For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.
Matthew 18:20
Close your eyes and imagine all of us praying a SoulCore rosary together in a large, beautiful, air-conditioned room filled with religious art and soft lighting. The air is filled with a soft aroma of incense and music is delicately tickling our ears.
Now open your eyes because this imaginary room doesn’t exist.
Sorry, that was mean of me. But a girl can dream, right?! And I do have a dream to one day provide a beautiful prayer space for us. But the realities of COVID restrictions force us to “make do”. And for the purposes of this article, when I say “make do”, I am talking about virtual SoulCore sessions. On a tiny screen. Alone. With the smell of dinner on the stove and dogs barking in the background.
I, of course, am trying to be funny, but I bring this up because I know that virtual classes aren’t the same as a live and in-person class. I want you to know, that I know, that you know, that I know that you know. But I also know something that you may not know. Our sessions can and will be beautiful and fruitful prayer experiences.
There are just a few important things that we need to cover…
Once we join the Zoom meeting, we should definitely face the camera toward the ceiling or better yet…just turn it off completely. We wouldn’t want our new prayer friends to judge our messy hair and lack of makeup.
Sounds ridiculous, right? Good. It should. Let’s free ourselves of insecurities during our SoulCore prayer sessions. Turn the camera on. Say hello. Smile with those unbrushed teeth. We are gathered together in prayer and seeing each other helps to create a beautiful connection. I can guarantee that there will be no judgement. Plus, we keep our eyes closed most of the time anyway.
Also, remember that a lot of us might be home alone while we are doing our virtual sessions. I would love to be able to see you in case you fall over and bonk your coconut! Do you remember that emergency contact information that you gave me?
Let’s not forget to completely mess up the “mute” situation on Zoom so that we can all hear birds chirping, dogs barking and kids yelling.
Don’t laugh. Okay, you can laugh. I have done this more than once. We all have. I have been teaching virtual classes for months; therefore, one would think that I have perfected the art of Zoom. Definitely not. It is inevidable that we are going to have some audio “oopsies”. Here are some ways that we can help each other out:
- Y’all can remind me to mute everyone before we begin praying. Help a sista’ out!
- Be careful not to unmute yourself (unless you want to talk to us).
- If a fellow classmate ends up being “unmuted” somehow, send them a message via Zoom chat (or a text if you know them).
- Don’t stress out if we have an “oopsie”. I personally live near a loud factory and a giant barking dog and they sometimes mess up my peace and quiet. But my beautiful friend once reminded me that it is good practice for praying with distractions. I like that mindset.
We all know that internet connections are completely reliable and we will never have any issues in this department.
I’ll wait for you to finish laughing.
The fact is that the internet connection will be unreliable sometimes. The little virtual Lisa on your screen may freeze up occasionally. All we can do is just keep praying and moving. Your assignment is to say Hail Marys and do crunches until we reconnect. Or we may never reconnect. That’s okay. Just keep praying and crunching. Forever.
You can also follow these tips to ensure that you have the best possible internet connection for our sessions:
- Get close to the Wi-Fi router.
- If you are on a desktop or laptop computer, you have the ability to plug directly into the modem with an Ethernet cable for a faster connection. You may need an adapter for this, so make sure you check all of the requirements for your particular setup. Consult a professional on this matter if you are uncertain.
- Don’t go outside unless you have a great cell signal. Most Wi-Fi signals will get weaker if you go outside. If you really want to go outside, find the perfect spot and check your signal before class starts.
Speaking of outside, remember that the location we select for prayer and physical movement doesn’t matter at all.
Now I am just talking nonsense! Of course it’s important.
Location, location, location. There is a reason for this saying and it doesn’t just apply to a storefront. While being in the middle of the house might work well for your Wi-Fi signal, it might cause problems when your family has to step over you to get to the kitchen. Here are a few tips for picking a good location for our SoulCore rosary sessions:
- Find a quiet space (with good Wi-Fi signal).
- Pick a corner of said space.
- Clean said corner of clutter and make sure you have enough space to move.
- Place a mat in said corner. I recommend this mat for beginners. It is made of natural rubber and it won’t slide around. If you are more advanced and are ready for a high performance mat, you can check this one out.
- You can place a sturdy chair in said corner if you need help getting up off the floor.
- You can also place some small handweights in said corner. This is completely optional.
- Make it personal and pretty by adding your rosary, a candle (I use devotional candles like these or if you are afraid you might burn your house down, go flameless like this one) and any other religious items that you love!
Voila! We have set ourselves up for the perfect virtual prayer experience and nothing will keep us from participating.
Or course this is nonsense and we all know that there will be obstacles along the way. But we will take them in stride and just keep praying!
“Private prayer is like straw scattered here and there: If you set it on fire it makes a lot of little flames. But gather these straws into a bundle and light them, and you get a mighty fire, rising like a column into the sky; public prayer is like that.”
St. John Marie Vianney
I very much look forward to praying our virtual SoulCore sessions with each and every one of you.
Amen.
Thanks for taking the time to read these tips. Comment below if you have any other suggestions to share with us!
-Lisa Gresham is Catholic wife, mother, certified fitness instructor, SoulCore leader, wannabe healer and expert worrier.
Mind Body & SoulCore 