Online Classes and Livestreams

2020-03-25

Hello again -

I thought I’d get straight to the point for a change. If this interests you, please follow the links to read more about the classes. Read the rest of the email for other details. My schedule for online teaching will be as follows:

SO now we’re a few weeks deeper into our lockdown in Ireland, and many yoga teachers have moved their practices online. This is good news for everyone, but it also means that there are now lots of oline classes available. When I started to teach online, I wanted to provide continuity to the commmunity and support for everyone forced to move to a home-based practice. This is still my goal. Swadhyaya (self-directed study and study of the self) is one of the most important disciplines of Yoga. It’s the process of self-study which allows you to connect to the guru within, and you find that all the knowledge you need is available to you when you need it and are ready for it.

So with that in mind, I want to support you in a few different ways for the duration of the COvid-19 restrictions. Basically, I’m going to work with two different formats: classes and livestreams. Classes will be held in the familiar video conference format over Zoom at least until the end of April. Livestreams will be broadcast on Twitch.

The reason for two platforms is because the two formats reach out in different ways. Classes are really only open to people who know the link. This is you who are reading this email, or otherwise connected with my practice in some way. The livestreams are discoverable with search tools and are open to the whole world. With classes we can be more interactive because we know each other. Livestreams will be less interactive and structured to make it easy for people to drop in and out during the practice. I hope that both will be helpful for your Yoga practice during the current restrictions.

So I have to take a moment to talk about Zoom. I have chosen Zoom over Discord because the software is a little bit friendlier for people participating in the call. It is a little more awkward technically - in particular, we may end up using Spotify for music to go along with classes. Also Zoom is in the middle of a lot of technology and security fixes to accomodate the massive growth in its use. Please stay in touch with the Yoga Lab Facebook page or my Instagram account for last minute changes (like meeting passwords if they become required).

And finally, I should talk a little bit about payment. A few of you have asked how to pay me for classes I teach online, and TBH, I haven’t managed to work through all of the legal complications yet. I’m fortunate in that my day-job continues without any interruptions due to Covid-19. In any case, I plan to offer all of the above classes and livestreams on a donation basis for the duration of the Covid-19 restrictions because my intention is to make sure people have the support they need for their home practice. While I do realize it can be an important part of the energy exchange to give money to your teachers, I don’t want that to become a barrier for anyone whose livelihood has been impacted by the Covid-19 crisis.

What I can say is that it is costing me about 60 Euros per month to make these online offerings. That includes various subscription costs to online services (e.g. Zoom professional), as well as an additional, separate, wireless broadband connection because the network to my house is just too slow for live video. It would be nice to have those costs covered. So if you want to help cover those costs or otherwise support me in these offerings, I can give you my bank details separately. All online banking systems in Europe support SEPA payments, and it is generally quite easy to do. If that method won’t work for you, then drop me a line and I’m sure we can work something out.

Thanks for your time in reading all of this. It’s been really special whenever I’ve connected with any of you in these online forums thus far. I hope to see you again soon.

Om Shanti

This document was translated from L^AT_EX by H^EV^EA.