Hello yoga friends, it’s Jill. Welcome back to my blog.

For years I wrote and maintained a blog for Uttara Yoga (I’m sure you can find them out there in the webs). It is time to begin again. The world has changed very rapidly and is going to continue to change. We are all seeking answers, seeking community. Seeking truth. I can’t say I can give you all of those things, but I can connect with you through the lens of walking the spiritual path, the spiritual life.

Of trying to see things big-picture and no, I don’t mean the stock market. I mean Life.

Real-ality. It’s gotten a little too real lately, for sure. As I write to you the doors of Uttara Yoga are closed. We taught our last class on March 16 and today is May 12. And I have no idea what the future holds.

I’ve ridden the rollercoaster of it all. Understanding there was a problem. Realizing that I had to close; that was eventually a government directive, but before it was that, it was my dear friend who is a doctor. Pleading with me to close and to help flatten the curve.

I’ve sat in the silent yoga studio for many hours now; a building that our whole yoga community helped to create. Not just through interaction and classes but through real support, fiscal and otherwise. The students of Uttara Yoga made that building what it is. They helped me paint walls. They helped me clean. They purchased equipment and props and sound systems. They painted the logo, the mural. It is a sacred space filled with love and good memories.

The Uttara Yoga community has proven in the past few weeks to be much more than the brick and mortar building. It has been teachers switching gears and figuring out online classes and teaching. It has been you, our students and community, reaching out to support us in so many ways. Through purchasing classes, donations and sustaining your memberships; through positive thoughts and encouraging emails. Teachers volunteering their time and energy. I am so grateful.

Yoga friends are the most wonderful friends.

As we peer into the future, I see a different but important space in our community. We are working on a video library that you can access anytime anywhere featuring your favorite Uttara Yoga instructors. We are continuing to maintain an online live class schedule, and plan to continue to support some online content once we reopen.

We are hoping to re-open this Summer, in accordance with governmental guidelines, in some form that will support our students and the Studio. That may look more like “bubble classes” (specially scheduled classes for you and your family/friends); social distance classes; and simple protocols that minimize contact on your way in and out of the Studio. We are considering “Mysore” style yoga practice space (allowing you to come to the Studio for self-practice). As of this writing I just don’t know.

This is all part of the practice of yoga; finding balance. Staying focused. Keeping our bodies healthy and strong, and our minds healthy and strong, too. Weaving together the past and the future through the power of the present moment. Thinking positively. Practicing gratitude. Finding contentment in the present moment as we create a future that can seem scary and uncertain.

I hope you and your family are healthy, happy and navigating these uncharted waters as best you can. Keep up your practice in any way that you can; and keep in touch. Know that all of us at Uttara Yoga miss you very much.

Shanti, Jill