Quarantine yoga makes me happy
There are a bunch of things that have come to be the symbols of the lockdown: rainbows in windows, chalk messages on the pavements from kids to their friends, banana bread (I’m on my 4th loaf), Zoom. For me, and a lot of others, I can add yoga to that list. I’ve swapped my usual yoga studio, a serene sanctuary, filled with candles, herbal tea and the sound of pan pipes, for my daughter’s bedroom, where I squint at my phone on the windowsill, and am surrounded by stuffed animals and the dulcet tones of my husband trying to learn bass guitar in the spare room. It’s not ideal. I almost broke my neck on a wooden giraffe-on-wheels that I stepped on when coming out of tree pose. But it’s honestly helping to keep me sane – in the most literal sense – during lockdown.
Why do you do yoga?
I’ve been practicing yoga for about fifteen years now. I tend to dip in and out of other forms of exercise (ballet, swimming, weightlifting, I once did a hula-hooping class that gave me a panic attack), but yoga is always my constant. Before lockdown, I liked yoga because of the fitness benefits; I feel like it keeps me strong and a physiotherapist recently characterised me as being ‘dead bendy’. It’s also the only form of exercise where you can legitimately take a 5-minute nap and nobody will give you funny looks. In these current, very weird times, where I am working from home with a one year old and a partner with a penchant for a musical instrument, yoga has become the time where I check in with myself mentally and physically. I get to spend an hour or so where my only job is to focus on my posture and my breathing. It’s been incredibly helpful to me, to the point where it’s become part of my daily routine. I was practicing during the evening, but I’ve switched to taking a class during my lunchbreak as a means of resetting my brain and gearing up for the afternoon’s work. I have noticed a massive difference in my ability to focus on my work and, more importantly, in my overall stress levels since I upped my yoga game.
What’s your set-up like?
Like most people, I own a yoga mat and a water bottle and that’s it. A properly kitted out yoga studio has all sorts of pillows and bolsters, blocks and straps to help you get into and maintain yoga poses. I don’t have any of that, and I probably won’t buy any of it either. I use cushions from around the house to prop myself up, books as blocks (shout out to Organic Chemistry by Paula Bruice for helping me stretch out my fish pose) and my dressing gown cord to help with binds. It doesn’t look fancy, but it all does the job. I wear either my loose yoga jumpsuit that I bought to end my perpetual struggle with keeping my top from riding up during class, or I wear the top that rides up with my workout leggings. I do think it’s important to dress as if you’re working out. I could easily do yoga in whatever slouchy loungewear I happen to be wearing that day, but I think I put more effort in if I dress the part. As for my space, I go for whatever room is currently unoccupied, but I try my best to practice somewhere quiet and tidy because it helps with my focus and relaxation. Practicing near a window is also nice – I like looking at the birds messing about at the top of our cherry tree when I’m relaxing at the end.
How do you ‘go’ to a class?
Thankfully, it’s not difficult to find a decent online yoga class at the moment. I have friends who are in love with Yoga for Adriene on YouTube. Adriene’s channel has a huge array of practices, with playlists such as the 20-30 minute or 45-60 minutes yoga practices, standing yoga, yoga for neck tension and 30 days of yoga. She also has a super cute dog (I love you, Benji!)
I have been taking live Zoom classes with my regular teachers more than I’ve been using YouTube though. They are paid classes, but I like the familiarity of practicing with someone I know. Studio 70 in Govanhill is my go-to for a lunchtime class. They have a variety of different classes and I can heartily recommend the flow class for a lunchtime pick-me-up to clear the cobwebs. For an excellent strength-based practice, I can recommend Louise at Battlefield yoga. Her seasonal yoga is fab, and I’ve enjoyed going from the sleepy, cosy winter practices to the more energetic and dynamic Spring classes. She has a website, but you’re better off sending her a text at the moment to find out about her classes (07847546165). Doing a live class means I’m more likely to actually do yoga when I plan to – it’s very easy to put off a YouTube video, but I’m less likely to miss a live class that I’ve paid for.
I’m actually coming back to finish this post after my lunchtime flow class and I feel all tingly and invigorated! I kind of internally roll my eyes at the spiritual side of yoga – and, one time, unfortunately, openly laughed when someone mentioned visualising a shaft of energy emitting from my yoni (sorry, Marge). But I think there’s a lot to be said about setting aside some time for yourself and consciously giving yourself a positive intention for the class that you then carry into your day. It genuinely helps me not go insane during lockdown.
Written by Dr Jess Bownes, ELA for CoSE