Greetings friends,
I hope you're all safe & healthy amidst the rise of this critical situation that is the COVID-19 pandemic. It's a little surreal even writing such a lead, but, this is the stark reality of the circumstance we all are in together, so there's no point in shying away.
While my original newsletter schedule was to finish up exploring why & how to choose a yoga teacher training that's right for you, we'll pick up on that again in April or May!
As you all know, Nashville is urging individuals to practice self-quarantining for the sake of public safety in order to slow the spread of this virus, and the severity/ intensity of public quarantining is fluctuating on a daily basis. In an effort to reduce public gatherings/ activities, many yoga studios & yoga programming hosted at public & private spaces are canceled for the time being.
What does this mean for me? All of my in-person yoga & meditation class offerings are canceled until further notice. I anticipate this may be in effect until mid-late April, but I can't say.
What does this mean for you? Please continue to practice yoga, meditation & ayurveda! Now more than ever this practice is vital! Staying with your practice is invaluable to cultivating peace & clarity. In the meantime, I already offer classes with Yoga Green Book, and I'm actively working on increasing my online offerings. I'll be utilizing Facebook Live, Instagram Live, YouTube Live & ZOOM to provide yoga & meditation classes for everyone to access. I'm happy we have the technology to do this!
What else does this mean for me? I'm self-employed, and since all of my classes are canceled the reality of me not teaching means that I'm unemployed for the time being. I have managed to secure a temporary gardening/ landscaping gig that will help soften the blow to my income, but my main income source has been severed. Know that this is not required, but if you would like to donate any amount to help me continue to offer yoga & meditation during this utterly unpredictable time it would be greatly appreciated! You can Venmo me, Paypal me, CashApp me or mail me a check. All of my info is below:
Venmo: @Jo-JoJackson
PayPal: yogibassist@gmail.com
CashApp: $JoJoTJackson
Check Mailing Address: Jo-Jo Jackson, 1010 Matthews Ave, Nashville TN 37216
For now I'm collaborating with Yoga Soul & I'm offering free 15-minute breathwork & guided meditation EVERY MORNING on Instagram Live at 7:30AM CST starting TODAY. Again, this is free & EVERYONE is welcome! Just follow Yoga Soul on Instagram @yogasoulnashville and I'll be going live on this account. This video will be available live for 24 hours on Yoga Soul's IG page so if you weren't able to join the live community event, you can still practice when the time's right for you. After the 24 hour period expires on Instagram, I'll post the meditation session on my YouTube channel so everyone can access it!
In addition, I'm offering a virtual workshop with Hola Yoga this Saturday 1-3pm. This is the first installment of a monthly workshop series exploring the Subtle Practices of yoga beyond the asana, starting with learning about the 8-Limb path of Raja Ashtanga Yoga as presented in the Yoga Sutras! We're working on moving it to ZOOM so I'll keep everyone posted with the sign-up process as we get it prepared in the next day or so.
Again, everyone, stay safe, stay healthy and take care of each other! If you find yourself with plenty of time on your hands by yourself or with your immediate family (fur-babies included), take this as an opportunity to get out in Nature! Spring is on the way and Tennessee is in bloom! Go for hikes, walks & forages, and meditate in Nature--it can be as easy as sitting under a tree and just listening to the healing sounds of the forest for 5 minutes before returning to your hiking adventure.
If you have any questions about how to maintain your practice during this difficult time, I'm here for you! Please email me with any questions <3
Until we see each other again,
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
Oṁ Shāntiḥ, Shāntiḥ, Shāntiḥ
Jo-Jo Jackson