It has been 10 weeks since the WHO declared a world pandemic on March 11 and a few days less since British Columbia proclaimed, on March 17, a public health emergency and then the next day, a provincial health emergency.
We have been living in an altered world for two and a half months.
Gatherings over 50 people were banned and then a few days later many businesses including all personal service facilities were ordered closed. As time went on and new information about the coronavirus became available, new restrictions were imposed. We were lucky in BC that officials did not close all stores and gave its citizens leeway to find ways to physically distance while being outside. The ability to go outside in nature and enjoy our local beauty has helped many of us maintain physical health and mental well-being.
All the restrictions were aimed to help us “flatten the curve”, to prevent a sudden surge of newly diagnosed cases which might risk overloading our health care system. Thankfully, at least in BC, the worst feared scenarios did not materialize.
When the pandemic began, we hunkered down at home, and we tried to figure out what “working from home” meant. We also had to learn new ways of managing our personal and work lives.
Each day, before every phone call or Zoom meeting, the question everyone asked was “how are you doing.” Very soon it began to feel like the customary, “how are you” we usually ask each other upon connecting or meeting one another.
How does one answer such a question during such times?
I recently came across a list of 20 other potential questions to ask when checking in with each other. The first one which the author, Elizabeth Weingarten, offers resonates with me: “how are you taking care of yourself today?” It took me awhile but I came to the conclusion that the only way to move through these times is to put one foot in front of the other, to manage the present which is today, and not to worry about tomorrow.
As the pandemic continues and life as we know it is, and will stay different, it is even more important to take care of ourselves. It is critical to be kind to ourselves and to others as we navigate a new normal and to manage new stresses or anxiety.
So how do I take care of myself each day? Every day I try to spend some time meditating, I do some exercise on my own or with a class, I go outside and walk, cycle or garden and I practice Awareness Through Movement ®.
I also get energy from the students that attend and participate in our virtual Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement classes.
In Awareness Through Movement classes we learn how to pay attention to how we move, to listen to what parts of our body are moving, and how to connect them together. The emphasis is on curiosity and awareness, learning how to move more easily, to breathe and feel and thus take care of ourselves.
People who are attending Feldenkrais classes say the classes have helped their anxiety, are helping them maintain flexibility, are providing structure that is missing, and are helping them see that a different way of doing things is possible. To sum up, “the classes are helping me get through this time in so many ways.”
