Paromita's contribution is informative. The respite from the daily work regimen is refreshing of course. One of the valuable lessons from this stay home exercise is that human life has proven more valuable than money ! I am reminded of a quote by the now deceased comedian George Carlin - " Don't worry about polluting Earth. It will shake us humans off as a bad case of fleas. "

Robert's perspectives as a yoga teacher is touching. The revenue impact on such vocations is obvious. But I have a slightly different question. If this teaching curriculum had to be completely online, would that be a major undertaking? What would be lost? What would be gained? As a technology educator I would like to suggest that old ways of conducting business maybe gone forever. For example, after the great recession of 2008, US GDP dropped from $16T to $12T and 5 million + jobs were lost, By 2012 the GDP was back to $16T but with 5 million fewer jobs. In short, technology solutions replaced humans ! Will this happen again? I would say more likely than not.

As a yoga teacher and group fitness instructor I have been sorely hit by mostly no work, I’ve had to self generate yoga videos and only through the support and generosity of friends and enthusiasts has some of my lack of income been mollified. I am glad I’ve had to step up to promoting what I do well, so this has been a pleasant affirmation, because folks are benefiting in some small or greater way with what I have to offer and my nearly 20 years as a committed yoga teacher has proven to be a good symbiotic relationship and worthwhile effort for all Involved. This circle of involvement is known as the the three spheres: yoga practitioner (them) yoga teacher (me), and the interaction between both (i.e., the individual and the teacher and the combined karma-interaction of both). Yes I do miss the hands on physical relation between teaching and students and when it can it shall get back to that, but for right now this current socially distanced interaction is apparently, according to the facts available, best for all involved The one caveat that I feel and may be contradictory is for those who wish to interact in a direct manner, I.e., yoga class outdoors, as long as social distance is kept and no one is having obvious symptoms, perhaps individual choice is permissible with the self responsibility that this entails. As a Buddhist I’ve felt very empowered that any of my activities (actions-karmas) are my own responsibility with no one to credit or blame but myself. This has taken the onus of any culpability for any result back to its source which is the doer or me. I feel that as any challenge manifests, one can refine and expand the capabilities that are nascent or current to our being to meet that particular challenge and thereby grow or evolve.

Great write up and interesting perspective. Though this pandemic has affected us in different ways, the one thing common is the fact that we are spending time a lot more time with our families, like never before, which is definitely great. I can relate to you in some ways and have found more time to pursue my hobbies, take courses, enjoy free webinars, write on various topics, cook a lot more than normally I would - all of which I am enjoying. I think the policymakers are implementing some great modifications to existing policies to help speed up the process of finding a cure or a vaccine, the latter being extremely important to get back to normal. Data has shown us that the lockdown is extremely essential in flattening the curve. Even when companies/businesses resume work and reopen their businesses, they should be prepared to proactively take measures to identify individuals and contain the virus through thorough and regular testings and implement lockdown in waves when necessary. The social and economic damage is inevitable, but humanity will bounce back as we have always seen in the past. The other option may have been to withdraw the lockdowns and let ~70% of the population to get infected and develop what we call herd immunity. But are we really ready for that after knowing what havoc this disease is creating in individuals (even in healthy youths) from reports obtained globally? Maybe not.

Thank you Rajiv for sharing your daily struggle! Your questions are really valid and would be good to learn what others are thinking about them. In addition, it would also be good to know how others are coping with this time while taking care of their daily activities. Would be very useful to see some posts on effective ways to do grocery, doctor's appointments, etc.