Saved! (by a bike, a mat, and the community behind them)
If there has been a consistent message for the world now for almost two years, it’s that we are forever changed by the global pandemic, and perhaps, more challenges lie on the horizon. Like so many millions of families, my own has been irrevocably impacted when we lost my cherished aunt at the height of the Los Angeles surge last new year’s eve. Riding the waves of the pandemic has truly challenged everyone in the world. Sometimes, it feels as though we may never break free from the isolation and uncertainty surrounding this experience.
I have bounced from optimism that the worst will soon be over to despair as I learn of more loss and grief that accumulates around us. I credit my emotional survival to two distinct families-my nuclear, biological family, and the family I have discovered-yes, on my Peloton bike and a yoga mat.
Of course, we all recognize the merits of exercise in elevating our moods and dealing with anxiety. Whether we are discussing endorphins, adrenaline rush, serotonin, or the other physiological benefits of exercise, it is commonly understood that regular exercise benefits our emotional health and impacts our physical well-being.
But in the face of the pandemic, I am speaking as something that had previously eluded me, as I doggedly got on my bike or trudged to my yoga studio for another challenging session.
It has been the absolute positivity, the creation of a globally extended virtual family, the enduring calm, serenity, and reassurance of a very diverse and broad group of instructors who have enabled me to face the pandemic’s challenges with whatever modicum of patience and stamina I have been able to muster.
Yes, I have done this with a Peloton! Despite its critics, my ability to participate daily in a Peloton class, whether it’s a spin class on the bike, strength, barre, cardio fitness, or yoga has sustained me. Each time that I sign on, I have been met by a confident, upbeat, sometimes hugely entertaining instructor who will take me through my paces. I have been drawn into the lives and characters who lead the Peloton classes. Whether it is Jenn Sherman, mother of college-aged children, or Robin Arzón, navigating the first year of her baby’s life in these most complex times, I have been able to identify with the very humanness and compassion they convey. I adore Cody Rigsby for his saucy inappropriateness and his ridiculous focus on junk food and savor the musical interludes without commentary as they are presented by Christine D’Ercole. I enjoy hearing instructors like Hannah Corbin speak proudly of their sibling’s accomplishments, even if its a story about a brother learning a piano piece for a high school recital. In their very normalcy, they charm and distract me through an hour or so of exercise that leaves me feeling better, every time.
And beyond all of this, I am able to participate even though I am blind. Although Peloton conducts its classes visually, and the metrics to be followed are flashed on the screen, Peloton responded to outreach by the blind community to render their classes accessible. Today, through a feature they call “talkback,” a blind user like me can turn on, select a class, and track my progress by accessing auditory features. The system is not perfect, but it’s a work in progress. I appreciate that Peloton attempted to include persons with disabilities without recourse to the typical progression of demands for inclusion and resort to the laws that mandate inclusion in our community. I sincerely hope that Peloton will soon extend its accessibility features to all the varied classes they offer and eagerly await refinements that will make participation for people with disabilities even more inclusive.
I experience the same warm embrace of inclusion with my yoga teachers. When gyms closed all over the nation, the yoga teachers took to live stream, and now with participants in some of my classes from literally all over the world, I can continue and depend on my yoga practice. All the while, these patient and inclusive professionals remind us that we are not alone during every class. Our practice, mindful breathing, a moving meditation, and developing flexibility are lessons we may extend beyond the mat to all aspects of our everyday lives. So my thanks go out to these talented professionals, Cecily Guest, Anna Hughes, Rusty Wells, for making it possible to sustain flexibility and commitment to the principles and values of yoga and ground us, no matter the challenges.
These two virtual families have allowed me into their lives, shared their experiences, and provided emotional support. They have allowed me to vent my frustrations at our current world situation and use my regimen to help build emotional and physical health. They will never replace my cherished biological family but are, without question, an additional source of comfort and well-being for which I am so grateful.
I don’t know where the future will lead us. So I join every other human on the planet in sustained hope that this pandemic will soon be behind us and we will find our way to the new normal. But until that happens, well, you can find me on my bike and my mat. I will gratefully bend and spin my way to increased strength for whatever new challenges we may all face. And I will practice with the memory of our lost loved ones and the hopes for renewed safety and freedom for all of us who survive centered firmly in my heart.
And so with this, my best for the new year, wherever it may bring us.
