Meditation on Uncertainty
There are no guarantees in life. I’ve been sitting with this for the last few months. The awareness that so much is unknown and that anything can happen.
I have to admit, I’ve been feeling the weight of that uncertainty.
Personally, watching my dad fade away into Alzheimer’s and the dynamics of my family change dramatically….
Professionally, watching so many NYC yoga studios decide to close their doors permanently and take their communities “digital only” while seeing the debt of our unpaid rent get larger and larger….
Asking myself. “What do I want to do?” and not getting a clear answer.
From this uncomfortable fog, I tried to focus on what is the next right step.
Personally, it was spending as much time this summer with my parents. Professionally, it was looking at the guidelines that Cuomo set and following those.
We opened the boutique, and then the Wellness Center when we were allowed to. We have all the protocols in place for the safety of customers and staff. We did all the things.
My hope was that sales from those areas, as well as the efforts of Adina and Stacey working in-person customer service, would help make a dent in the rent.
It did not.
So I paused. I had long talks with Adina, Stacey, Steve, and our lawyer. I got quiet again. I asked myself, “What is my intention here?”
I conceived the idea of a MindBodySoul Yoga + Wellness in 2005. My intention was to create a space of healing, community, and wellness centered around the practice of yoga. I envisioned healers, teachers, and students coming together to go deep into the practice of knowing ourselves, healing ourselves, and being strong and stable enough to navigate this world gracefully and purposefully.
The world has changed enormously since that first intention. So have I. But sitting in uncertainty of the last two months has really shown me that my intention is the same.
Someday there will be a vaccine. Someday we will all be able to practice together in person. Will it be different? Probably. Will the heart of the practice be the same? Yes.
In-person communities practicing the tools and techniques of yoga, meditation, and pranayama will be needed more than ever. Digital is great and it is here to stay. But it cannot be primary. It cannot replace the power of being together. We humans reach for each other because our connections in the physical realm are vital for our health and wellbeing.
So, it is vital that the business and the brick-and-mortar space survive this stretch of time. And, when we are allowed to come back together again, we will do so with a renewed purpose and inspiration of what we are teaching and why.
Stay with us. Share with your friends and family. Support small businesses now more than ever. It takes a village to survive hard times, to persevere and truly thrive. Let us hold each other up as best we can.
Together, we got this. We can weather this storm.
