‘what to do when everything got cancelled’

Living in the present moment, here and now, just one day at a time, just the next small step. That’s how we have spent the last 6 weeks since we arrived in the Netherlands and after cancelling all our travel and work plans.

We had it all figured out, planned and organised up until October. There were our yoga retreats in spring, some solo traveling for both of us, visiting family, working at a retreat center, and so on. Now everything is totally different and to be honest we both adapted to these new circumstances quickly. Okay, to be really honest, Boris adapted very quickly like he always does. I, on the other hand, have spent a day crying and feeling all the feelings before I was able to let go and let be. 

Since we are travelling for more than a year this new transition was not that difficult. We are already used to uncertainty because that’s what you deal with a lot while traveling. We are also used to not seeing friends and family for a while since we just spent more than three months on an island. So once we managed to find a place to stay, everything settled in somehow naturally. We now stay temporarily at an old farmhouse in the woods. Here we have chickens (and baby chickens) and the roosters wake us up every morning. The trees are green again, the sun is shining and we enjoy long walks in this beautiful forest.

Living in the present moment, this day, today is what counts. And so today I got up with the sunrise and watched the deer in our backyard while enjoying my coffee. I prepared a morning yoga sequence, practiced it and after breakfast Boris helped me to film it for you. In case you haven’t noticed yet, Boris is doing all the technical stuff, all the editing and getting those yoga videos online. I feel very grateful for his support as I would not have the patience to do all of that. Later we went for a walk, climbed on a fallen tree, took silly pictures and had lunch in the garden. Usually we also spend half a day at our ‘new job’. We are helping someone in the nearby village to renovate their house before they move in. And so Boris and I are having a lot of fun working and renovating again. We are already joking that this could be our next career move.

When I look at our situation one day at a time, then life is pretty good! I noticed that this is really the best thing I can do right now. Enjoying the little everyday moments, staying calm and taking good care of myself. Of course I also need to hand in my tax administration, figure out how to pay my bills, follow all the corona regulations, find a place to stay and so on. But those things do not fill the majority of my day and I don’t allow them to. I choose to spend this period as peaceful and happy as possible. And I know that actually very little is needed to feel happy and peaceful. That’s something I definitively learned at the vipassana meditation retreats. There I experienced tremendous happiness and peace from within, while on the outside things seemed boring and difficult.

I wish for you to experience happiness and peace as well in your life as it is right now. And I would love to support you with my online yoga classes and meditation sessions. Every week we upload two new classes for you on YouTube. There are calming meditations, energetic yoga classes, easy relaxing sessions and much more. Just have a look at our YouTube channel here! With every class that I’m recording I’m thinking of you and I’m sending you lots of love.

Take care!
Sophie & Boris

The Netherlands, May 2020