by Paola Segatto

There is a bus stop in front of my kitchen window. The bus comes every 15 minutes and it can be quite loud. The bus no longer runs. I can now hear the birds. It’s a new life!

One month ago, suddenly I was in the middle of this pandemic. It could go on for months, and here I am left with no choice than to adapt to a totally different way of life: isolated from my job (which has been put on hold), my friends, my daily activities. 

I stopped trying to visualize how the next few months would be. I began to find new meaning to it all and to just let it happen; taking each day as it comes and now … I am okay with it.

I found that minimizing changes in my daily routine has been useful. I kept starting my day as if I were leaving the house for work. I wake up early at the same time every day, and I drink my lemon water. I do my meditation, a couple of rounds of Sun Salutation, I take a shower, get dressed, have breakfast, and then I look at my new calendar called “overcoming uncertainty.”

On this new calendar, I have prepared a list of “things to do” for each day of the week to help me fill in the spaces and cope with the emotional response of emptiness.

I did not want to leave room for anxiety to wander in and take over my life.

This is what I learned in the past four weeks:

  • I have more time to meditate, adding one more section to my daily practice which keeps me present and lowers stress.
  • I have more time to take care of tasks that I had long been procrastinating on.
  • I have more time to cultivate personal connections with friends and people who I had lost contact with in the last few years. Some of the relationships have strengthened and will be there forever.
  • I have more time to do the things that I like to do, without feeling guilty like taking the time to read a book or playing around and exploring new things.
  • I feel more gratitude as I have more time to listen to myself, to my own voice, look around, and appreciate all that I am and all that I have.

Yes, there have been challenges, including the guarantee of not having my job back, and if that happens, it will be unfortunate but I will still go on. 

Most importantly, what I have learned during this time of stillness is that we are all united by this global situation and that we will all come through this with a new love for life, a new love for relationships, and appreciation for simple daily activities and things that we take for granted.

I am grateful to the Yoga Community, the Sanga, that keeps us grounded and whole. 

I am certain that If I did not have a spiritual practice, I would not be where I am right now. I am thankful for this opportunity to practice santosha — acceptance and contentment — for whatever life has to offer next.


For the past 20 years, Yoga has been Paola’s strength in time of uncertainty.
Looking to deepen her practice she found home at Integral Yoga SF where she took the basic Teacher Training (TT) in spring 2014. Paola has completed the Intermediate TT, Therapeutic and Accessible Yoga TT. Knowing the importance of stillness in reducing general stress, Paola teaches Restorative Yoga at Integral Yoga SF.