THIS pandemic and the quarantine situation that comes with it do not only affect our health and the economy but our individual schedules. What was once an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. office schedule took a 360-degree turn when people were asked to work from home. In the same way, schedules of going to the gym to work out or to run a kilometer or two for exercise had also been disturbed.
But as everyone is strongly requested to stay at home, the will to be physically active becomes a challenge sometimes. Teacher Joanna Lizares-Co, a registered yoga instructor based in Davao City, made the initiative of bringing her yoga class online so as to help her students practice regularly amid the pandemic quarantine situation.
"Nothing excites me more than hearing my clients say they sleep better, they feel better, their aches and pains disappearing, their health is being restored, their bodies transforming, their quality of life improving, and their self-appreciation stimulated," said Joanna, who had been practicing yoga for nine years now and teaching for three years. She had also been under the mentorship of an Indian guru.
Normally, she teaches yoga at Holiday Gym three to four times daily and in her Yoga Jo studio mostly Hatha Yoga. Aside from teaching all-level classes, Joanna also does specialty yoga classes for senior citizens, athletes, people with scoliosis and other health conditions, and pregnant women.
But ever since the pandemic, she and the other instructors at Holiday Gym needed to make some necessary adjustments.
"I already received guidelines from Yoga Alliance on studio precautionary measures and social distancing. I stopped doing hands-on assists and honored the one meter distancing in all our classes. In my own studio, I stopped providing service yoga mats and props and gave out notices on proper cough etiquette and good hygiene reminders. I knew it was only a matter of time that in-person classes will be discontinued," she said.
That is why on March 20, upon the request of her regular students as well, Teacher Joanna took her yoga class online. Starting with 17 yogis, the first day of the online class wasn't that easy for her and her students.
"I was heartbroken doing the first two classes. I remember breaking down, sobbing, in our closing prayer in front of everyone. It felt unreal to me that we had to resort to this and wondered if we would ever get to practice with each again together. I have clients who are frontliners and when I see them in class, my heart just goes out to them knowing these are very difficult times," she said.
But online yoga sessions weren't a new thing for her. Her Progressive Hatha Yoga (PHY) instructors were conducting monthly classes after their November 2019 training in Thailand and she personally decided to do the same for her students here as well. Her Yoga Jo studio is conveniently located in their house so and her husband had been supportive and helpful of her technical needs for the online class.
However, she remains very cautious and puts the safety of her students on her priority. She decides not to hold online classes for her students who are pregnant and those with special medical needs.
"The format is still the same as my actual yoga classes. We take five minutes of breathing exercises (pranayama) and have several minutes of warm up afterwards. Rounds of sun salutes (surya namaskar,) standing postures, seated postures, then to closing stretches and corpse pose (savasana.) What we're doing different now since we have more time is we have online discussions on the postures and sequences done during the day," she shared.
Now, after a month since she started with the online yoga class, she has now served about 42 yogis. She still finds the setup challenging having to perform in front of a camera while checking out for each student to keep a safe practice for everyone. But despite these challenges, she pushes through knowing how especially significant maintaining an active lifestyle is now.
"For most of us staying home, we have all have the time now. The choice is simply ours to decide what to do with all that time. I already see it in social media how people are complaining about their weight gain, their back aches and body pains, even their boredom. If yoga or other weight resistant exercises are not your thing, you can still stay active by choosing to do regular household chores. Just do something besides sitting or lying down most of the time," she said.