Today, after leading an online guided meditation class with a number of people from around the country, all of whom work for the same company, one of the participants expressed his appreciation for the safe space that we created for each other in the weekly class. It reminded me that that is essentially what we do as yoga teachers: create safe space… for people to be themselves and to practice yoga and meditation together.
Our mission at Heart of the Village Yoga is indeed to create a safe and compassionate space for people to practice yoga. But what is safe during a pandemic when it is considered risky to be indoors in a closed room with other people for an extended period of time? As most of you know, there are many aspects of safety: physical, mental, emotional… real and perceived.
At the outset of the pandemic when there were so many unknowns, we had to close our physical studio and we switched to teaching classes online, almost immediately. As you might imagine, with limited attendance and reduced fees, we struggled to pay our rent and maintain our space. We did so with the help of local, state and federal support… and those of you who continued your patronage.
Then masks became the accepted way to minimize the risk of virus transmittance, and we conducted a number of outdoor classes before opening the studio again when allowed to physically-distanced standards, while continuing an online selection of livestream and recorded classes. Limited attendance (due to state spacing standards and a prevailing atmosphere of inherent risk) didn’t move the needle much towards a renewed sense of rebuilding our yoga business and maintaining our physical yoga space.
During all of this time, we worked many extra hours with clients one-on-one, often without fee, paying our rent and our bills while also catering to those who were really struggling, wondering if this was the future of teaching yoga? Many studios across the country like ours (where our Studio space and Yoga-teaching work are our only means of livelihood) have closed their doors. From our own personal experience, we know the practice of yoga is a valuable practice during traumatic times. But, would the business of having a physical space be feasible again, with large groups of people coming together again inside to practice yoga?
Then the vaccinations came and our attendance increased. People felt safe again, especially as the numbers of vaccinated in Vermont exceeded other parts of the country and cases of the virus dwindled around here. Practicing yoga without masks! Freedom! Our business rebounded for a month or so to 3/4 of pre-pandemic numbers. We all expressed a bit of a local sigh of relief. But still, we knew it wasn’t over. The nature of the pandemic is global, not local.
Then, the next virus variant started to spread until finally our geographic region was seeing numbers increase and we became categorized by CDC to be in an area of substantial risk. Masks indoors were recommended again. School populations were being instructed by the State to wear masks again, unless vaccination levels within their specific school population were sufficiently high. Hmmm, they are an indoor group environment somewhat like us, but they have a controlled population… we students who are local and non-local, regular and visiting.
What to do? Returning to a masks-alone policy and the associated lower levels of attendance would jeopardize our ability to maintain our rented space. If people don’t feel safe, they won’t come to an indoor space with a group of (potentially unknown) people. Our teachers with young children, grandchildren, and elderly family members won’t feel safe teaching again. And of course, we personally have to remember that Jo had recent heart surgery and is at increased risk. All of us are listening to our doctors… none of us want to risk getting sick ourselves or risk getting someone else sick.
We looked at the population of those who had been returning to classes and we saw that they predominately felt safe because they were vaccinated. Probably, those who weren’t attending, vaccinated or not, didn’t want to still risk potentially contracting or spreading the rapidly-changing virus. We remembered that safety can be perceived safety, not just real physical safety. We decided to cater to the population that was coming back to indoor group classes, and to do our best to make them feel safe and welcome. And I’ve moved to teaching primarily one-on-one classes for those who prefer not be in groups.
We instituted a vaccination requirement for our indoor, in-person classes, where everyone in the class would know that everyone else in the class is vaccinated. All of you have been very supportive, and so far at least, have continued to come to the studio to practice. We are so happy to be practicing with all of you again. We are so grateful to all of you who continue to work together to make our community a safe place, whether we see you in the studio or not.
We realize that there are many of you that have chosen not to be vaccinated. Many of you are dear friends, dedicated yoga students, and respected community members. Many of you have not returned to the studio since the pandemic anyway, we suspect because you also want to create safe space for those around you. For you, we will continue to offer online classes, outdoor group classes and private sessions. We realize that we’re all in this together, each of us doing our best to survive and take care of loved ones. With our current policy, in our own way, we are honoring all of you who continue to prioritize the safety of others, whether vaccinated (and returning to in-person indoor classes) or not vaccinated (and choosing to practice at home so as to not risk potentially infecting others). It’s all in learning to practice (and live) in alignment with our highest intentions, right? We can only hope that we act responsibly, especially when we look back on our current decisions 5 or 10 years from now, God willing. We just have to trust that, when we get through these times, each doing our own best responsibly, we’ll all be together again. Smiling.
There is so much going on these days that we all have to pay attention to… we are indeed living at a time of existential threats. We believe the practice of yoga can lead us towards a re-awakening and towards sustained health, happiness, and conscious living. Maybe these times will be our motivation to build bridges and to find common ground again… to create safe space for each other. Practice is always about seeking a higher truth, a more fulfilling happiness, about seeing our connectedness versus our differences. Perhaps now is the time we have been waiting for to do so, perhaps with a bit more clarity and purpose.
But, for us, right now, we’re just trying to be a good community member, a good neighbor. We hope dearly that we are able to sustain our yoga space here in Manchester, a place where people might continue to be motivated to come together and practice yoga… with us, and with each other. In the end, we realize it’s really not about us as individuals… so we will continue to be guided by how things evolve in our community (and our state) and how you continue to provide well-intentioned input and feedback. We will try to step forward as leaders and make responsible decisions accordingly… hopefully maintaining a space we have all come to enjoy and love.
We continue to do our best to stay abreast of the state of things and remain ready to keep changing with the times. We hope you “hang in there” (an aerial yoga pun)! Be well. And continue to create safe space for those around you, wherever you are. We will see you again, each of you.
Humbly, gratefully, and respectfully yours,
Bob