Appreciation is a powerful energy that’s right up there with love and gratitude. It’s a very high vibration that brings us into alignment with the 100% positive vibration of Spirit. As I shared in Monday’s email, it feels good when you’re in a state of appreciation. I’m sure you know what I mean.
It seems to me that right now we have a lot to be grateful for. Heck, I’m grateful that it’s no longer freezing outside and that I have power and running water. It wasn’t long ago that I didn’t have them and the worst part about it was recognizing how much I’d taken them for granted. Fortunately, that sort of weather isn’t likely to be coming our way again for a very long time. At least I have my fingers crossed that it won’t.
It was just a year ago that the fear of COVID-19 running rampant caused the governor to shut down Texas. I don’t know about you, but that time was surreal to me. I didn’t know anyone who’d had it and it wasn’t until after we were able to reopen in May that I heard from a few of you who knew of others who had it. Since it hadn’t touched home it was hard to understand the need to go into lockdown. Many people felt that that lockdown was unnecessary or premature and caused far more harm than good.
At this point I’m pretty sure I’ve heard all points of view regarding the virus, vaccines, and the use of face masks. I know some of you don’t believe that face masks are truly effective in stopping the spread of the virus or that vaccines are the right solution, and that both are an infringement of our rights to sovereignty regarding the care of our bodies. At the same time, I know of people who’ve lost both of their parents, one right after the other, due to the virus. We’ve probably all heard stories of loved ones who’ve wound up in the hospital and/or on a ventilator and I’ve heard from many of you who were just coming back into the studio after having gotten it or someone in your family having it. At least we all know that the virus is real and can appreciate that it has the power to knock us out. There’s no doubt that we all need to take full responsibility for our health and treat our bodies with utmost care, which to me means, among other things, to be practicing yoga, ideally in the hot room.
So here I am on the fence, seeing and appreciating the validity of both sides. I can feel the lighter energy as the fear is beginning to lessen with more people getting the vaccines and I appreciate that. I also know that the virus is still going strong and there are many who are very vulnerable. I haven’t been able to see my parents in well over a year because I sure as heck don’t want to be the one who exposes them. At 90 years old, even with the vaccine their chances of survival aren’t good, especially my father’s since he only has a third of the lung capacity of someone his age, weight, and size. And I have a friend in California who’s been undergoing radiation treatment for the recurrence of breast cancer and, after five months in bed, is not doing well. Again, I don’t want to risk spreading the virus to her, but I’m feeling a strong need to get out there to spend time with her and her daughter now, especially since I’d be the legal guardian of her daughter should she not survive. I barely know her daughter. By the way, I’m open to suggestions as to the safest way for me to be able to make that visit.
Life has a way of presenting us with challenges that force us to be as objective as possible and consider all angles before coming to a decision. My desire is to err on the side of caution without going over the top. As it is, the only COVID-19 protocol at BeneFIT that’s at issue is the use of face masks while in the lobby and restrooms. The showers are now available for use and the class size will remain capped at 23 students. If there’s even a remote possibility that face masks do help prevent the spread of the virus, then I say we each take one for the team and all use them when we’re not in the hot room. And since, as Mark Cosway likes to remind me, I’m the boss, let me make it clear that we will continue with BeneFIT’s current protocols for the foreseeable future.
While I don’t like to disappoint anyone, it is my responsibility to be looking after the best interest of the entire BeneFIT community, including those that have yet to return and anyone else looking for a safe place to practice hot yoga. I hope you can appreciate, if not the decision, my decision making process. Remember, appreciation feels good whether you’re giving or getting it, and feeling good is an important aspect to healing and maintaining a strong immune system. Your energetic state, the way you feel, governs the vitality of your body’s systems.
In any given moment you can choose to focus on the things you appreciate or on the things you don’t appreciate. That decision will dictate your energetic state. It’s your life and you get to choose. I hope you don’t mind I recommend you look for things to appreciate so you’ll feel good. I also hope you know that your appreciation is a gift to both yourself and the world.