoga studio owners and
full-time yoga teachers began to panic
at the uncertainty of how they would
survive financially.
Stephanie Naru, a teacher at The
Yoga Room on 35th Avenue, had dual
sources of income, but both suddenly
stopped.
“As a freelancing full-time yoga instructor,
the virus impacted me initially
by effectively ending all of my sources
of income. In addition to the yoga
classes at my various studios being
canceled, I’m also a photographer and
all shoots have been postponed due
to social distancing.”
But just as quickly as I heard the yoga
community panic, I witnessed them go
into creative mode.
Studios across Queens quickly signed
MIND + BODY
YOGA in the
Time of Zoom
Photos courtesy of Mackenzie Iglesias Photos courtesy of Randi Cerini