Lots of people have been talking about how COVID has given them the opportunity to explore their passion projects.

Got laid off from your job and collecting unemployment? Why not revisit your love of creating things and start your own Etsy store?

Hours have been cut from the job you hated? Why not go back to school?

COVID sucks. The circumstances in which we’re living are not awesome. And, at the same time, it’s giving many people, myself included, the space to reinvent themselves and truly consider how they want to spend their time.

Before I share how this time has affected my teaching, I want to acknowledge the privilege many have to even hit pause to consider their next move. I think of the essential workers who have been holding things down this entire time. I think of the parents who supported their kids with virtual learning in the spring and the stress they’re managing as they plan for the fall. The pseudo-paid holiday mentality is not a reality for all.

For me these last five months have been a wave of emotions. I’ve paddled my way through sadness, elation, relief, stress, and grief. Lots and lots of grief. And throughout that whole time one thing has been consist: I’ve continued to teach yoga and investigate what I want out of the process.

For clarity, I don’t actually teach yoga for me. However, I do strive to create a space that feels authentic and sustainable for me as a teacher. When I was a younger, eager yoga teacher I took any and every teaching job. They weren’t always in the best locations, they weren’t always the style of classes that felt authentic to me, and 92% of the time the pay was terrible, but I did it anyway! I wanted to teach and was willing to put in the work.

I am now over a decade into this yoga teaching thing and know that mentality is not sustainable.

Here’s what COVID has provided me: An opportunity to create classes that feel right.

Over the last few years I’ve fallen out of love with drop-in studio classes. Drop-in classes are fine and they serve their purpose. They just aren’t what I always want to teach.

My style of teaching is more about developing content over time to give students - and me - an opportunity to learn and grow. Yoga is a subject to be learned over time. Drop-in classes make it harder to teach with that mentality.

Insert COVID and Zoom yoga classes.

I get it. We’re five months into this mess and everyone is probably over Zoom. After a full day of Zoom calls for work followed up by a Zoom yoga class might Zoom-overload.

Here’s the thing, Zoom has allowed yoga teachers to teach classes that feel real to them. Especially when teachers are doing their thing without the expectations set by a studio or brand, teachers have the opportunity to explore their teaching style and connect with students on a new level.

A couple years ago I rented a space to offer my own classes. The restraints set by the traditional studio weren’t fulfilling me as a teacher. I felt like it was time for me to create a space that allowed me to teach in my way to students who were eager to learn in such an environment. Sadly that space didn’t last long due to circumstances that were out of my control, but it was an opportunity for me to turn my wheels and get a taste of what I wanted as a teacher.

With Zoom I don’t have the overhead of a rental space - or the challenges of a space that floods when the heat is on. I simply shuffle the pets out of my home studio, click on the Zoom app on my phone, and start connecting with students. Sure, Zoom will never be exactly like connecting in-person, but I have felt like I am developing stronger personal connections with students now, over Zoom, than I ever did at studios.

For now, I’ll continue to teach the few in-person, outdoor, and Zoom studio classes that are on my schedule while exploring long-form series options via Zoom.

Again, I realize Zoom gets exhausting. With Zoom I am developing a deeper appreciation of doing practice in whatever space is available that day, in whatever clothes are kind of clean without worrying about what I look like in a mirror or struggling with the process of comparing myself to what others are doing in the class.

Remember, yoga doesn’t need a fancy studio or fancy brand name clothes. Yoga just needs you to show up as you are.