Addressing Coronavirus Concerns

Namaste

We strongly recommend that you take both a sane and sanitary approach to the current coronavirus situation. Be proactive, not panicked.

What can be most “scary” about the Corona virus is that it is spreading relatively quickly. Your likely response to that is to feel powerless. Unfortunately, feeling powerless or helpless, you are most easily overcome by panic, fear and anxiety. The truth is that you are neither helpless nor powerless: you can protect yourself from this virus, just as we are doing here at the studio.

Your safety, health, well-being and spiritual growth are of utmost importance to us. Because of the reliable and powerful healing effects of yoga for mind, body and more, we are continuing classes here. Now is the time to amp up your practices, here and at home.

We assure you that we are taking appropriate precautions. As some of you know, Nancy works in the Infectious Diseases Department at UMASS Medical School. She has recently consulted with Dr. Sanjay Ram, a leading infectious disease specialist in the department there. Based on his input and that of other reliable sources, here are the precautions we are taking:

• We are sanitizing all surfaces that could potentially harbor germs, including door knobs in and outside the studio, chairs, light switches, bathroom facilities and even the containers for sanitizer wipes that we are making available to you.
• We are providing pillow cases and towels that you can use to cover the blanket you lie down on. We will wash these items after each use. Note that the blankets do not provide ideal surfaces for germs, but we want you to take liberty to cover your blanket if that makes you feel safer.
• We have removed the regular towel from the restroom and are providing disposable paper towels instead.
• We are providing hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes in multiple locations.
• We are providing individual water bottles that you can have as an alternative to pouring water into a paper cup from the larger gallon bottles.
• The staff is keeping best hygiene practices. We will limit giving adjustments in classes, avoiding direct contact to your skin.

We urge you to take similar precautions for yourself. Here are recommendations that the CDC and other health organizations recommend:

• Keep your hands clean. Wash your hands especially after touching high-touch surfaces in public places. Use a tissue or your sleeve to cover your hand or finger if you must touch something like that.
  Wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. That’s about the length of singing Happy Birthday. You can do Ujjayi breathing for that time period. Or repeat mantra if you are familiar with our mantra.

If soap and water are not available, use a good hand sanitizer (60% alcohol).

• Avoid touching your face (nose, eyes, etc).
• Keep healthy and well rested.
• If you sneeze or cough, turn away from others, and cough or sneeze into your elbow, not your hand.
• If you are not feeling well, stay home.
• If you have travelled on a cruise ship, do not come to classes for two weeks. (Note modern airliners are safer than most people realize. Hospital-grade air filtration systems are being used.)
• If you are at higher risk for serious illness from Coronavirus because of your age or a serious long-term health problem, take more precautions to avoid risk.

We urge you to make your own decisions. If you choose to stay away, and you have a card with classes left on it, we will ignore the card expiration date. We will support your decision. If you choose to come, we are here for you, for your safety, health, and well-being, as we always have been.

For more information and inspiration, please see Gurudevi Nirmalananda’s blog “A Yogi in a Pandemic” (click the title link).

Some other resources can be found at the blog of Dr. Tom Moorcraft, an international speaker, founder and Chief Medical Officer of Origins of Health and Samara Health, with over 25 years of experience in the medical field.

Note: Our policy can change as circumstances change. If the local schools close, then we will close.