Gimme Three Steps
When I have to assemble something, I just dump all the parts on the floor and try to put it together and never read the instructions until it has all gone wrong. It drives my architect husband bananas. I am not a great baker either. Baking is science and you need to follow the directions. I am a pretty good cook though. My specialty is looking in the fridge and the pantry and deducing what I can make into a meal by what we currently have. I do not follow a recipe and rarely measure. My husband? Look up recipe, read recipe in full, go to store, buy exact ingredients, measure, and follow the directions to the T.
We are being given specific directions from our Governors and leaders with next steps in this health crisis. Illinois has a 5 phase re-opening plan. The instructions on how we conduct our businesses and our lives are detailed acton steps with clear goals to reach before we can move forward. When it comes to the safety our all our lives, we need to read all of the directions carefully and commit to following them as a whole. I promise to do the same.
Yoga classes as we once knew them will not resume until phase 4 in Illinois. No one can say when that will be, and even then, what that will look like. We have adapted quickly to teaching online through Zoom, and one of the keys to the success of an online class is for students to feel supported and that the instructions (or "cues") the teacher offers are clear, descriptive, and concise. It's ironic to me that I have built a career teaching yoga being known for these exact and deliberate cues, and yet I am a terrible at following directions myself.
Today, Saturday May 9th, I am offering a restorative yoga class from 3-4:30p cst (green link below). One of the keys to this practice is to clearly follow the directions to build the poses, so that you have the support you need to nourish and calm the nervous system. Annually, I offer this practice every Mother's Day weekend, and this will be the first time I have ever taught it virtually. Honor the qualities in you that protect, sacrifice and nurture what you love. We are all mothering something....a child, a pet, a project, a plant. My hope is to be as clear with my instructions as possible. The picture above are the directions of what you will need for the practice.
Cheers to some of the amazing women in my life who are all of that and more:
Pat Stang, Marty Kaufman, Wendy Stang, Cathy McCloskey, Dani Stang, Laurel Kaufman,
Brea Read, Jen Cline, Jessica Sandstrom, Patti Lupo, Margi Young, Marcy Johnson,
Dardi McGinley Gallivan, Sue Warner, and Carrie Bach.
I made a donation in their honor to Murals for Medical Relief which has organzied local Chicago artists to dedicate their time and talents and create murals inspired by, and with gratitude for, our health care workers. Megan Miller (lovely yoga teacher and mother) has a son who is an aritist with this organization. Well done.