What Happened During the Pandemic? by Phyllis Rollins
At the beginning of March 2020, I had just returned from co-teaching a wonderful retreat in Mexico, where Covid was not yet rampant. Two days later I had lunch with a friend who had ridden home from the airport with me. The next morning, she texted me before I was even out of bed to report a spiking fever with symptoms of what she called either the flu or Covid. Testing was not yet available. Although I was symptom free, cases were skyrocketing around the U.S., and my area was beginning to ramp up.
Many of my students were 50+. My private students’ physical condition and age meant they were “high risk,”and I was in that category, as well. As the news rolled, I was not comfortable with the risk to myself, my family, or my students, so I closed my studio.
I jumped into action to set up online classes. By offering free classes, we worked out the bugs and went live in only three weeks. Shortly after, the governor locked down the state. Thankfully, I was ready! I quickly learned that my students did not have the props they needed to succeed with their virtual practice. Computer issues also arose, but we persevered. We learned what was possible, adjusting our expectations to accommodate reality.
I did not own my studio building; the overhead was significant. Over the years I had gotten by, but barely. During the lockdown, I negotiated with my landlord for 1/2 price rent. Fitness studios were some of the last businesses to reopen. My online classes were doing well enough but would by no means cover the cost of rent. When my landlord informed me that all the past rent would still be due and expected, I let my lease go. It was a hard, hard choice to make, but I took down my rope wall, packed up my horse and benches, and went home to teach in my dining room. I sold most of my other remaining props to my students at a very friendly price. On a positive note, now they had the props they needed to fully participate in a virtual class!
I lost my private students; the help they needed I could no longer give them on the virtual platform. I lost some of my regular students as well. But then, I regained students who had moved from the area. Many students embraced the virtual studio and even set up a dedicated space for practice in their home! It was easy for them once they had a space at home and stopped depending on the studio to provide props, space, and teaching.
As time marched on, the pandemic eventually subsided. By then I had lost four students, my mother, and a cat. But none of them died of Covid, and I felt lucky somehow. I still had a studio, albeit virtual.
Now that things are coming back closer to normal, I have begun some live classes again; one live workshop each month. For two and half hours we can be together again, chant the invocation, and see each other in 3-D. It is glorious!
I have realized that at 68 I probably won’t start over with another brick and mortar space on my own. I just can’t afford it. The virtual studio is going well enough, and the overhead is manageable. Most importantly, I’ve managed to hold our community of Iyengar Yoga students in Charlotte together.
Mine is just one story of what happened during the pandemic. We are anxious to hear from you - feel free to reach out to us. Your IYASE Board is looking for ways to be of service to our members–both teachers and students. We would love to know how your community has weathered the pandemic. Our goal is to make our regional community strong and vital. To do that, we need to hear from you. Tell us your story, we are listening.
Phyllis RollinsCIYT Level 2IYASE Governance Chair