The Human Spirit in the Time of COVID-19 (Part III)

I’ve been thinking a lot about the human spirit, about its strength and its resiliency!

As I teach my daily online live streaming yoga sessions via Facebook and the three-time weekly classes via Zoom platform with OmCulture, I am reminded of the strength present in all of us. Though most of humanity is in a state of social distancing, we still find ways to connect heart to heart. Connections are being made daily via social media, phone calls, Facetime, Zoom meetings, and online yoga sessions.  Virtual gatherings of every kind are taking place, including coffee hours, happy hours, book clubs, and poetry readings to name a few. Nothing quite takes the place of physical human contact, but we find our ways to reach out.  After all, we are social beings, and whether one is an introvert or an extrovert, we humans survive in this world with the help of our social interactions and physical touch. Physical touch includes hugs, handshakes, rubbing noses(!), and kisses on the cheek, depending on your culture.

I have an indelible childhood memory concerning hugs:  I am a child, perhaps 4 or 5 years old, maybe younger. I’m in the car with my parents.  My father is driving and he is very quiet. I’m too young to understand the situation, but I know my father is not his cheerful self. As he drives, I imagine he is holding a big tank of water in his arms and if he puts it down, the water will spill and flood the earth.  I think my sisters are in the car, too.  All I know is that I am in the front seat, wedged between my parents. And though, no one has explained to me what has happened, I know I should to be very still and very quiet.

Moments later, we arrive at my Aunt Lily’s house. Dad’s other sister, Aunt Francesca, is also there. The three siblings run to each other and immediately form an impenetrable threesome hug.  They hold each other tightly, put their heads together, and weep.  I cannot see the tears, only the sibling-love-locked group-hug that not even my 50 plus years of memory can break open. They huddle for what seems like forever.  My mother has gone pale and we hold their huddled grief in silence.

The power of their hug has never left me. They were grieving the death of their brother, Joe, twenty years my dad’s senior.  Joe, a brother from a different mother, was a big part of their world. He was mythic. The sibling hug-lock brought my dad and his sisters comfort and unbroken sustaining physical and emotional support.

Human resiliency is a powerful resource!

And yesterday, at 9pm in India (and 8:30am in Seattle), India’s Prime Minister Modi asked the nation of India to say a collective prayer. At precisely 9m on Sunday in India, all the lights were turned off and people lit candles or turned on flashlights. They stopped to pray or meditate for 9 minutes. The prayer was most moving: For nine minutes, 1.4 billion people, or a little more than 17% of the world’s population, said a prayer to go from darkness to light during this time of COVID-19, and to pray that we can soon hug again!

Together, my online yoga community and I lit a candle and joined in India’s prayer. Dayna Cole wrote a moving poem after yesterday’s yoga session to remember the day:

In India

1.4 billion candles
Ignite prayers and
Reaching the stars,
Hug

These past weeks, we have seen Italians under continued strict lockdown. We have seen the staggering numbers of deaths due to COVID-19, especially in Italy. We have experienced our own Stay at Home movement  and we find ways to cope with the economic crisis, the social isolation, fear of losing a loved one, and the uncertainty of falling ill and possibly dying.  At the same time, we have seen people singing from rooftops, balconies, and windows…. and we’ve seen music performed from Zoom virtual platforms.  In New York City, where the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths is mounting, people make noise from their windows at 7pm every evening, a kind of solidarity or a shout to the world that, yes, we are here! It is a way to connect with one’s neighbors. It is a message of hope.

Below are two creative songs put together by some beautiful humans.  I have seen so many such songs put together, but these are the ones I wish to share. Clearly music has the power to lift the human spirit.

Hopelessly Hoping (Il Coro Che Non C’e) from Italy

What the World Needs Now -for Virtual Orchestra

Do your part and stay home.  Stay healthy and reach out to your elders and to your friends, especially those who live solo!  And join me for yoga if you like. Practicing daily yoga is a great way to stay sane! Times below are Pacific Standard Time (Filming takes place in Seattle in my living room.)

Live Daily Online Streaming Yoga Sessions 7 Days a Week on FACEBOOK: 7-8am Gentle Hatha Yoga AND  8:30-9:30am All Levels Hatha (Classes by donation). You may choose to pay for a few classes at once or per class via PayPal or Venmo: @FranGalloYoga or by using my email address. Contact me if you’d like to use Zelle or if you need my mailing address to send a check. Recorded live sessions stay on Facebook for about 23 hours.

Live Streaming on Zoom through OmCulture Yoga Studio  To pre-register go to OmCulture LINK Mondays 4-5:15pm Gentle Hatha Yoga,  Mondays 5:45-7pm All Levels Hatha  and Wednesdays 4-5:15pm Gentle Hatha Yoga

If you are a Seattle Athletic Club member, please contact me about the once-a-week class I am leading for SAC members on Thursdays 10:30-11:30am via the Zoom App.