Amongst all the challenges of our current world-wide situation, I am a firm believer that some good is coming out of these Covid -times.
At the start of lock down, my neighbour Mandy suggested some neighbourly support by offering social distancing keep fit sessions in the cul de sac where we live. Some of our neighbours are elderly, live on their own or had been tasked with home schooling.
We started offering keep fit sessions, led by a neighbour, and yoga led by me. The sessions were well attended (11 maximum) all observing the 2 meter distance rule. To our surprise it was reported in the echo on 14 April:
https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/18377434.poole-street-joins-keep-fit-dances-yoga-isolation/
Since the street sessions started in March they continue to be daily. I continue to lead 2 yoga sessions per week and my neighbour (a retiree) leading 5 fitness sessions. It has been great fun and good to keep the spirits up and the body moving. Even the refuse collectors and post-delivery people have joined in if they have arrived during our sessions, causing a lot of laughter!
Some of you know me as a professional coach and leadership development professional, and not a qualified yoga teacher. However, I have practiced yoga consistently for the last 15 years and I find that I use the words of my own yoga teacher to pass the instructions onto others.
Imagine my delight when my neighbour Mandy returned to her job as a nursery school assistant and did some yoga with her pre-school kids. I call that ‘paying it forward’. It warms the cockles of my heart to see the positive snowball effect of some good that has come out of lockdown.
I hope this story has lightened your day and made you smile.