Yoga Zoom when You’d Rather Bounce by Theresa Cassaday

All the kids are saying it, “Hey, I gotta bounce!” It’s kind of fun, although I am sure it doesn’t sound quite as cool coming out of me. That beloved verb we’ve long used to describe what you do to a ball, an occasional check (oops) and that spring in your step, now colloquially means – “I’m outta here.” 

Enter: the pandemic. When, in a matter of days, our options for “bounce” were reduced to all manners of “stay put.” Travel is limited to within the U.S., sports is kinda happening, if you like cardboard-cut-out-crowds, we now wear masks, and yoga studios have gone to virtual classes or sadly, closed their doors. It’s a bounce-ectamy we didn’t see coming, but alas, here we are. 

As Pema Chodron, the wise Buddhist teacher and nun wrote in her best-selling novel, When Things Fall Apart, it’s at these times we are “…nailed by life, the place where you have no choice except to embrace what’s happening or push it away.” 

So, what if we used this seismic life-shift to create something precious and rewarding? What if we turned our bounce propensity to Zooming? Already, it sounds more exciting and like a hella smoother ride. Yes, I am talking about that Zoom, the now-famous online platform that has transformed the way we work, hold meetings (ugh!), stay connected with loved ones, learn new hobbies, explore the world and yes, practice yoga. 

I am not trying to sound fancy, but my last live yoga class was at the Altromondo Yoga studio in Stockholm, Sweden. It was the morning of March 12. That day, I awoke to 13 text messages urging me to “get home right away,” because the President had closed the borders while I was sleeping. So, I did what any person in an advanced state of panic would—I went to yoga. Greeting the teacher in the lobby, practicing vinyasa flow on a rented mat, laying in savasana right next to the person right next to me … if someone had told me that the rituals of yoga I knew and loved would be radically upended when I returned to America, I would have said, “Ha! You’re a fool.”

Then, I got home. 

Admittedly, there was a solid week when I did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. I suppose to let the shock wash through me. How was I going to survive? Surely this would blow over in a few weeks and we’d all be back in the studio, right? Wrong. Facing this sur-reality, I peeled myself out of my comfy chair and got to work.

At that time many studios, including One Tree Yoga, were still trying to navigate the new online frontier and weren’t yet offering virtual classes, so I turned to an established platform— yogaglo.com. There is so much yoga on their site! I calculated that you could do a different class everyday and it would take almost SEVEN YEARS to get through them. Tias Little is on yogaglo for goodness sake! It’s a legit option, and cheap. 

As SOON as One Tree Yoga started offering online classes, I started “attending.” I didn’t just dabble or show up occasionally, I literally scheduled my life around my next Zoom yoga class. It transformed the way I do yoga, but more than that, it has been the greatest gift a person in isolation could wish for. When I am done with a crushing day at my corporate job in my office-at-home, yoga turns me into a butterfly with glitter on her wings. Sound dramatic? It is! The difference it makes to my well-being is profound, and it would be selfish not to share.

Practical Advice for Where You are with Yoga:

1. I’VE ALWAYS PRACTICED YOGA AND I’M A ZOOMER

  • Congratulations!  Keep on keepin’ on

 

2. I USED TO PRACTICE YOGA THEN, COVID

  • Easy solve, you know what you’re doing

  • Start! The rest naturally falls into place

  • The teachers you love in-person are teaching online, join them!

  • Attend live classes, sign up in advance – it keeps you accountable

  • Get yourself some swanky props 

  • Winter is coming and you’re gonna need your yoga…

 

3. I’VE DONE A LITTLE YOGA, BUT NOT SURE HOW THIS WORKS?

  • Read the tips above (some apply to you)

  • Find a sweet spot in your home to practice

  • Think about the styles of yoga you enjoyed, sign up for a class

  • It’s OK to start – stop – start, just keep starting again

  • All the things that attracted you to yoga are still there

 

4. I HAVE NEVER DONE YOGA, BUT READY TO START

  • Welcome! You’re off to great places

  • Read the tips above (many apply to you)

  • Get yourself a decent mat

  • Can’t touch your toes? Bend your knees

  • We ALL started our yoga journey once upon a time

  • Rome wasn’t built in a day, neither will your practice be 

  • Feeling uncertain about where to jump in? Email One Tree Yoga, they will guide you

As Pema suggests, let’s embrace where we are. We can make the best of this bounce-less time, not by turning away from our yoga practice, but rather digging in, or maybe getting started. How do you create an in-home practice when you groove on the class atmosphere, wearing your cutest yoga gear and being with your favorite teachers? The magic is still there but it now happens in your living room, extra bedroom, home yoga room (lucky you) or even your kitchen, where this blogger and yogi lands when taking online classes.  

So, try it out, “Hey, I gotta bounce,” now say that when you’re heading to Zoom. 

Theresa is a long-time yoga practitioner and One Tree Yoga instructor. To our delight, she will also contribute as guest blogger for OTY

Gabe Hoppzoom, zoomyoga, yogaonline, yogablog, pemachodron, onetreeyoga, oty, theresacassaday, yogamusing, yogaphilosophy, yogaathome, yogapractice, practiceathome, wfhyoga