YOGA DURING THE LOCKDOWN

Hello Classy People,

Dalila El Hassar is one of my beloved Yoga instructor in Morocco, we have been introduced to each other during the 1st Epic Yoga Festival of Marrakech, and we are beyond happy to reach out to each other while this lockdown.

Dalila has joined efforts with Hyatt Regency Casablanca, to provide an online Live Yoga session every Thursday on Facebook.
I have joined a couple of them and was excited to learn more about such an astounding collaboration.

How did you welcome the lockdown?
On the news of the lockdown, we all felt a definite relief, and a good dose of Moroccan pride for the immediate management of the situation in our country, but, we also must name the feeling of fear, fear for our loved ones, and fear from the future.

How is your new LifeStyle?
I must confess that the lockdown has its beneficial side. I’m able to slow down enjoying my little family, to see my daughters grow up, and to enjoy my spouse.
We discovered a talent for cooking, and I now have even more admiration for school teachers.
The cherry on the cake is that I have all the time to practice yoga at my own space while respecting my daily cycle and to training myself to my other girly hobbies for another project to come.

What is the outcome of your collaboration with the Hyatt Regency Hotel?
The Hyatt Regency Casablanca has been an integral part of our lives for years. It is more than a hotel, so it is an institution that has seen our city evolve in times of crisis and glory.
This year, the Hyatt Regency Casablanca wants to bring a new life into the hotel business by offering a real-life experience and extending its offer to Art, to Gastronomy, to Sports, and Wellness.
I ultimately find myself in this message, beautiful institutions like the Hyatt Regency must offer Casablanca people, Moroccans, and tourists a global experience around positivity.
In all humbleness, I’m very proud to participate every Thursday, an accessible live online yoga class, and I am full of gratitude when I see that we exceed the seventy thousand receptive viewers who offer incredible feedbacks.
I want to thank the audacity of the Hyatt Regency team, who, from the beginning, has created a concept to help people access a wellness zone while staying at home.
Our wellness bubble allows people in quarantine to mentally escape for an hour.
Collaborating with such a team, we have worked on available sessions for everyone on the playlist of the café M.

How would you describe the exchanges with strangers who follow your yoga sessions live online?
Such circumstance makes the session followed and commented without geographical or time limits.
We have taken the side of not removing the Live yoga sessions so that people have the opportunity to practice at any time.
I’m lucky that most feedbacks are benevolent and we remain open to positive criticism, which is the goal to improve.

What do you usually feel after each session?
It might seem strange, but I feel an intensity identical to the one i feel at the end of my real classes.
Maybe it’s thanks to the little messages of gratitude I receive during the online Live sessions. It is also very moving to know that some people who have never practiced decide to join and want to continue. My mum, for example, became dedicated since my first Live session and It wasn’t easy trying to convince her before.

What do people need to be equipped with before your yoga session?
The equipment is super simple: A yoga mat, or gym, or even the hairy mat of the living room.A strap or scarf, two blocks of yoga or two books of the same size, a smile.

What are the differences between the first session and now?
Oh, i’m not very good at social medias!
I would need a Coach, I’m clumsy when it comes to staging myself.
I know that I made up my mind of « translating » to my sauce and practice to make my goal more accessible and understandable.
Some purists may be mad at me.
So, to sum up the first session, total panic and there as I got used to it I blush from time to time. I handle it.

Do you expect to continue this collaboration after the lockdown?
I think this yoga adventure with the Hyatt Regency Casablanca will continue and especially evolve after the lockdown.