Letters from yoga students

I attended my very first yoga class in 2016, a yin yoga class, to combat low back pain. I was hooked from day one and attended regular classes weekly every Sunday. This passion then drew me to read and practise more and eventually to register for teacher training with Josh Summers and, then later still, Foundations YTT with The elbowroom in 2018 as my passion grew to a desire to teach to share the many benefits of yoga in the same way they affected me.

I found that yoga not only helped my physical health and mobility but also in recovering from Clinical Depression of two years, anxiety and childhood trauma. More than anything I found the community of in-studio yoga classes or teaching a massive aid to my mental health and looked forward to attending weekly classes for my yoga time. But events soon took their course and classes, and teaching took a back seat to the fight against Covid. Although we have classes that can be transmitted over the internet, the isolation of performing or teaching yoga alone to a camera in an empty room is not the same and the lost community energy is not there.
I miss the anticipation of walking to a studio, the smell of old incense and the joy of just being in a room with other practitioners.

A recent study highlighted the declining state of our countries mental health following long period of lockdown or isolation. I know the government has hard choices to make but… if yoga is classified as exercise and gyms etc are permitted to open, it is frustrating that our physical and mental health cannot be facilitated in attending a yoga class when many studios can open safely with adherence to HSE guidelines on social distancing and sanitisation. We can eat out, shop, attend a gym, library or cinema, but not look after our mental health.

I am a yoga teacher and student for over 13-teen years. Since 2012 yoga is my livelihood through which I earn living. My work is for me the love of my life. 

Over the years I witnessed how yoga have been benefiting both physical, mental and emotional health of my students, colleagues and my own. 

I truly believe that group yoga classes can safely operate with all the Covid Safety measures in place. We can socially distance our students, ask them to bring their own equipment, provide sanitising stations and create environment where they can feel safe and come to calm down their nervous system, de-stress and relax their bodies and minds. It will not only benefit their bodies but also positively influence their mood, boost their immunity and general health and well-being. Please consider our plea.