WoW! Life is life this week! Right? There's so much going on... So much to keep up with.... So much to process and manage.... So many restrictions too*.... too much! (*Please don't read too much into the word restrictions - it's just an observation of what is and not meant to be a judgement on them.) To "Keep Going" has always seemed to have been a major life theme of mine. Life has always felt hard for me.... and yet... somehow I do find the strength to keep going even though there has also been an equally strong pull in me to give up. Whether it's determination or fate that helps, "to keep going" is certainly a skill I've developed. In understanding that there really are no perfect paths, in giving yourself freedom to make mistakes, in getting up and trying again more times than you've faced setbacks; you can develop a capacity to find joy and fulfillment in the process of keeping on.
As a tiny yoga studio owner, this year has been an incredibly hard that was only survivable because of the generosity of the community that support it and my determination to keep on keeping on even when the going was difficult. While I do feel exhausted and concerned about the future, I also feel grateful and proud of the people who supported me financially and encouraged me to keep going even when the going was tough.
A true blessing and highlight of 2020 was the teacher training I led at Shine Yoga. The training itself was from the start, the little engine that could, and the people in it sustained, fulfilled, and inspired me throughout the year. (Thank you!) The group was slow to form at first and I almost thought about just taking a year off from training. But the enthusiasm of the few people who were interested in the training from the start encouraged me to do the training even if we were a tiny group. So with a bit of a delay and concerns, I set a later start date to see if we could get a few more to join us. And then all of the sudden, a group of 12 pulled in tight and we were set to go. We just had a couple of in-person meetings before the shut-down was upon us.
From scratch, I reformed the training as I learned the technology. For sure it was a build the ship as we sailed experience. While I shy away from connecting too closely the idea that yoga is merely about flexibility, I will always be impressed with the flexibility of my students to trust and adjust our learning and sharing styles to the new online world we experienced in 2020 and our capacity to "keep going" despite how tough it got. I found myself often wishing the world could just stop and wait Covid out a bit. But that's not what humans do. We pivot. We adapt. We evolve. Many of us will come away with new skills, new appreciations, new longings, new ideas because of the way we worked through the obstacle course that was 2020. If you are one to simply wish 2020 away, I totally understand. But I bet if/when you're ready to look back on it, you'll find that in the way that you pivoted and kept going in 2020; you too have gained new insights and skills as well. I'd love to hear... what new skills, understandings, ideas, hopes, dreams, or plans do you have now because of 2020.
Even as an introvert, I am much more appreciative of in-person time. (I am also appreciative of the moments when I get an empty house to myself;-) And even though I can't wait until things happen in "real-life" again, I am way more comfortable with technology than I ever would have pushed myself to be without 2020. I'm also grateful for the new friendships and relationships that DID develop over 2020 - even while socially distanced.
This is just a few of us in front at the first of our Shine Yoga Community Classes and Certificate "Ceremony." The rest of our group safe at home projected in the background there! I'll use my photoshop skills to bring us all back together later;-)