Who's changed their fitness routine or life drastically since early 2020? I know I have. Between the pandemic, going overseas and lockdowns, my routine of going to studio yoga three to five times a week has ceased. Whilst I went a few times when lockdowns lifted, the on again off again consistancy of it, combined with masks and vaccines and all the regulations and anxiety inducing fear mongering, I'd all but given up on going to class.

I am perfectly capable of doing yoga on my own, truth be told. I've been practicing since I was sixteen and four years ago did a teacher training which saw me grow really confident in structuring my own classes and routines, and getting into a firmer meditation and pranyam practice.

But I really, really missed studio yoga. There's something about breathing with other people that can be really beautiful, and you're less likely to quit half way through or be a little slack - I always work up more of a sweat and push myself in a class situation than at home, where after about half an hour I'm just meditating or doing breathing. A studio class makes you accountable.

I've decided to just go once a week to a slow flow class - I'm not really interested in pushing myself to do more than one day a week and it gets expensive too, especially if you sign up and then don't go for a few weeks - you end up paying for something you're not really using. I just need enough to feel a sense of community and to keep up a strong practice - even once a week makes me more likely to do a stronger class at home.

Things have changed a lot since COVID. Things feel less free - people seem less friendly and tend to come in and leave quickly. I miss sitting around chatting after class, and most of all, I miss Dad practicing with me. It's been a while since he's been physically able to do a strong vinyasa practice and I miss being inspired by him and having his strength help me push through the harder poses. I miss hearing his breath beside me and sometimes my heart aches for missing this companionship. Yoga feels a little lonelier these days. Even the familiar faces I used to see in this studio have moved on - either moving back to hometowns, practicing elsewhere, or given up entirely. Even the teachers have changed when the studio was sold to another owner about the same time the pandemic started.

But all that is a lesson in itself. Everything changes. Nothing is permanent. The breath moves in and out.