Covid-19, the stuff of film plots and history books. Watching patterns of our familiar daily lives disintegrate has given rise to various coping mechanisms, and completely questioned the meaning of being “well.” Needless to say, for those of us in the Fitness and Wellbeing space this can feel like both, a physical and an existential paradigm shift.

Prior to Berlin’s lockdown in March, we had embarked on BEwell, a month-long Mind/Body reset program, with a select group of members, supported by various industry contributors. Eight weeks into our new restricted reality, we have caught up with some of the contributors and our own team to get their take, by posing the same three questions to each.

1. What has “being well” come to mean to you now, 8 weeks into a new, previously unthinkable reality.

2. Any learnings on a personal (or professional) level that have surprised you?

3. Any top-level tips/things that have helped you stay sane?

Georgia Grau, Independent Life Coach and Personal Trainer

1. It’s been mainly about self-reflection. In the last few weeks I realized that it is more important than ever to be able to be alone, to be with yourself, to accept and feel good about yourself. Now is the time to focus and reflect on your own behavior - what are you doing for your mind and your body? And what is actually good for you, and more important, what isn’t? What have you done before just because of external pressure? Now we have the time to learn more about ourselves.

2. One major lesson is becoming better at technology combined with coaching. I would have never thought that coaching can be done that well via video conferences. I will definitely keep that digital option for my future sessions.

3. Plan your day and figure out new routines! For example I go for a long walk every morning by myself. I love that time of the day, it helps me to stay calm and start the day.

Joey Till, Head of Ride at BECYCLE

1. Being “well” for me has gained a different focus now. With these changes I feel I have shifted toward my mental health a lot more. Before it was about keeping active and focusing on my body in a physical manner, and a happy mind was a side product of this. Now, while the physical aspect remains extremely important, maintaining a healthy mind is even more so, with the current shift in our lifestyle. Things like being outside and staying active is what changes my day. This feels so precious now, and in turn, really helps me mentally.

2. I've definitely learnt to not take so many things for granted! Being able to see friends and family, and just general human interaction. This applies on a professional level as well. It has made me realise how important your place of work is. I've always been a believer of loving what you do for a living. For me, not being able to do my job has been a real struggle and now only reconfirms how much I love it.

3. Zoom group chats - having that visual interaction and hearing people's voices really makes such a difference to my day! Also, I listen to the Rinse Fm shows quite a bit. There's lots of new music to get inspired by. (Our instructor) Cormac has a weekly one, which is great. On Instagram I follow @muscleandmotion - a great page that breaks down muscle work during exercises. It has technical dialogue, showing how to do the exercises correctly and common mistakes that cause injury.

Patrik Winkler - HIIT instructor, personal and nutrition coach.

1. I think this time has illustrated how crucial it is to establish good habits, which you can benefit from when things get out of hand, like now. It’s about having the tools you need when things go downhill vs. trying to do even more when things are already stressful.

2. I have this feeling sometimes that as a coach, you are not allowed to make mistakes, like you should have a great diet and also have a great work life balance. In favour of practicing what you preach, it’s rather more important to be honest with yourself and acknowledge when you feel off. This is not happening to you. You can choose what the time will mean to you. Additionally, I’ve been amazed to see how quickly different industries adapted to this. With the fitness world going online, and the restaurants coming up with different concepts to stay afloat. If you’re into food, this post is big on what’s happening behind the scenes in Berlin.

3. Not letting the situation “own you.” These fundamentals always help bring me energy, no matter what: more breaks, fresh air, doing board games and puzzles, and other activities without a screen. I’ve also picked up juggling and graffiti drawing, and obviously am eating healthy and working out.

Molly Wilson - BECYCLE Studio Manager

1. BEWELL is about being intuitive to what I need in the present moment, and not distracting myself so much that I'm unaware of this. I now take the time to feel out what is best for my body and mind - whether it be certain exercises, food, meditation or the content I'm consuming.

2. I have learnt to take the time to slow down and reflect, and to maintain a good communication line with my family back in New Zealand.

3. Ryan Heffington dance workouts, virtual pub quizzes with friends and lots of natural wine!

Katia Varfolomeeva, BECYCLE Marketing & Communications Manager

1. What being well means hasn’t changed much for me. If anything, the need for that delicate balance of our mental state to our physical body and our environment to work, has only been highlighted further. Though not easy, this period of pause has been stimulating on a personal level, and maybe collective. The cliched term “self-care” has truly stood a test!

2. Learn to go with the flow and be grateful. I repeat this to myself a lot. None of us know where things will stand in 6-12 months, so stay nimble, and try to roll with it. (And this is coming from a life-long control freak.) It can be seen as a scary time, but it’s also a time of great change, and in many ways can be exciting, if we keep our minds open. Lots of us are in a very privileged position, with nice roofs over our heads and choices in life, it’s always good to remember that, and not take anything for granted.

3. I’ve upped my herb and supplement game for a more robust immunity. Really liking the combo of Oil of Oregano (one of nature’s most potent anti-virals/anti-bacs) , Liposomal vitamin C and the symbiotic from Seed (not going back to anything else!) I’ve also enjoyed various content from the likes of herbalist Organic Olivia, Jena Covello of Agent Nateur and Melissa Wood Health for natural health & beauty solutions.