With most gyms and fitness studios limited or closed altogether due to the COVID-19 outbreak, many people have had their usual fitness routines interrupted in some way.
Fortunately, there are still plenty of in-home exercise options out there, and we’re enlisting the help of local trainers and instructors to share ideas. In the latest installment of our Quarantine Fitness series, local yoga instructors Blythe Potter and Kathryn Adams talk about some of classes being offered during the current stay-at-home period, as well as some basic moves people can do on their own.
The COVID-19 outbreak has somehow made people’s lives both less busy and more chaotic.
It can indeed be a stressful time, especially for those now trying to balance work and child care at home every day. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to decompress regardless of how much or how little spare time you might have for doing so.
Bargersville Wellness owners Blythe Potter and Ashley Auld are doing their best to fill that void with a number of online video classes for yoga, breathing and self-care massage.
When you can’t get out to the spa, the spa will come to you.
"We’re in this weird space, and we’re all experiencing it together," Potter said, "and there’s no compass to say, ‘Well, this is the way out, and this is what this is going to look like for you in the end,’ because we’ve never been through this. … But it’s also cool, because unlike with the Spanish flu and things, we are connected."
Bargersville Wellness has a schedule of classes available to help get area residents through the next few weeks, and videos will also be available on the company’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Additional videos can be accessed through Santosha, the company’s sister yoga school in Indianapolis.
Kathryn Adams, who teaches some yoga classes at Bargersville Wellness and created some workout videos for the Center Grove Aquatic Club, says that yoga can serve as a great complement to other exercise. She first got into yoga as a way to alleviate some of the pounding that her body was taking from running.
"Yoga’s a great balance for any type of strength," Adams said. "Sports are — especially with kids, they’re so physical. Running, football, baseball, whatever it is, and sometimes it’s nice for them to get a little stretch and help prevent some injuries."
In addition to the flexibility aspect, yoga also helps people get back in touch with their breath — which Potter says ties into all of our other bodily functions.
If someone only has a small window of time to get some self-care in during a work break at home, she recommends using that time on breathing before anything else.
"Breathing helps with digestion, it helps with sleep, it helps with all body functions," Potter said. "I’ve heard a lot of people say right now they’re experiencing diarrhea or constipation — well, our eating is off, our sleeping is off.Â
"If they only have five minutes, really the best thing I can say is to just sit and breathe — and I know that sounds crazy, but think about the expansion our lungs make, and our ribs are attached to our spine and our sternum, so if we’re breathing, you’re still moving your bones."
If you do have time to get up and move around a little bit, Adams recommends a few basic stretches to help shake off the rust:
Cat cow
"You’re on all fours and you’re flexing your spine back and forth; it’s really great. I know a lot of people that are working at home right now aren’t sitting in the most ergonomic seating, so they’re getting a lot of tired backs."
Forward bends
"Just doing forward bends, where you’re either seated and reaching for your toes or you’re standing and reaching for your toes and just allowing your upper body to rest."
Bound angle (butterfly stretch)
"This is one where you’re sitting with the undersides of your feet together, so knees out. It’s a great way to stretch your hips."
For those with a little more time available, there are numerous different video options for participants of all ages. Bargersville Wellness will be doing live classes on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons, and those videos will be accessible anytime on Facebook.
Most of us have a little extra time to get in touch with ourselves these days, so why not take advantage?
"Yoga means unity," Potter said, "so we’re uniting not just other people or ourselves with the outside world, but also our body with our body."
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Bargersville Wellness will be offering three live classes each week at www.facebook.com/bargersvillewellness (all classes start at 2 p.m.):
Wednesday: Breathing and meditation (10 minutes)
Thursday: Relax and restore (30 minutes)
Friday: Level 1/prenatal yoga (60 minutes)
Additional classes are accessible at www.santosha-school.com.
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