As one of the later humans on board with caution and precaution surrounding COVID-19, I can’t help but feel a bit hypocritical in my apprehension to return to “normal”. Now, don’t get me wrong, I did as I was told and avoided large gatherings, but was happy to attend work as required, and rolled my eyes more than a few times as the restrictions were gradually laid. I easily and perhaps hopefully accepted every suggestion that this was nothing more than a mild illness and “the flu kills more people every year anyway”. As the death toll began to rise and loved ones urged me to pay mind to my own health, my behaviour made the necessary shift and I joined the rest of the world in lockdown. It didn’t hurt that as a movement educator, all of my teaching positions were put on hold with studios and schools closing across the province.
As is often the case with trial and tragedy, the industry turned to innovation and made the shift to online learning platforms: Cue ZOOM’s grand multi-billion dollar entrance. Through the magic of technology, dance teachers, Yoga guides, personal trainers and fellow cohorts were able to make the shift to online teaching, first as a generous free community offering, and then to keep these beautiful small businesses afloat.
Where the original plan was to simply help clients of any age stay active during quarantine, with hopes for maintenance trumping hopes for progress, I was delighted to note the effort, attention, and abandon with which my many movers approached their forms. I realized that through a webcam lens, instruction, demonstration, evaluation, and improvement were not just possible, they were happening before my very eyes. The season crawled to a close but I was surprised and heartened to see the number of students wanting to continue with private remote instruction over the summer.
Yogis had an outlet to stay in good physical and mental shape, and fitness enthusiasts, once understanding that this wasn’t to be likened to a week of cheat days on the Mexican Riveria, ramped up their momentum, finding new ways to challenge themselves – there’s that funny little word again “innovation”. Home became the new gym, dance studio, coffee shop, and late night hangout. And if you did it right, home was where the party was at.
Here we are, at the brink of the new season and where restrictions have been strongly urged, compliance is low and that leaves me feeling a bit uneasy. Yes, I’m going back to work. Yes, I will be wearing my mask, but in some cases I have little control over whether or not others will be wearing theirs. My concerns have less to do with whether or not I will get sick, rather what this means for society on the whole. How quickly will we land ourselves back in quarantine?
I attend the lectures (virtually, of course), I do the lightweight research (no, I have no personal means of testing and retesting which masks work best, nor a degree in epidemiology that affords me the knowledge or resources to track the patterns of this potentially fatal disease), but I heed warnings by those more educated and understanding than I. Excited to see my wonderful students, I fear that if not careful, we may be landing ourselves back online before we know it. So here I sit, preparing practices, tips, tricks, tidbits, and thought-talk, hoping it can be enjoyed without necessity.
Homebody Movement Lab 