The government has allowed massage to take place for some time now and triyoga have gone above and beyond what’s legally required to ensure that both client and therapist are as safe as possible.
Many people have reported aching necks/shoulders & backs from poor ergonomics at their home office, wrist and hip pain are also common symptoms clients have mentioned.
Some find that even though they’re working from home they’re actually working longer hours, juggling all the usual family & home life commitments whilst spending hours & hours in front of the computer.
Add to that immobility due to lack of exercise and stress from being cooped up, worrying about covid and financial concerns, it’s fair to say that people have been under an incredible amount of not only physical but mental and emotional stress.
I’m finding it hard sitting here writing this, I feel I should come out with some words of wisdom or advice. This whole thing is so enormous and so terrifying it’s difficult to put it into perspective.
The fear of falling ill, of loved ones becoming sick, the fear of financial ruin and the fear of loneliness and isolation are very real for many people including myself.
I’ve spent the last twenty years practicing self-cultivation, many hours spent alone in meditation, studying philosophy, psychology, martial arts and of course practicing yoga.
I feel so grateful for this now as I have a great relationship with my family and with myself. I know who I am, what I’m about, what I want and what I need. I have many interests and hobbies to occupy my time and when I don’t, I’m happy to be alone and enjoy silence.
Many people at this time will struggle with this. The sick, the vulnerable, people already struggling financially and those who are already isolated will suffer greatly. Even those who on the surface appear to have a great life filled with exciting activities, full work schedule, activities with friends and family all nicely structured and ordered, may now find that they don’t have the great relationship they thought they had with their kids and partners. They may now feel anxious or angry that they can’t play golf, go to the gym, go and see friends in the pub or get to that yoga class. They may find now that the things that have so far kept them happy and fulfilled are useless and they are left feeling empty and scared. This will be hard for us all.
This is the time to dig deep into your inner resources and find out what you’re really about and to find the joy in just being.
We’re lucky that we live in this electronic age and that there’s so much available on the web to help us. I will, as promised to the clients I teach there, be posting some of the practices from my classes at Mind in Haringey and Rethink on my YouTube channel, I hope that some of these help.
Please try this Yoga Nidra for sleep, pop some earbuds in and listen to it when you’re in bed and ready for sleep. Even if you don’t think you have problems with sleep, try it for five days in a row and notice any changes in how you feel, you may be pleasantly surprised!
My new yoga class has proven to be very popular and I now have a meditaton and mindfulness class too. In this class we explore the breath, mindfulness techniques, self massage and of course meditation, you dont need to do any stretches or wear any special clothing and this class is generally done seated although you can lie down if you want. triyoga have very generously donated some yoga mats and we hope to get some more props soon so that we can have a restorative class in the near future. If you’d like to attend please contact Mind in Haringey and self refer. They have lots of other activities there too so check out the timetable, even if you want to just have a cup of tea and a natter you can do that too!
This month gives us two very important public health campaigns Go Sober for October and Stoptober. Macmillan Cancers Go Sober for October urges us to give up alcohol for a month to raise money for cancer research. You can read my blog on how yoga can help with addiction here, to put it very simply if you think it will be hard for you to give up for a month then it’s something that you need to do. They have some really nice tips to help you on your journey of sobriety and if you think alcohol is harmless check out the NHS website on the dangers that alcohol use brings.
Stoptober is NHS England’s campaign to give up smoking for 28 days. I was a smoker for many years and the first two weeks was awful but then after that much easier and now I cannot believe I used to smoke, it really is a terrible habit. Yoga tells us when working with addiction that we need to break the cycle of addiction with another habit and I’ll be posting a video on my YouTube channel later this week with one of the techniques that I regularly use to help addicts deal with cravings.
If you’re taking part in either of these campaigns then I wish you all the best and if you’re not that’s fine but maybe take a moment to think about the effect your smoking and /or drinking has on not only your health but the health and well-being of those around you.
