Planning for a Pandemic

As most of you probably know my partner, Alix, and I just opened up a new studio in

downtown Summit, NJ. Well, actually we did not technically open our doors yet. Due to COVID-19 we are in a holding pattern. Although we are extremely disappointed we were not able to open our studio as planned with a big grand opening party, where we could invite all of our friends and family, we are trying to pivot now and acclimate ourselves to a new virtual platform, as many other wellness businesses have also had to do.    Our business does not easily translate to an online platform…. working from home was never an option for me. As a Mom of two boys, working from home was something I never thought to rank as a top priority when choosing a career. Sometimes I regret that now! Ha ha…. Nevertheless, here I am trying to run a business built on physical touch, face to face interactions, equipment, and most importantly a certain level of trust that is created when you look someone in the eyes and listen to their pain and worries and tell them how you can help them heal.  So here we are, first time business owners, not sure the fate of our business, and whether or not our business will be anything like what we dreamed it would be.  So many people’s lives have had to pivot because of COVID-19 and will continue to change and adapt as days pass by one by one. I lived in New York City on 9/11, and experienced that trauma first hand. It took a really long time to recover from that day, and learn to accept the new way of life post-9/11, but eventually the new way of life became the new normal for everyone.  Although COVID and 9/11 are two very different events, I think many of us can agree lives were lost and trauma has occurred in one form or another.  As with many forms of trauma, time is a huge factor when it comes to healing. 9/11 created a huge sudden shift in the way we all lived our lives. From that point on our lives all changed and we realized many things we all took for granted.  We were forced to come to grips with feelings of loss, feelings of regret and feelings of denial. Digging yourself out of hole, requires hope, love, faith, support, community and a belief that someday things will be better.  Planning for a huge winter storm was definitely on our radar, but not planning for a possible worldwide pandemic, nevertheless here we are.  There is no turning back, as usual in life, there is only moving forward. How will our lives change as we move forward after COVID-19? What will we all realize we took for granted before COVID-19? What do we already,  or what will we appreciate more as a result of living through COVID-19? I have had a lot of time to ponder this over the past month, as most of us have.  I have chosen to focus on the time I have gotten to spend with my two boys, without being bombarded by rushing them to and from school and practice. Sure, I miss watching them play baseball, but I know they will get to play again someday. I have enjoyed showing them the importance of giving back to the community especially during difficult times. I have also enjoyed baking cakes and brownies together, teaching them how to fold laundry, watching them clean their pee off the toilets, helping them learn to fold laundry and eat dinner together ……every…..single…..night.  I can’t remember if there was ever a time in our lives when we could sit down every night and eat dinner together. That’s special. Sure we miss seeing Grammy and they miss seeing their friends, and that’s been extremely difficult. The loss of human interaction is getting to us all.  As the days pass by one by one and we start to understand how life will evolve into our new normal, let’s all continue to keep an open mind. COVID-19 has rapidly invaded and affected ALL of our lives in some way or another, some more traumatically than others. Without knowing  how it has affected one another, let’s promise to treat one another with compassion. Every single one of us is healing right now from our own individual trauma related to this crisis. Here are some of my suggestions:  -Help others you see struggling  -Accept love and help from those who reach out  -Be easy on yourselves  -Take time to think about how life has changed and how you can move forward from here -Go slow on re-entry  -Take care of yourself, especially to all the Mom’s working and staying home with your kiddos. If you aren’t feeling well yourself, there is no way you can be there the way you want, or can be for your kids -Try incorporating a short mediation practice now, even if it’s a few quiet minutes to yourself to quiet your mind and turn off the mental chatter (This is extremely important as we are bombarded constantly with negative thoughts and emotions surrounding COVID-19)  -Exercise daily, there are so many emotional and physical benefits to moving daily  We will heal. We will get through this. Together.