Before the enhanced community quarantine, we had so little time for things we know are good for us, such as praying, meditating, sleeping enough, exercising, learning new skills and spending quality time with our family.
Now, almost two months into ECQ, we have too much time on our hands. In our household, we have dinner before 6 p.m. so that we still have time to walk or run around the village (wearing a facemask, of course) before the 8 p.m. curfew strikes.
Aside from cooking and baking, the other favorite daily activity we share is yoga. In the initial weeks we did the yoga workouts together in the living room; now all our bedrooms have yoga mats as we continue our daily flows.
Popular author Deepak Chopra told USA Today that he has doubled his daily yoga practice from one hour to two. He said that he sits on his yoga mat at 7 a.m. every day to meditate for one hour. Right after this practice, he does 35 standard yoga movements, which takes about an hour. With plenty of time on his hands, he gladly repeats all the poses for a second round.
Mexican soap opera star Angelique Boyer told Hola! that she invited her fans through social media to practice yoga and meditation to calm their nerves: “Have you tried doing yoga? Now that I feel the confinement, the anxiety (among other several feelings that I prefer not to write about and that you read), my intention is to recommend two applications that I use when I do it at home alone: #alomoves and #fitonomy. I invite you to breathe and feel the body, the vibrations that can be generated to also improve mental and emotional health,” the star posted on social media with a photo of her doing a headstand.
Just like baking and cooking, daily yoga challenges abound. There is even a #YogaDuringLockDown. If you’ve never joined a yoga class in a studio, it might be best to try this gentle and centering practice in the comfort of your bedroom, on the floor.
I have personally tried and downloaded some yoga apps, but before you pay for any, why don’t you explore the many free yoga channels on YouTube? Most of them are professionally produced, with clear and soothing instructions, and videos are organized depending on the type of yoga, the length of the session and your practice level.
As most teachers will tell you, yoga is a personal practice. It is as much getting to know your body, its limitations and energy blockages, as well as improvements as you flow along. The key is mindfulness and steady breathing. It is normal to lose balance or to shake, and never compare what you can do to what others can.
A couple of years ago Neoreach, a search marketing company based in California, released on its blog the top 10 yoga YouTubers. I have updated their subscription and view numbers below as they have ballooned, especially during the past two months.
These yoga channels are popular for a reason. I suggest you go through the channels and choose several teachers or sessions and try them out. Then you can subscribe to the ones who inspire you so you can be updated every time there is a new video.
Adriene Mishler leads the pack with seven million YouTube subscribers and over 600 million views. Second on the list is Lesley Fightmaster, with 567,000 subscribers and 39 million views.
Third place goes to spouses Juliana Senenova and Mark Spicoluk with their Boho Beautiful channel’s 1.5 million subscribers and 171 million views. Fourth is Corrina Rachel of PsycheTruth with 3.6 million subscribers and 893 million views.
The last six in the group are Kino MacGregor (663,000 subscribers, 177 million views), Sarah Beth (865,000 subscribers, 70 million views), Esther Ekhart (330,000 subscribers, 61 million views), Tim Senesi (121,000 subscribers, 6 million views), Brett Larkin (348,000 subscribers, 26 million views) and Tara Stiles (328,000 subscribers, 32 million views).
They also mentioned Yoga by Candace, which has 282,000 subscribers and 27 million views. Although she was not mentioned, we personally love Yoga with Kassandra (774,000 subscribers and 50 million views).
Enjoy exploring the yoga channels. Roll out your yoga mats, stretch, twist, bend, and enjoy the flow.
Namaste.
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Post me a note at mylene@goldsgym.com.ph or mylenedayrit@gmail.com.