Community and Connection
When was the last time that you felt really connected to a present moment experience? Perhaps it was when you were in the woods, enveloped by the trees, with the scent of dirt and green. Or in a moment of deep stillness on your cushion... in the midst of an embrace, wrapped up in the arms of a loved one... or as you were snuggling with your furry companion.
Connection is the heart of yoga. This practice is about connecting to ourselves… our bodies, minds and hearts, and to the essence of our being... underneath pain, suffering, craving and illusion. And it’s also about connecting with our communities. One of the joys of coming together to practice in the same space, is the love and support we can offer and receive from each other.
Over the last couple of weeks, in my public classes, we've been talking about the experience of connection. It’s a continuation of our conversation and practices related to the vata dosha, which, is one of the three Ayurvedic constitutional types. The vata dosha is created by the combination of the elements air and ether. Ether represents the container, the space which holds all of the other elements within it. And, all elements originate from ether. It both holds and connects everything within it. When I contemplate that which holds us in practice and that which weaves us all together, I think of Ether.
When we come together to practice in the same space, we are participating in a continual exchange of energy. Whether we’re conscious of it or not, we are all contributing to our communal experience in that space of practice. We give and receive, without needing words. We're simply there and together.
Community is a foundational component of the practice of yoga. My teacher, Micheal Stone, shared a story about community with me, and I'd like to share it with you.
There was a seasoned meditation practitioner who went on a retreat with his teacher. He told his teacher at the beginning of retreat that he might not be able to stay and sit the whole time, because he had cancer, and he was in a lot of pain. His teacher told him to do whatever he needed to do to take care of himself, that he could leave the meditation hall or the entire retreat whenever he needed. At the end of the retreat he was still there, and his teacher came to him and asked him how he was feeling. He said that he was in a lot of pain, but the young man who sat next to him was so restless, that he decided to sit for him.
Even as I write this my eyes well up with tears of empathy, tenderness, and the sweetness of our human experience. We are all in this together, not separate, not alone. When we come together in community, we aren’t only practicing for ourselves, we’re practicing for those on the mat and cushion next to us, and those outside of the studio walls. This is the practice of yoga. The power of this practice lies within connection.
I am so grateful to be in community with you. Thank you for being here and being in community with me.