In hearing the Governor’s somber announcement that our stay-in-place orders have been extended into 2021, you may be thinking to yourself, “I wonder when I’ll finally snap?” Maybe it’ll be hearing “Moooooom, my Zoom meeting froze again” one more time, or hitting your head on the cabinet door while reorganizing your kitchen for the 11th time, or maybe it will be when your Christmas deliveries inevitably arrive late because you, like everyone else, waited until the last minute to put in your online orders (guilty).
I’m here to tell you, its okay (and you can go ahead and throw yourself onto the bed like a just-grounded teenager and scream into your pillow.) After 10 months of quarantine, no one can blame you.
None of us have been in a situation like this where we have so much uncertainty and so little control over our own lives. We can’t control the pandemic or how well people abide by the safety precautions, we can’t control whether the grocery store will have everything we need on our next shopping trip, we can’t control when we’ll be back out on the rink skating again! As humans, we like having control, and suddenly living in a world of “we’ll have to wait and see” is bound to drive us crazy!
I hadn’t even realized how much I needed my routine until I was no longer following one. At the beginning, having the freedom to take longer mornings and not feeling like I had to rush off to practice or somewhere else in the evenings was therapeutic. I had the time to just deal with the anxiety and emotions that came with the pandemic (and everything else that followed). However, after becoming accustomed to this new lifestyle, my unstructured, chaotic day was starting to add to the stress and lack of control I felt in my life. I didn’t have set times on anything that I did anymore; when I’d stop work, when I’d take breaks, when I’d eat a meal, letting whatever I was feeling or whatever was going on around me plan my day for me. I worked too long, spent WAY too much time looking at my phone during my “down time”, and rushed my meals, often defaulting to eating cereal for dinner (not that that is entirely a bad thing, I LOVE cereal). But more than anything, I was ending my day feeling like I hadn’t actually done anything for myself (this has been one part of derby that I’ve missed the most). I needed to find one thing that could stick to, something I would look forward to, something that made me feel like I was working on project: Me.
And then a friend introduced me to Yoga with Adriane.
Adriane is fun and quirky and down to Earth. She is all about being true to yourself and finding what feels good. (Side note, she has an app called FWFG.) In one moment, she might be serious, talking about being patient with yourself and sending love to the universe, and in the next, will break into singing “A whole new world”. It’s been my morning dose of wholesome goodness. She also has a lovable dog, Benji, who makes a regular (welcomed) appearance in her videos.
Downward dog with Adriane and Benji (credit https://twitter.com/yogawithadriene)
Adriane is also a wonderful yoga teacher. I’ve been doing her 30 day challenge series (just finished my 2nd one since the start of the pandemic). These series are well thought out, progressing from beginner to intermediate, where you’ll start to build up strength, and then back off for something more grounding, and then build the intensity again (getting a mix of vinyasa, floor core work, stretching, and standing balances all throughout the series). Even if you have been doing yoga for a while, Adriane helps and encourages you to “find something new”. I also appreciate her awareness of her audience. She will provide alternatives for poses for various ranges of skill levels and for whatever energy level you are feeling that day.
Bonus suggestion: form a small group to go on the 30 day journey with! While we can’t practice together in person right now, it’s still fun and motivating to be on a thread together and to share your progress and discuss anything you felt or encountered during a practice. (Finally getting yourself into and holding crow pose is exciting if you have friends to share the news with!)
If you are not feeling ready for a committed 30 days of yoga, Adriane also has individual lessons. She has a wide range of videos for different needs, whether it be for a specific area of the body, a specific amount of practice time, or for a specific time of day. There is even one called “Yoga For When You Feel Dead Inside”.
Yoga isn’t quite derby, but Adriane has helped me start a new chapter of my quarantine life. Now my mornings start with waking up, drinking a full glass of water (another good habit I picked up during the pandemic), throwing on some leggings, and getting my body moving and blood flowing with my daily morning yoga. It feel goods to complete at least one thing I’ve set out to do for myself, even if the rest of my day goes a bit unplanned.
So, as Adriane will tell you, “put on something comfy and let’s get started”. Whether it is yoga or something else, take back control of a moment in your day and make time for you.
Keep staying safe everyone.
Panda
Update: Adriane just came out with a new 30 day challenge on January 1st called Breath! Go check it out!
