Seven weeks ago, as my co-workers were moving their office equipment into their homes and getting setup to work from home, I found myself on the internet researching how to use online meeting technology. Little did I know that a few weeks later, our office would stand empty and all of our in-person classes would be canceled for the near future. A few of us took to the computer screens and began practicing how to use this new online meeting application called Zoom.

After twenty years of participating in and teaching Breema and Self-Breema classes, the initial experience of doing Breema online was unusual.  There were questions—how to see all of us on the screen, how to maneuver the settings so we couldn’t hear the train in the background while someone was practicing, how to get used to being in a room alone with the screen, how to be comfortable with everyone seeing the inside of my house.

I started doing the first Self-Breema—Being Present Is to Be Yourself. I experienced my hand brushing down my arm. My body rocking as the hand brushed. I placed one hand on top of the other and held my heart for several breaths. The weight of my body sank into the ground. My thoughts slowed and I followed my inhalation and exhalation. There was a shift in me. As I heard the voice on the screen say the name of the next Self-Breema, the atmosphere was alive. I was present. This new format with screens and echoes didn’t keep me from connecting to my body.

As we did a few more Self-Breema, I felt more calm and relaxed than when we started. I remembered the atmosphere I’ve grown to love in a Breema class and felt so grateful to experience it in this new format. Even in these extreme circumstances practicing Self-Breema continues to support my wish to be present.