Now, Yoga Begins.

Funny how things change in the course of a week, isn’t it?

And by funny I really mean... life-altering, potentially fear-inducing, and funny-not-funny. 

Now, more than ever, is the time to practice. As the first yoga sutra says, "Now, yoga begins."

The impact of this pandemic on small business promises to be massive across the country, and Yoga Hive is not exempt from this, not by a long shot. But one thing you can always count on from us (and one thing we’ve learned over the last four and a half years) is that we practice yoga like our life depends on it.

In honor of helping to make “social distancing” the catch phrase of our time, we've spent the last five days crafting a plan to support the sustainability of Yoga Hive, and support this community like never before. At the recommendation of Yoga Alliance, Yoga Hive’s physical locations in Whitefish, Columbia Falls and Kalispell are officially closed, effective immediately, for in-person group yoga classes until it’s safe to reopen.

Plus, we’re completely out of toilet paper! 😜

And... here's the fun part. Yoga Hive Montana is proud to offer a full online schedule of LIVE classes starting TODAY on Zoom Video Conferencing (full "how to" directions and FAQs below!)

• 11am - FREE Meditation & Breathwork with Mollie (30 mins)
• 12pm - Hive Flow with Mollie (60 mins)
• 6pm - Honey Flow with Haley (60 mins)
• 7:30pm - $5 Hive Happy Hour with Cat (60 mins)

We have classes every day of the week, and you'll see class times grow and a variety of teachers grow as we get more and more of our friendly faces trained on the system. We have a few new class types as well, so check it out on our schedule and of course, feedback is always welcome! Your passes and the pricing works the same as it did before—and you get a link emailed to you 15 minutes before class to hop into the online meeting room. Easy peasy!

As for the state of our world amidst a pandemic... as someone with so many family members, friends, and colleagues with chronic health conditions... I keep getting asked, “Is this for real?”

In short? Yes. It’s absolutely for real. Whether you're part of the "at risk population" or not, we're all part of the same ecosystem, and this thing moves in ways we can't always anticipate, Chlorox wipes or not.

It’s not something we need to resist, or fear, or turn a blind eye to. As yogis — I told you last week — we respond to the need of the moment. And right now, all over the USA, we are called to physically distance ourselves from others not for our own safety. I’ve been traveling through Alaska, Wisconsin, and now to Montana. I’ve seen the way communities are responding in so many places for the last month, I’ve watched my colleagues in Denver, Miami and beyond boldly take their studios completely online. We can’t sit back and wait for this to become small town Montana’s problem. The time is now, and this concerns everyone.

Deep. Breath. We have nothing to fear!

And yet… fear is there, isn’t it? If it’s not fear, then it’s some other emotion. Denial. Anger. Disappointment. Confusion.

So do we smother it down and deny we’re “having a moment”? No. In times like this, we practice yoga IN ORDER TO have emotions like this bubble to the surface. You heard me right: Yoga brings it all to the surface. That's the sneaky purpose of yoga when you really start practicing in earnest… to bubble things up so we can see them, acknowledge them, and delete them.

What seems sneaky at first becomes a technology we can use to free ourselves from unnecessary suffering.

And even with fear, or denial, or anger on board, those emotions don’t define us even though they might feel all-consuming. Emotions are like tools that give us an indication of what’s happening on the inside. If we recognize where we feel fear in our body (tight hips, clenched jaw, etc.) then we can recognize it and treat the body as it’s happening by doing breath work, meditation, and yoga. The emotion becomes a tool for self-healing.

This moment-to-moment awareness of our emotional state is called emotional intelligence. 
As yogis, we remain vigilant, we tune into what’s happening on the inside through this emotional intelligence, and we practice like our lives depend on it. 

And know for sure: Yoga Hive has you covered. You can count on:

• A regular schedule of virtual classes from our amazing teachers. Our variety of classes will grow and widen as more YH teachers get trained on the system!
• A FREE Yoga Hive Connect Facebook group that offers daily 5-15 minute yoga/meditation videos from the Yoga Hive Leadership Team (Anyone can join — click here to get in!)
• Yoga Hive Connect - coming very soon. This is your online database of classes from your favorite Yoga Hive teachers. Anytime. Anywhere. Free for existing Yoga Hive unlimited members.

So with that arsenal of tools at your disposal, I recommend you download Zoom (super easy and free to do), roll out your mat, sign up for class (at least 15 minutes in advance!) the same way you’re used to through our app or website via MINDBODY, and get yourself to an online yoga class with Yoga Hive. 

In light,
Mollie

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