In this time of uncertainty, the situation is changing daily.
On a personal level, we want to encourage you to make choices based in those steady inner messages that your yoga and meditation have helped you to be present to. While we need to be responsible and follow the recommendations of the WHO and NSW HEALTH and keep ourselves informed each day about the COVID-19 virus, remember that you must also maintain your own personal medicine, your own individualised approach to remaining healthy. Only you know how to keep that part of your day to day experience optimised to see and feel and respond to these confusing times as best you can.
Maintaining your physical and mental health will help you to be clear minded enough to choose how you adapt to this crisis as it unfolds for us personally.
Maintain your Dinacharya – this is the Ayurvedic term for your daily healthy routines .
Do not lose your healthy habits, your rituals, or your sleep.
Keep up the activities that nurture your mental and physical stability.
Ayurveda and western medicine both tell us that maintaining our circadian rhythms and routines are important for the homeostasis and vitality of our bodies.
A healthy body houses a calmer mind.
Fresh air and fresh food are vitally important. Consider how, if you do need to isolate, you will maintain access to healthy foods.
Rather than stocking up on canned food, freeze some slow cooked meals and use the fragrant herbs and greens from your garden for bio-available anti-bacterials and vitamins.
Make or purchase bone stocks and broths, to which you can add noodles and fresh vegetables.
Don’t overuse alcohol, especially if its an avoidant or relaxant for you. You have better tools to pull out of your lifetime of experience to make today and tomorrow ok.
Vitamin C and Zinc are important for your immunity and available through fresh and supplementary sources.
The government confirmed today that the local organic markets will stay open for the time being.
If you’re concerned about going to markets for organic food, order online.
Exercise boosts your immunity.
If you choose to avoid the gym, go to a park or open your windows and do an online class at the same time each day as you would be attending a group class.
Deep breathing boosts your immunity.
Today and each day, take some longer exhalations. Your pranayama, however simple or complex, will help to counter the anxious breath holding that’s happening all around us.
Going to bed a little earlier will boost your immunity.
We’re a sleep starved society. This is the time to be disciplined and self caring when it comes to your bed time.
Social connection boosts your immunity.
Keep talking with friends and family about life and how you feel, but make an effort not to gossip or catastrophise.
Don’t take on that challenging extra job, task, relationship drama.. steer clear of unnecessary emotional challenges that will have you lying awake at night.
Steadiness is so important for your nervous system, and doing as many things with the intention to remain calm and nurturing to you and your close ones will help protect you from the furore of social media, the shock stories, the mathematics of how CV-19 will spread and anything else that could send us all into monkey mindedness.
More than ever, a balanced mind-body approach is important for us all.
“ Today I will do my meditation so that I can be more in touch with the underlying truth of what I am. And I will try through the day to listen to the voice of Truth within, rather than to the voices of fear and panic in my head.”
Jeff Kober
The teachers at Yoga Essentia are remaining informed of the developing situation and the recommendations from the Government, Department of Health and the World Health Organisation, but today our doors remain open.
We will continue to conduct our group classes this week at Warriewood Surf Club with the following new conditions in place from Monday 16th March to protect your health:
- Surfaces such as door handles bathrooms, and tabletops are being cleaned daily and disinfected.
- Mats will be cleaned after each class with an antobacterial, 60% alcohol wipe.
- We will be providing locally, ethically produced Whalesong Mats for purchase at a discounted price of $60 and encourage you to purchase and bring your own mat to class, and use it for your own home practice should we need to shift to an online class platform for a while.
- We will be increasing ventilation of the studio during and after classes and ask students to maintain a space of at least a metre between mats
- We will suspend the use of props and minimise hands on adjustments at this time
- We encourage hand washing and good hygiene practices for our staff and students
- Please bring a hand towel to class to ensure that with any contact your skin is protected, and also to dry your hands after you wash
We’re all becoming quickly aware of why we should do our part to take care of our community.
Please do not come to class this week if you:
- Have recently returned from overseas
- Have flu like symptoms
- Have sick family member
- If you have come into contact with a suspected coronavirus case
We are assessing the situation daily, our teachers are communicating with and supporting each other and we’re doing our best to maintain a safe and positive environment for all our students and staff members.
Please do not hesitate to contact us with any concerns.
