These Days of Co-Vid and Designing a Life of (new) Daily Practices

As CoVid19, or the Coronavirus, continues its progression globally,  I check the latest updates daily, morning, noon and evening, and try to remember to work in the new habits accordingly. I follow the recommendations – wash hands frequently for 20 seconds while singing “Happy Birthday”, avoid touching surface, avoid touching my face, create distance from people who are coughing and sneezing. But today, I found myself thinking about my yoga and meditation practices and the habits that I’ve come to love and integrate into my days with those practices. What if we could see the opportunity of this world-wide event with a new perspective. What we if we took our spiritual practices “off the mat,” to move through this period with a sense of connection and self-care rather than in fear of what comes next. What if we could see this as a lesson of our interconnectedness, joined together with no boundaries. We are all in this together. Just as we rely on each other to stay well or stay home, our connectedness spreads across the globe. We are all dealing, at some level, with the same fears, the same inconveniences. What if we turned the fear to a habit of metta and spent time to wish ourselves and each other good health. What if, if we were to find that we are called to isolate, we saw that as an opportunity to spend quiet time at home, practicing our meditation (which both boosts the immune system and decreases anxiety). Or developing our home yoga asana practice. Or enjoying quiet contemplation? In the simplest way, what if we sang a song that most lifted our heart, rather than simply “Happy Birthday”, for our hand-washing practice. What if we took this as our chance to design a life of habits that draw us closer in connection with all of our brothers and sisters across the globe to move through this worldwide event.