Mattie McGrath urges reopening of yoga studios during lockdown
Mattie McGrath urged the government to allow yoga studios to reopen during COVID-19 restrictions, saying studios operate safely and are vital for mental health. He cited a meeting with Leola Slattery of Suka Wellness and the Irish Federation of Yoga Teachers' online Yoga for Health Day on 28 November.
Appeal for yoga studios
Mattie McGrath described meeting Leola Slattery of Suka Wellness and said her studio can fit 14 people in pods and operates safely and hygienically. He said thousands of yoga teachers and tens of thousands of participants rely on studios for physical activity and mental health.
Safety measures proposed
He called for compassionate consideration and suggested measuring square footage so participants have space - similar to how pubs and churches consider space. He emphasised that compliant studios can continue to operate safely and would follow guidelines.
Response from the Taoiseach
The Taoiseach replied that while they would like to reopen all sectors, they cannot because of the COVID-19 virus and the need to hold it at bay. The Taoiseach said the country has the lowest incidence of COVID-19 in Europe due to the balance of restrictions and acknowledged that yoga is important for mental and physical health, but warned it is difficult to draw lines sector by sector.
Outlook for Christmas and January
The Taoiseach said the situation will be reassessed in January, noting that more mixing is inevitable over the Christmas and festive season and the aftermath will determine any changes.
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Good morning, good teacher. There are a lot of inconsistencies and anomalies with the COVID lockdown. I'm appealing you today to do something for the yoga classes. I met with Leola Slattery, Suka Wellness, on care on Monday. She's a wonderful studio with fit 14 people in pods safely and hygienically and everything else. The Irish Federation of Yoga Teachers recently held a Yoga for Health Day in the 28th of November to show the benefits of yoga and did it online. And it's not only, you know, for movements and all, it's for mental health and the mental health is under huge pressure as we know now with people. This lady implies four people in this business, but there are thousands implied throughout the country. But more importantly, there are tens of thousands of people who take part in it and they need this and it can be done safely in studios like that. So I'm appealing to you to look compassionately on this because it's for their mental health and well-being and the studios are safe and are compliant and will comply. And where they can do it, they should be allowed. There should be some measurement, you know, of square footage. So people have their space like the dance, they can do it and do it safely. Same for the pubs, they have space. Same for the churches. Thank you, Deputy. Thank you, T-Shirt. Deputy, I'd love to open up the whole society again. There's nothing I'd love more dearly to do. But we can't because of the COVID-19 virus. We're holding it at bay. We have the lowest level and incidence of COVID-19 in Europe. And there's a reason why we have the lowest incidence. It's because of the balance of restrictions that we've introduced. I think yoga is extremely important. Sorry. In terms of yoga, I agree with the deputy. It is very good for mental health and physical health as well. But where does one draw the line in terms of opening up various disciplines and areas and different areas across society? It's very difficult sector by sector. Very, very difficult in terms of drawing the line here. And as I said earlier, I'd love nothing more than to be in a position to open up all the various sectors. But we'll see where we want to get to Christmas in January. We'll then assess where we are in January. And there will be more mixing in January. That's inevitable because of the Christmas period and the festive season. And we have to see where we are in the aftermath of that.
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