Jackie Millard’s encouraging voice comes over Zoom’s audio, piano music tinkling. She directs listeners in their own homes to sit comfortably, then inhale deeply and exhale slowly. “Feel the slow cycle of the breath moving in and out of the body; it’s like a gentle wave,”she says. Spring is a time of renewal, she notes.“Even in this time of challenge, we can use this opportunity to try something new, to think in a new way.”
Welcome to Now and Zen, a virtual yoga class Vision Loss Alliance of New Jersey is offering during the COVID-19 crisis. VLANJ tapped Millard, one of the nonprofit’s instructors, to teach the hour-long hatha yoga class on Wednesday mornings.
“I think that in this time, we all can benefit from the calm and stillness,” said Millard, who became a certified yoga instructor seven years ago.
During a recent class, Millard had students begin the session seated, imagining “white light flowing from the base of our spine, through the torso, through the neck, to the crown of the head.” She then had them visualize the light flowing “like a fountain” down the outside of their bodies, spreading relaxation. Millard led students through head-to-toe stretches. She then had them stand for a series of gentle yoga poses. The class moved to nostril breathing exercises.
She rounded out the class with a relaxing guided meditation: students imagined walking through woods, coming upon a river gently flowing over rocks and logs. That, she said, is how people can approach life, “moving over and around obstacles…yielding and bending…moving peacefully and calmly forward.” In the final minutes, the class offers divine peace to the world, repeating the word, “Shanti.”
In addition to teaching Now and Zen, Millard takes five yoga classes a week. Millard, who is blind, teaches mobile technology and essential low vision classes, which were suspended mid-March because of the coronavirus response restrictions. She is one of three instructors for the new Technology Learning Lab, which will launch once the Denville location reopens.
Now and Zen is free to anyone who lives with vision loss. To register, or if you have any questions, send a message to BeyondSight@vlanj.org.