Things Are Uncertain…
It is Sunday morning, March 22nd. It is my first day of self-quarantine that I have not been occupied with work and while I am ok, it is certainly not easy. The solitude is something I both welcome and fear - a sentiment that my be held by many of you as well. In these times finding the balance between offering support and maintaining my livelihood is challenging. I am grateful have spent the week both assisting studios/teachers in setting up their online platforms and supporting students’ practice through Down Under’s live stream classes. The notes of thanks and support that I have received from many of you have been truly touching.
I am wanting to move forward with an attitude of care. For myself and for others. I really hesitated to compose this post because I don’t want to contribute towards this race for a fully online yoga economy. Truthfully I want to retreat. And yet, when I reflect on that need for retreat, I find that there is both wisdom and habit in it. So I will continue to teach, and be honest about how I am feeling. I hope that at the very least that is helpful to some.
That being said, below is a description of how I am choosing to teach online. I am sure that it will evolve over the next weeks but it’s at least a start. If you have been bombarded by such offerings already and choose not to read further I completely understand.
Wishing you good health, safety and ease during these isolating events.
~Ryan
Moving Online…
At Down Under School Of Yoga
The first week of teaching asana online has been a wonderful challenge. The circumstances we are in make the virtual connection more meaningful than I could have imagined. I will continue to offer these classes (5 per week) and would love to see you there. Even - and especially - if you aren’t local to Boston! It’s been wonderful to start to see old friends pop up in the zoom feed to take class from different parts of the country! As I trouble shoot this new medium I welcome all the feedback I can get, so always feel free to reach out.
The Practice Space + Unrolled Podcast!
As some of you have noticed I have been slowly rolling out a new section of my website called “the practice space” to offer resources for home practice and to continue to host unrolled podcast. This time at home has provided me with more room to develop this platform and I look forward to adding more content as well as a live-stream gatherings which will begin in the next week or so.
If you are able to support by becoming a monthly member ($8) it will allow me to grow this library and help to sustain through these weird and confusing times. If you would like access and have lost income due to the covid-19 crisis, please reach out at ryan@ryanyoga.com and we can come up with a sliding scale arrangement.
1-on-1 Support
On the last podcast episode, I spoke a great deal about how folks need to practice on their own during these times. I quite simply spoke too soon. Practicing has been a real challenge over the past weeks. It has also been profoundly interesting. The connection the group classes offer - albeit virtual - has proven to be profoundly helpful during the past week. I have experienced this myself and gotten wonderful notes from students echoing those sentiments.
I am fortunate to also have been able to connect with my teachers and mentors this past week to talk through what I am experiencing in practice during this time. I hope to offer that same support to current 1-on-1 students and to anyone who would like to schedule a session. I will be offering all online sessions on a sliding scale for the foreseeable future. You can reach via email or simply go to the link below.