During this increasingly-extensive time of quarantine, it seems that many among us have taken on new hobbies. In some cases, these have been somewhat productive, such as learning a new skill, language, etc. Meanwhile, it would appear from stock shortages that others have discovered the awesomeness of the Nintendo Switch. Over here in the Burbank household (or “apartmenhold,” if you will), we’ve just begun taking on what we hope will become a healthy hobby: practicing yoga.
This was one that was actually started by my wife, who’s been much more diligent and dedicated than I have been so far. Yet, what’s interesting is that we actually both came about the idea of starting yoga around the same time — but didn’t bother sharing this bubbling desire with the other. In any case, she came across a YouTube channel she enjoyed (SarahBethYoga) and has been going through some of her various videos. As for me, I’ve now joined a few sessions and have really liked my experiences so far. Of course, I’m still very much a beginner, so I have to lot of poses to learn and a lot of flexibility to gain.
Now, typically, even mostly frugal hobbies can come with some costs as they develop. However, I don’t really see that being the case with this — or at least not for a while. While Sarah Beth’s video library has its limit, she’s also not the only yoga instructor on YouTube. Also, thanks to some luck, we didn’t even have to invest in buying mats, having obtained some from a lantern festival we attended many moons ago. Sure, there may come a day when we’ll want to take our skills to a live class (when such things are allowed), but that seems far, far away in my mind.
I should also mention that this newfound yoga hobby comes after a time when I’ve found my anxiety manifesting in ways I didn’t really know was possible. While I had already started feeling better after confirming that I was not actually dying, adding yoga into the mix has also helped alleviate some of the stress I’ve been feeling thanks to the overall uncertainty of the world today. If nothing else, it’s really just nice to relax for a few minutes — even when that relaxation can sometimes challenge you physically (yoga is kind of a weird cross between the two, isn’t it?).
To be clear, this hobby/routine is still quite new to me but, with my wife already growing in the practice, I think it could be good for us overall. Plus, as far as hobbies go, we definitely could have picked a more expensive one. So, if there’s anything good that this pandemic has helped to bring upon us, perhaps it will be this.