APRIL 2020 I BOROMAG.COM 17
up with Zoom, switching their classes
to virtual. Studio managers and owners
sent encouraging, We-can-do-it messages
to teachers telling them to “suit up” for
the Zoom era of yoga classes.
I had never taught a class online
before, and if I’m being honest, it
frightened me. There’s a certain
energy a yoga instructor gets from
being in front of a room of people
practicing: the facial expressions,
the cadence of breaths, the heat
rising from the exertion of muscles
and mind. Much like comedians or
musicians, yoga teachers have to
read the room, and I worried that my
teaching would suffer when that sensory
feedback was taken away.
The collective anxiety of the world
compounded my worry. Would I be
able to calmly teach people I could
only see on a screen when my mind’s
soundtrack — and probably theirs —
was fear and anxiety on loop?
“I feel the overall need to continue to
offer yoga online has been so strong,”
said Mackenzie Iglesias, yoga teacher at
Breathe Strength and studio manager at
The Happie House. “This is truly the time
to put the teachings of yoga in action.
Not when things are zen, clean, perfect,
peaceful, clear. It's when things are dark,
uncertain and messy that we need to
practice yoga the most.”
Self-quarantining can be hard for
even the most dedicated of introverts.
As an only child, I’ve always
been used to spending time alone,
but this is different. Suddenly, with
all the uncertainty in the world, I
wanted to be around people and
feel like I had a connection. Since I
could no longer practice yoga with
others in person, Zoom was my only
way to connect.
It took only one virtual class to settle
my nerves. I was happy to see familiar
faces on the screen, and to smile and
wave to students and other teachers. I
even gave everyone a little laugh when
I pulled out my Meddy Teddy to help
demonstrate poses. What had felt like it
was too far outside my comfort zone —
teaching virtually — ended up providing
me immense comfort.
Randi Cerini, a teacher at Astoria’s
Yoga Agora, felt the same way.
“The virus has changed my lifestyle
completely — from days filled with connecting
with tons of students and other
co-teachers, lots of hugs and adjustments,
to staying home and keeping
my distance from all of these people,
streaming live yoga classes and teaching
to tiny boxes on my screen,” she
said. “However, I am so grateful for
these technological capabilities that we
have at our disposal! I don’t know how
I’d get through this time emotionally,
spiritually and financially without the
ability to keep doing what I love and
choose to do for a living.”
For Naru, the practice of yoga via
Zoom has been restorative.
“Although we are all flowing together
from afar, the collective power of us all
practicing at the same time and the
ability to hold space for each other afterwards
to chat, laugh and cultivate joy
has been so healing,” she said. “It reminds
us that even if we are separated
by distance, our energy will always be
connected, and that knowledge is so
empowering.”
If we dig deep and look for the silver
lining in a devastating situation,
we might find that community can be
cultivated in so many wonderful and
creative ways. We may even, surprisingly,
discover comfort outside of our
comfort zones and realize that time
alone for self-reflection can soften the
perfectionist in us.
Local yoga classes are available online
through The Happie House (thehappiehouse.
com), Yoga Agora (yogaagora.
com), The Yoga Room (the-yoga-room.
com) and Breathe Strength Wellness
(breathestrengthwellness.com).
Photos courtesy of Mackenzie Iglesias Photos courtesy of Randi Cerini
Photos courtesy of Stephanie Naru
Photos courtesy of Sabrina Moscola
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