Here are our resources for you during this trying time - weekday guided groundings via email and a 60 min restorative yoga class you can do at home anytime.
Looking for more? Join us in a live class.
March 22, 2020
We’ve had a great first week of streaming classes, thanks for joining us. We are accepting all normal (tiered) priced passes for online classes — and if you have been hit by economic hardship this season, send me an email with what you could pay and I’ll send you a link to buy a personalized pass. No problem.
We’re creating a community playlist to share some favorite songs - if you have one to add, send me an email or message. I’ll have that public soon!
AND
Kids Yoga Resources from Kristen Bowman:
As we all stay close to home during this time consider borrowing an ebook from your local library system to read with your children. Here is a list of five yoga/ mindfulness ebooks available through the libraries:
Prince George’s County Memorial Library System:
I Am Yoga by Susan Verde (extra activities)
Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller
Here We Are: notes for living on planet Earth by Oliver Jeffers (he reads one book a day here!)
After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again by Dan Santat
Here is a list of six yoga/ mindfulness ebooks that are available through the Howard County Public Library system:
Yoga Frog by Nora Carpenter
Seahorse’s Magical Sun Sequences by Michael Chissick (and a game here)
I Am Human by Susan Verde
The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld
Love by Matt De La Pena (also a letter to families daily)
I Wish You More by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (here is the song!)
Montgomery County Library Ebook Extras
Here and Now by Julia Denos- Activities related to this book by Julia Denos.
March 18, 2020
Dear friends,
I have heard so much encouragement from folks looking to support the studio. Thank you. Here are some ideas for helping us (and maybe all local businesses):
Purchase a Pass - if you have a membership or pass, use it with us online and continue to pay for anything recurring. If you don’t use our classes but would like to support us, you can purchase one of our passes at any level that makes sense for you (passes at $14-$170). And, they don’t expire, so you can use it when we open again!
Tell a friend! Share about our studio, the community, the free meditation emails (sign up below), the free restorative yoga class, etc. Invite a friend to take a class with you! We are really focused on staying connected to our community right now - let us know how we can continue to do that well.
With many thanks,
Kelsey
March 16, 2020 - free yoga class with Kelsey
Rest as a Resource
Like any resource, we can deplete our reserves of rest. I don’t think I have to tell you about how real that is for most of us right now. And, we may not be able to take a vacation and catch up on sleep, but could you take 10-60 minutes to support yourself during this season of surrender? We’ll provide support to our bodies as we surrender into the shapes. You do the breathing and see what happens.
Hope to see you in our virtual studio (and on meditation emails), soon.
xo
Kelsey
March 14, 2020 - emails for grounding meditations
We are going to be offering weekdaily-ish email meditations and breath work for grounding during this challenging time. Sign up here if you didn’t see a pop up inviting you to join.
March 13, 2020 - update to temporarily close the studio
I've been wrestling and reading, watching and debating how to act in the face of this pandemic. I have heard from you all that you love to have a space to connect to others and to move and breathe in ways that help you find calm while you are carrying the weight of concern for our community and all of the changes this week. We are honored to help you hold that space. Our practices can aid us as we navigate how we might best live during all this uncertainty.
At this time, I believe it is the right choice for me and for Numi Yoga to temporarily close our physical doors after the 8a Calm class on Sunday. I am hopeful that all our efforts to mitigate coronavirus spread will help alleviate our unequipped healthcare system and provide better outcomes for those of us at highest risk - folks without housing, needing to work to pay rent, immunocompromised, our elders, etc. Like many of you, I have loved ones who come to mind in these categories that would not have enough care if infection rates grow exponentially. I'm thinking of them as I walk heavily into this unusual reality.
In order to continue to support you during this challenging season, we are putting together daily-ish emails with guided meditations and breathing exercises to help you settle your nervous system and find grounding. You can sign up here - they start on Monday. In addition, we are working on a streaming integration that will allow us to have your teachers and classes on Tula be accessible from your computer. I hope to have this moving by midweek, maybe earlier. We will consider leading some outdoor yoga or hiking times and maybe have Zoom call ins to check in together. I welcome your ideas - maybe a book club? Human connection is so vital; let's see what we can create.
I hope you and your loved ones are well and cared for. I'm grateful we can get outside in warm weather. I look forward to seeing you again when this clears (or online!).
With love,
Kelsey
(If you want more reading, there is data here - as best we could, Evan and I checked his background and data sources.)
March 11, 2020
Our schedule will be shifting in the next few weeks as our university affiliated friends are relocating - leaving us short on desk staff and some teachers. Please keep an eye on the online schedule and we’ll do our best to email updates out. We are hoping to offer some extra online resources to you in place of these classes.
March 10, 2020
Here at Numi Yoga we are following government and health organization information about coronavirus/covid-19 guidelines. We are watching how local community leaders are guiding our neighbors and those who work around us towards keeping our community of neighbors and workers well.
At the studio, we have already implemented additional cleaning. We have disinfectant wipes at the front and in the bathroom for all surfaces and handles (you are welcome to ask for one!). We increased mat and prop cleaning in addition to the extra washcloths for cleaning mats and blocks each time you use them. You are welcome to bring a towel from home to use on top of your yoga mat or props if that would make you feel more secure.
I want to acknowledge that the burden of this virus will not affect us equally. Some of us have the resources of family members, a flexible work situation, stable housing, and the capacity to quarantine ourselves. Others may have hourly jobs that will be impacted as we close schools and stop traveling. Could we tip more for the service folk we encounter? Our elders and some of our immunocompromised friends face more uncertainty and risk. Can you reach out to someone and offer to make some extra soup? Can we ask before touching folks who may be at a higher risk for infection related complications?
I wish I didn’t have to remind us: sinophobia (anti-Chinese sentiment) is not welcome in our community. Anxiety over this virus is real. You can feel anxiety and choose not to take actions that will harm others. We cannot judge others by their appearance at any time, certainly we cannot gauge who may have a virus which is invisible. If you have experienced harm or racism in our studio, please reach out. I will stand with our minority community members and their right to exist peacefully in our space.
AND, fear and insecurity are real feelings. Where in your body do you feel these emotions? Do you have a tight stomach? Are you clenching your jaw? Do you find yourself fidgeting? How is your sleep? Are you eating well to help nourish your body through stress and disease? Yoga, talking walks outside, and breathing well can help your nervous system settle down when faced with stress. If your body doesn’t have to battle stress, your immune system may have more resources to fight disease. Those of us who can, let’s take extra care. Maybe we can be a resource to someone who otherwise has less support.
Oh, and wash your hands!
with love,
Kelsey + the Numi Yoga family