How to Start a Home Yoga Practice (When All We’re Doing is Staying Home)
Not a day seems to go by without more reports of wildfires decimating the western United States, right at the peak of harvest season no less. Between California, Oregon and Washington State, more than three million acres of land has burned since August, with hundreds of thousands of residents evacuated or displaced, and many more impacted.
In addition to the actual fires, the US Air Quality Index (AQI) readings across those states has ranged from Unhealthy for sensitive groups (101-150 AQI) to Hazardous (301-500 AQI) for days, and in some cases, weeks on end. With “safe” Air Quality under 50 AQI, being outside with or without masks for many in those impacted areas comes with a serious risk to breathing systems and lung health.
Which means we are staying inside. And slowly going crazy.
This week, as we’ve checked in with friends and colleagues around the country, we’ve noticed how often they mention a home yoga practice as a way to cope. Or at least as a way to manage the tension of being cooped up indoors.
ABG Community member Kat Thomas, for example, hosted a Zoom birthday yoga session (followed by a wine celebration) for “The Mom Somm” Marika Vida.
Michael Longerbeam, DTC manager at Dry Creek Vineyard, has been closing his door at the end of the day (mostly to keep his new puppy from offering puppy distractions), to roll out his mat and tune into Yoga with Adriene on YouTube.
And ABG Community member Elizabeth Van Emst and Founder of wholeself360.com wrapped up a three-part mindfulness series for Women of the Vine & Spirits with some very effective tips for creating a restorative home yoga practice.
Inspired by all of those examples and others, we wanted to share a few ideas for bringing yoga indoors particularly when outdoors right now is fairly inhospitable.
Here are a few things to keep in mind as you create space for yoga at home.
In the privacy of your own home, you can overcome the obstacles of why you’ve never done yoga before. At home, no one else can see you. If you’re part of an online class, you can turn the video feature off. And those old tattered track pants are perfect for practice.
Start with simple poses and gentle movement. While acrobat pretzel-poses can be aspirational, our minds and bodies are carrying a heavier emotional toll these days which can lead to tighter hips, more sensitive joints and less flexibility than what you may recall. Be kind to yourself.
Yoga props are nice to have (and you can definitely do some affordable shopping for good at YogaOutlet.com), but they’re by no means necessary. Instead, get creative about what’s already around your house. Consider couch blankets and rolled up towels as bolsters. Or a few hard-backed books as “yoga blocks.” Repurpose those now-dormant dress belts and neck ties as “yoga straps.”
Finding space in a home that may seem like it’s shrinking by the day, some ideas are rolling out your mat in your apartment hallway like @sommation_live team leader Stefanie Schwartz. If you have room to roll out a mat, you have room to practice,.
Your sanctuary to take a few deep breaths can be as simple as a bedroom corner facing a blank uncluttered wall, or setting down a cushion in a roomy-ish closet and closing the door to meditate. Both can be all the quiet zen space you need to find some calm.
Above all, be realistic. If five minutes is all you can manage, then five minutes it is. If you can boost it incrementally to twenty minutes, all the better.
The point is also to start. Wherever you are.
As American naturalist John Burroughs stated, “The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention.”
We hope it helps, and please do stay in touch. We love hearing from you, and sharing your ideas with the broader ABG community.
Namaste,
Cathy and Beck
What We're Reading:
Here's what has piqued our interest this week in the world of wine and mindfulness.
We Need to Rethink Anxiety - 3 Actions to Take – Max Strom for Mindful Leader.org
Canadian Breathwork teacher Max Strom wrote this piece pre-pandemic, but the advice is more timely than ever.
As Pandemic Life Endures, Some are Drinking Less—Or Not at All – Julia Bainbridge for Wine Enthusiast.com
There’s little data on trends toward moderation or abstinence this year. To explore this complex phenomenon, Julia Bainbridge talked to 50 people, all of whom had decided to reduce or stop alcohol consumption.
iRest for First Responders: A Retired Firefighter Paramedic Saves Lives in New Ways – Amy Bess Cook for irest.com
For retired paramedic and firefighter John Christy, working with first responders to support their physical and mental health and how meditation saved his a**.
Napa Valley Vintners Makes $1M Commitment To Diversity Roger Morris for The Drinks Business.com
Napa Valley Vintners has pledged over US$1 million for new scholarship and mentoring programmes that will increase the diversity, inclusiveness and growth opportunities in the wine industry.
Chrishon Lampley Wants to Bring Love Cork Screw National: ‘Now You See Me, So Let’s Roll’ - Emily Krauser for VinePair.com
Emily Krauser interviews Love Cork Screw CEO Chrishon Lampley - a wine entrepreneur and négociant looking to change: "now you see me, so let's roll."
Meet the Community!
Our community is only as strong as the company we keep, and here we meet some of the folks who make our profession so dynamic.
Bruno Almeida, Wine & Spirits Educator, Portuguese Wine Advocate and Wine Director/Sommelier, New York (USA)
Years In Industry:
I was born and raised in Lisbon, Portugal. I landed in NYC by 2002 as a drummer with a rock band, but unfortunately arts don't pay rents, so I have been working in the hospitality scene since that time. It has been a gratifying, long hard road from the dish pit to the Wine Director/Sommelier position I hold now at Tocqueville in Manhattan.
I have been a Sommelier since 2008 and have worked at iconic restaurants throughout NYC. I am very active in the NYC Sommelier community, collaborating in various events and lecturing in many different seminars as a wine educator for many years. Currently I’m performing several Instagram virtual wine tastings, live wine interviews and educational wine reviews.
My Biggest Challenge To Wellness:
Working hard all these years, with long and demanding hours on the floor, have easily pushed me away from normalcy and of what's out there besides wine in the past few years. I have, and still work hard to achieve what I have done as a Sommelier and a Wine Educator. It has been a long hard road of being a father and pursuing my goals through racial discrimination, long hours and being off schedule from others.
It gets hard at times to fully disconnect from hospitality as I spend most of my time working. When close to others that are not from hospitality, it’s hard to turn off from my craft as my mind keeps spinning, even when I just want to go out with friends and have a beer instead of being “the wine guy”. Either me or people outside of work tend to always talk about all things wine at all times so it can be very challenging to disconnect from that mode in a simple setting or normal conversation with others.
How I Keep It Together To Stay Well:
As a father of an almost 12 years old son, I have always tried to be the closing Somm, Bartender or Manager, so that way, I can spend quality time raising him during the daytime, (mainly when he was little), and nowadays so I can pick him up from school before I head to another long shift. Walking the NYC streets back home late at night after that same long shift, with my earphones on, really calms me down and when actually my best ideas come to surface. I would say that having my kid close to me is what really keeps me together in order to have a grip of everything.
Also cooking for others helps me keep things together and being a drummer and a lover of music has helped me throughout these years. It gets along with my creative side on things.
You can connect with Bruno on Instagram @drummelier and @sommation_live
Let's Get Connected:
Sharing events from our friends in the global ABG community.
Thursday September 24th 6.30pm PT | 9.30pm ET
Zen to Pen with Pen2Paper Workshop
In the final installment of this three part series, this one hour workshop we’ll explore the relationship we have with time. In a moment in which time feels like a blur while equally standing still - how are we using this unprecedented moment in time to heal, create, connect and tune in? Join us for an uplifting workshop, as we scribble, reflect and pencil push our way towards a healthy mind set. Register here
Have an event that our ABG community would love? Email to events@abalancedglass.com for consideration!
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