What gives you spiritual nourishment? And how do you get it on a regular basis?
Yoga has permeated Western culture. An ancient science and psychology coming to us from India over 5,000 years ago - some say longer - we have latched on to it and we are not letting go. For many, yoga has become a lifestyle. For others, it is something they have visited once or twice. It has informed and influenced everyone in the West and looped back around to its origins in India, creating a re-awakening to this practice.
“Do what makes you happy" - Krishna Das
Spiritual Community: What is it?
Yoga practice is life-enhancing, affirming, enriching and altering. Practicing at home is one way, but the other way - with others present and a teacher as guide - is granted the benefit of community. Spiritual community is something that is harder to find in today's world. Studies show that less people attend church than did 20 years ago. Social media exacerbates the isolation syndrome, and for many, the daily effects of living and working with people drives them into isolation during their down-time.
Taking part in a yoga class at the studio, the health club, or your work-site creates community. You share the intimacy with others by the act of breathing with awareness, of closing your eyes to focus on that breath awareness, and by the act of allowing another human to guide you through your body-sensation while in pose. These are spiritual acts. When we share these experiences with others in the same space, our hearts expand. We care more. We have a shared experience through the act of showing up and participating in an individual experience while in the presence of others who then become our witness; and we become theirs.
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