Online Yoga Classes in Post-COVID World
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
– George Bernard Shaw
Many moons ago, I went on a big adventure. Six months of travel through South America. On New Year’s Day 2010, my dad, sister and I were on a flight to Cuzco. Ready to explore the Sacred Valley culminating in magical Macchu Picchu.
During my travels I heard about a mysterious “back way” to Macchu Picchu. I’m a seeker of roads less traveled sooooo we had to go. And we soon found out why this is off the beaten path. It includes a harrowing local bus ride across steep mountains.
Words will never do it justice but imagine this: an old school bus, hugging a cliff thousands of feet above a river, going waaaaaay too fast, around waaaaay too many curves. And then there was the flooding. Torrential rains had washed away portions of the road. But the mighty school bus from 1973ish blasted through small rivers and hurdled over holes.
Until we came to a bridge.
No one was driving across this bridge because it was “moving”. It had become a waterfall. The only way across… was on foot. No guardrails. Nothing to hold on to. Just one foot in front of the other, feeling your way. It was a long, slow 50 feet. With your heart pounding, ears overwhelmed by the sound of rushing water, and eyes glued shuffling steps.
When you got to the other side, your celebration was short-lived because you had to get on another bus and continue the cliff-hanger ride.
The whole heart pounding adventure probably took a few years off my Dad’s life… but we did it.
The last few years have reminded me of that bus ride. Unexpected. Intense. Hugging cliffs. Gut wrenching twist and turns. Don’t look down! And now… a bridge.
I feel like Kanda is at a bridge. With no guardrails. No clear-cut path. The only way forward is one foot in front of the other.
What is the bridge? The world post-COVID. How to move forward with a virtual school. How to innovate and create more educational opportunities. How to expand and enhance your relationship to yoga.
I’m not 100% sure what this bridge means. But change is ahead. Here are a few things I’m wrestling with:
The mission of the school has always included offering programming “outside of the studio box”. The current model is very similar to a studio. To honor and fulfill the mission and vision of the school, there needs to be more creativity and diversity.
One person cannot be a yoga studio or a yoga school. For robust programming, there needs to be staff, faculty and studentship to support the programming.
As studios and offices have re-opened, guest teachers have been hard to come by and Zoom security changes have made hosting guest teachers very difficult.
Teaching has taken most of my time and energy the last few years. For the school to grow, it needs a different distribution of my time, energy, and vision.
These are a few of the swift moving currents on the bridge. I’ve spent months peering across to the other side. I want to know what you see and need because we’re on this journey together. Here is a survey to contribute your insight and experiences. The questions are more detailed than previous versions. This contributes greatly to the School’s future. Let’s envision this next leg of this adventure together.
Love,
Alison
