What’s the one thing you’re glad to have back following the easing of Covid restrictions?
Aside from meeting up freely with family and close friends again, I was so grateful to return to teaching in-person yoga classes. Yoga has been such a vital healing and transformational part of my life for the past 20+ years and I feel very privileged to be able to share the practice with students.
During Covid I moved to online classes, but it has its limitations with regards to individual, personalised instruction and also lacks that important social aspect. At the end of the restrictions, I felt pure joy seeing familiar faces returning to their mats and meeting new students.
Obviously, the pandemic isn’t quite over yet, so I’ve moved my classes to facilitate social distancing and create a space where people can feel safe to move, breathe and escape from the chaos of life for an hour.
One thing you’ve learned from Covid?
Covid turned everything upside down for a lot of people, including myself, and has created a lot of stress and anxiety. I had to learn to come back to my practice and breathe through the things we sometimes can’t control, knowing that nothing is permanent and everything is in a constant state of flow.
I’ve also learnt that people can be very resilient and adaptable; my most positive memories of teaching during Covid were outdoor classes at Lake O’Flynn in Ballinlough where the students practiced through all of the elements with enthusiasm. Now that we are through the worst of the pandemic these classes by the lake will resume again this year and hopefully generate the same following.
I think Covid has deepened our appreciation for nature and highlighted how fortunate we are to live in the west of Ireland.
Now that we can travel again, what would be your dream holiday?
As a yoga teacher, I feel yoga is a journey through life and it’s very important for me to continue to develop and deepen my own practice so I can guide my students through their personal journeys. Before Covid I always took at least one annual international trip to train with more advanced teachers and learn more. My dream holiday would be to revisit the magic of Goa; yoga mornings, sunshine afternoons on the beaches, incredible food and escape from everyday life distractions!
*Yoga classes with Marese Cregg take place every Monday night at the Trinity Arts Centre in Castlerea. 7 pm: Beginners’/Gentle Yoga; 8 pm: Intermediate/Dynamic Yoga. For bookings/enquiries message Marese Cregg Yoga on Facebook or WhatsApp 087-2075852.
