March... finally the days are getting longer, more light is radiating us and our inner souls.
A light of hope, a light of good auspice, a light of pray. Coming out from this black tunnel of covid soon, is our priority. This second/third wave is hard to overcome. In Berlin, they said "let's reopen", then they changed their mind. Now you can go shopping, with a negative Covid test. You are free to do a "Schnelltest" pro week gratis, that will be available in supermarkets. Maybe you can soon even teach yoga classes in person in studios, if all students and teacher have a negative test result from the same day. Wow, that's cool, we are finally kind of free, we can finally go... go, go, but go where? It's spring, I want to go out, make excursions, see the nature... yes, that could be so cool, but camping are still closed. Uh yes, we are still away from our complete freedom, but come on, we are free to enjoy the small moments of breath, of joy, of free walks around. At least we can go for a walk. We can, in other countries they even cannot do that. Yes, actually we are pretty lucky here in Berlin. And you know what? After 5 months of lockdown, where the only open shops were supermarkets, pharmacy or späti*, I see how going shopping is not a priority to me at all. How is it to you? What is the thing you are missing the most in this particular time? Reflect on that. That is indeed the time of reflection, as I said in a previous blog post. See what is really essential to you and what not. See what kind of action or habit, that you stopped to do because of Covid, is now missing to you in your life. See how did you replace this emptiness. Where are you now concentrating your energy? Maybe you started to practice yoga? Or maybe are you reading more books instead of going to the mall to buy the perfect outfit in an expensive boutique? Are you eating healthier food, cooking home with fresh ingredients? Whatever is your habit, just continue to cultivate it and be happy that this terrible lockdown gave you at least the possibility of discovering this ability.
This month started in a happy way for me, with a lot of birthdays around. My mum, some of my closest friends. So I opened the month with video and open air celebrations to the birth, to the power of life. Our life, that gets longer and longer every single day, and that the calendar conventionally reminds us to celebrate one day pro year. We celebrate it in that special day, when our organisms were mature enough to leave our mother's placentea and face the real world by taking our first breath. We women, we have this incredible power of giving birth. A painful and at the same time mystic moment of women' life.
And this is our choice, women have the right of deciding if they want to do it or not. And it is so sad that still in 2021 we have to go demonstrate and remember the society that our fight for our rights is not concluded yet. That in some part of the world women are still abused and constrained to do things they don't want to. And that even in the parts of the world where we think we achieve equality, women are still struggling for injustices.
The 8th of March was the International women day.
"Educate your sons, instead of protecting your daughters" was the slogan that most impressed me. It's true and sad that we are still discussing on that. It should be obvious but it's not.
Berlin started a couple of years ago to dedicate a full public day off for the International women day, in order to underline the importance of women rights. Berlin used to have less public days off respect other German federal states indeed. In order to make it fair again, they decided to pick up a day, and make it a public holiday. After discussing different options, they came up to choose the 8th of March, the International women day, as additional public holiday for the Bundesland of Berlin, which is definitely a nice move of Berlin to show solidarity to the important cause of women rights.
To get ready to express this feminine power, I participated the day before to the second edition of Sunday Soul Bath with my friends and yoga teachers Rebecca and Jess. They were my teachers in the yoga retreat I did last year in Cambodia. They are such great women. They guiding us through the Sunday Soul Bath and this time the topic of the workshop was Saraswati, the goddess of speech, knowledge, sound, music, creativity, intuition, arts and pleasure.
Here below you can listen to the mantra for Saraswati we sang at the end of the event:
It was a great experience participating to this 2 hours of digital community, chill yoga, writing, sharing and esthetic dance. It made me feel good. It gave me the power of setting good intentions for the month. It gave me the power of connecting me more with myself, more with my body, looking into my pains, into my joys, exploring my own intuition. We moved through the elements of water and air. This fluidity helped me to keep my self in the flow for all the month. My days are continuing to be full of activities and yoga is with no doubt one driving force in my life toward the happiness. Feeling good with yourself and with the others.
One of this intuition brought me to technically set up my weekly classes in a new way.
Now my students can see me from the classical perspective of full body, to verify the postures I'm guiding them into during the class, and at the same time I can see them closer in the second screen and speak directly into the mic of my macbook, so that the sound of my voice is more fluid and close to them. For those who forgot, beside private and pregnant yoga classes I'm also teaching group classes in the following days:
--> Monday: from 7:45 to 9:15 pm Ashtanga Primary Series
--> Wednesday from 7 to 8 pm, Power Flow
This month both private and public classes were focused on strengthening shoulders, improving back flexibility and opening the hips. In April we will continue to work on these three pilasters and if the weather will allow it, I might start soon to bring my yoga classes offline and practice together outside in the parks as we did last year in spring.
Yes, it passed already one year since everything started. Exactly one year ago I started the adventures of SìYoga. And that was the seed of a new beginning into the path for a more meaningful life.
With this spirit, I'm happy to welcome April, the crazy month where flowers are blooming and people are getting in love. I hope that also these people who are now feeling hate and rage, that are now making wars and bringing fear to the people. I hope that those people will find the love soon too and get rid of this nonsense. "You may be shot in the head". That was the Myanmar regime's warning to protesters, ahead of the bloodiest day since the coup, with dozens of deaths, Saturday the 27th of March 2021. It's absurd that this is just happening under our eyes and we cannot do anything to stop it.
With the start of the new month a new hope, a new pray of world peace is rising. Lokaha Samasta Sukinu Babantu.
Have a soft jump in the spring my dear and see you soon in one live class together!
Namaste,
Silvia
* Späti: a kind of late street shops selling beers, alcohol, tobacco, chips, chocolate, magazines and some other staff. Usually they are open 24h, now only until 11 pm.)