Coronavirus & Yoga practice and philosophy
Like I am doing right now with this message, this is a time where you will see yoga instructors chime in about this global pandemic. They may give you breathing exercises or poses to help calm you. If you feel stressed or worried these practices will help so why not try them?
I would like to address a personal/global perspective to this personal/global pandemic. Our bodies our a micro version of earth. With similar percentages of salt water and mineral content and just as we have a central beating heart the earth has a central beating core. Science tells us that the bodies greatest job is to maintain homeostasis. Our bodies are constantly adjusting to external and internal conditions in order to maintain balance or homeostasis. The earth and our environment is also doing the same. Geological, Meteorological, Atmospheric and Microbial all trying to maintain homeostasis. I’m no scientist I wasn’t even a good student in middle school science class which was my last science class. Yet I remember learning that every action has an equal reaction. Yoga science has a similar concept called Karma. Geology and biology are constantly adjusting to deal with the onslaught from incessant human interference. It’s as if what coronavirus is to our bodies humans are to this planet. Damming up rivers, filling landfills, spraying deadly chemicals on food and everywhere, deforestation, belching toxic fumes from factories and auto’s, sick inhumane conditions in our factory farms with inhumane and unsanitary conditions and using technology to remove us further and further from nature and making us busier and busier which equates to more stress. All this in the effort to make life easier and to make more money so we can have more stuff! Has it worked? Are we healthier and happier than prior generations? It’s not really a surprise that we will have to deal with our gluttony and the ramifications of our aggressive interference with the natural world. Yet how we have to deal with it is not easily predictable.
Most likely this pandemic will pass, here’s a YouTube link to educate yourself on coronavirus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZFhjMQrVts. Yet the next crisis is already brewing. Ultimately our desire for more is unsustainable, gluttony which is a word more associated with eating would not be inappropriate to describe the amount of “stuff” we have and want. This “stuff” goes beyond material possessions, the gluttony extends to “entertainment” it’s like we constantly need to distract ourselves and fill our minds with other peoples thoughts and opinions. The more “entertained” we are the less time we have for our thoughts and feelings and the less connected we our to ourselves, others and nature. The more of this “stuff” we have the more addicted we become to all this “stuff” which exacerbates the problem.
This Coronavirus is a wonderful time to create or re-acquire a personal wellness practice which needs to extend beyond the yoga mat and meditation cushion into our life. We need to make big decisions about how we can stop contributing to our cultures toxicity and just as importantly how we can start contributing to personal and planetary health. All the great teachers who came to our planet shared with us a similar message of benevolence and non-materialistic success. Success based on value’s and morals not the gluttonous mentality of “more is better or the bigger the better” which our culture seems to value. Just “Live simply and ethically” You won’t see that on a T.V. show or movie it’s not so titillating.
When I created my online yoga studio at poweryoga.com my intention was to use technology to help people simplify. So now they don’t have to leave their homes for my rocking yoga class or the classes of our other skilled instructors. Less time driving more time for oneself and family. I never would have guessed poweryoga.com would come in handy because people are almost being self quarantined to their homes due to the closure of most public venues, schools and even businesses. Maybe right now it is safer to have less close contact with others.
So please take advantage of my streaming site at poweryoga.com we have many free classes so please don’t let money issues be an excuse.
Sincerely. Bryan Kest
Image credit: Anahum Mahapatra