As an owner of a yoga and wellness space, who was used to serving more than 100 classes on ground every month, it was utterly strange to walk into OhanaJo last week to water the plants and check on my fridge which used to be filled with homemade raw chocolate bars and other organic snacks made with so much love.

Everything was so quiet. It was really peaceful and a little sad for me, at the same time. It felt like yesterday that this whole place was alive with the crush of students showing up for their daily classes and sound baths.

I made my way up the stairs to visit the studio. How I missed the serenity of this space, which felt almost sacred in its quiet stillness.

All the crystal bowls were sitting in a half moon in the corner waiting to be played and then there were the amazing gongs on the other side of the room.

I have a lot of respect for the gongs, which ancient texts describe as one of the oldest known instruments to man. They are truly powerful.

I remember a lady once asking me whether people could actually “feel” the sound waves as she had never experienced a sound bath before.

On impulse, I invited her to stand behind my largest gong. I played the gong for a couple of minutes right behind her back. Gong vibrations are believed to relieve a lot of tension from stiff backs and tense muscles.

She stood there amazed, staring at the gong like she had no idea what just happened, and she said, “Gosh, that made my hair stand! I could literally FEEL it, as though it was going right through me, in waves. It’s almost hypnotic!”

So, there I was standing in front of my huge “Earth Gong”, reminiscing about these wonderful human moments of connection and random conversations I had in this very same spot.

How had so much changed in such a short span of time? Nevertheless, it was a gift to be there, in this quiet moment alone.

I picked up the mallets and looked over my shoulder by reflex, as I usually made sure all my students were settled in under their comfy blankets, but of course no one was there.

It did not matter. I just wanted to play this gong again. This powerful gong had touched many lives in this space. It was tuned to the planetary frequency of Earth, which is why it’s believed to be so grounding.

Not only do gong vibrations cleanse spaces and trigger off theta brainwave states for those who are on the receiving end, they also put the player into a meditative state as well.

It is almost impossible to play these instruments without presence. It transports you into the “now”, into that effortless state of “flow”.

So there I was playing my gongs. I felt lost in the moment as the incredible sound vibrations rippled through the entire studio with their incredible multi-phonic frequencies. And for a moment, I remembered everything that had brought me to this point.

I remembered putting my logo up on the wall by myself, petal by petal, because I could not wait to see what it would look like.

I remembered buying all those candles, essential oils and charming flowers to decorate every corner of OhanaJo, so that it would feel like “home”.

I remember seeing the smiling faces of my students showing up every day, not just to work out, but to really let go of their stresses, share their stories, meditate and find a sanctuary of “peace” within themselves, in this fast-paced world.

And I was struck by how temporary this existence of ours is. How fragile the beauty of life is. Nothing is permanent. We do not need a pandemic to remind us of this fact, yet we have taken so many day-to-day things in our lives for granted.

I knew I needed to release whatever control I “thought” I had, because there was so much uncertainty surrounding what life would be like, post Covid-19. It was still left to be seen how much normalcy we could return to, or precisely when.

It is not easy to let go, yet the word “surrender” came to me in my meditations, bringing me back to the wisdom of my ancient yogic teachings.

When you surrender to the flow, you swim with the current, rather than against it. It also makes you stronger and more versatile amidst these ever changing conditions. When we let go of expectations, we can’t be disappointed.

As we pivot and adapt during this unprecedented period in our lives, let us welcome every day and all its imperfections with as much positivity in our hearts as possible.

If there were some things that were within your control, it would be the quality of your attitude towards this situation facing us. And though you may feel isolated, just know you are not alone. We are all in this together and it’s important we stay in positive spirits.

I would like to remind you of a beautiful quote we sometimes end our yoga sessions with, “Accept what is, let go of what was, and have faith in what will be”.

Jojo Struys is the founder of OhanaJo Studio. She is offering Free Online Mindfulness, Yoga and Meditation sessions by donations every day during the MCO period in an effort to help Malaysians stay physically fit and emotionally more calm, during this difficult time.

You can check out their online classes on https://www.ohanajo.com/

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