The terrifying shadow of the Coronavirus has shut down the schools for the 6th consecutive week (and still counting).
I am becoming an expert at homeschooling and therefore at deep abdominal breathing. Stuck in between the kids lessons and the apocalyptic news from the rest of the world, I can’t even tell what day is today.
My yoga teaching agenda had been so full those last months that I couldn’t remember the last time I attended a live class. We had just arrived in Hoi An, and I couldn’t wait to be a student again!
As I was unrolling my mat in the serene Nomads Yoga Studio, I realised how much I needed to practice. Naively, I thought that the speed of the upcoming Vinyasa class would act as an anesthesia to my restless mind and would sweat the stress out of my system. Big mistake!
The teacher immediately announced that his peak would be Hannuman (split). I felt my teeth grinning to the mere name of the monkey. A pose I am not friend with to say the least. I felt the little pinch of annoyance bursting out of control when he instructed malasana and eventually the infamous crow pose. The latter pose is a real challenge to me. It has always eluded me. I understand it on a pure teaching level, but I don’t feel it, it irritates me. 
Gripping my fingers in the mat to come closer to the crow, I suddently realised that the sequence was playing my current feelings.
For weeks now, since the schools have closed, I have grown in a solitary place of homeschooling I am not confident with, far out of my confort zone, with the anxious feeling of being stuck here for ever.
That’s when it happened. The mental switch. Life is not always yang, strenghth and control. What if this precise moment was a chance to consciously move to a yin phase and finally practice non attachment ?
There are so many things to take in a pose. If I don’t want the arm balance today, then I can always focus on my spine. Malasana is not only about hip openers but also about extending the spine. We can play the same music but with different instruments. After all, it’s all about being curious and finding excitement in the change of perspective.
The hip openers were a necessary, and I am so glad I was encouraged to practice them . It helped me release all my stucked emotions and the monkey finally made me smile. I could feel him winking at me. Those times are unique and need to be appreciated too. We don’t need to wait for everything to fall into place to find peace. We must first find peace, then everything will fall into place.
This class was fantastic. It challenged me in a very good way as it spoke to my body and my mind at the same time. It made me feel in charge again. This is what yoga does.
Kids approved too !
I must add that the class did not only do good to me! But also to my 2 super excited yogis of 7 and 9. Leandre made friend with a couple of professional male yogi and felt so happy not to be the only boy in the place ! He felt so encouraged that he attended its first 75mn vinyasa class without a single glance at me or the clock.
His sister was in the exact same mood. Being among other kind adults yogi, with a challenging yet very sweet teacher. For the first time in weeks, I could finally practice in silence, being totally into the class.
Big Thanks to Tylor and India for sharing your practice with us. We feel so fortunate to practice with you, to have found our quiet place to work in and out in Hoi An. Namaste!
Estelea's Blog 
Be strong. 🌟✨💫
Oh yes :)We are living interesting bounding times aren’t we ? WIsh you could send some of awesome dessert all the way 😉
Well done, you!
Thanks a lot Sue ! Your pics are really stunning, you have a beautiful blog 🙂
Many thanks! It’s all about photography and connecting with people! And just realised, you have another blog now
Yes 🙂 I updated the city when we moved to Vietnam 3 years ago . Glad to reconnect with you !
The feeling is mutual!
Glad Yoga was able to stretch and relax your mind as well as your body
Best Regards Richard
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Thanks Richard ! Are you coming to beautiful Hoi An ?
Love your positive (and adaptable) attitude! And those kids are getting al that good stuff from you, too (I hear)!
Oh thanks Lexie ❤ Those times are so fascinating. How is it for you? are you people encline to the paranoia or like my husband believing that is nothing more than a flu? Well let me guess, media wouldn't work with option 2 🙂
Those times are to be recorded so I am going to blog a bit more… There is so much to learn and appreciate. Very grateful we found a yoga studio where we can all practice. Next step for my sanity would be a vipasana retreat 😉
X
I think Americans as a whole are pretty evenly split on paranoid versus unworried about the virus! I know people who are hoarding masks and won’t even fly on domestic flights, shake hands, or go into crowded places. But I know others who just got back from trips all over the world. And yes, the media are influencing the panickers.
In our house, we are not unreasonably worried; we do feel it’s “just” a slightly worse flu and that being healthy, strong people, we personally do not have to worry about it much. I find some of the spreading patterns weird (Iran and Italy?), but I tend to not believe in conspiracy theories or other dramatic ways of thinking. I believe it will peter out like SARS and other pandemic-like diseases did, and I hope it will be soon!
Amen to that 🙂 people here are so scared . It generates the craziest attitudes like travel agents refusing clients with a Japanese passport (just happened to a friend of mine who was asked to cancel her trip in halong bay although she’s been living in Hanoi for years and didn’t travel back home for the last 2 years).
Same goes for Chinese and Korean.
It will pass, hopefully soon so we can visit your side of the world soon 😉
So nice to see the little ones enjoying your playground too.
Oh yes ! Finally a place that makes all of us feel good at the same time 🙂 how are you ? It’s been a long time !
Hey again (after months of silence),
what a challenge – home schooling for weeks and weeks. I told my two young ladies about your week-long situation and they are now “seriously worried” 😉 that the same might happen to them… (Dad as a teacher, a no-go…).
All shame on me, but I do not manage to find your email address to send you some lines (and a question I would like to ask).
I hope (am sure) you’ll keep up the good spirit!
Take care & talk soon
Hi there ! So good to read you again 🙂 THat would have been our initial answer to homeschooling too, a total No Go! Then after 6 weeks, and still counting, we became resilient. I will have a baby blues when those 2 will (eventually!!!) go back ot school 🙂 What will I do with all the sudden freedom and I am not used to talking without being interrupted all the time ..
For now the situation doesn’t seem to calm down so we’ll see. At least we can still fly out of Hanoi to escape the pollution in the neighboring Hoi An 🙂
You can reach me also at: stbouaziz@gmail.com – Take good Care!
this does not really sound like you are thinking of new career opportunities in the education sector!? 😉
I love it when you tell them something and they don’t believe it. A teacher tells them with the exact same wording, and all is fine. But hey, I guess that’s just normal…
Try to think of it all as “unexpected additional family time” 🙂
You just nailed it! My daughter is just like that . Anything the teacher says is gold but i think she believes I never entered a classroom. She turned me into a pro in deep abdominal breathing.
I m really struggling with phonics. You can imagine them both trying hard not too laugh like possessed monkeys when they listen to my English .. thanks google translate 🙏🏻
I actually contemplated learning how to teach French as a second language. Inscription done and I must pass the tests next month . I m
Totally questioning what looked like a brilliant idea 3 months ago 🤪