Benefits of Yoga
In yoga we might call it satsang. In Buddhism we might call it sangha. It’s the community–the spiritual community. One of the biggest benefits of practicing yoga at the Newburgh Yoga Shala is the sense of community it fosters. When we practice with others a sense of belonging emerges, accompanied by a spirit of sharing and an opportunity to relate to one another. Whether you enter the studio and start chatting with your fellow yogis or if you enter and never say a word, you are participating in or practicing with a community and gaining from the benefits of the collective. Without even saying a word, our bodies are relating to one another.
The current surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, has been really outspoken on the epidemic of loneliness in the US. His report on loneliness highlights some of the following (mindblowing) statistics:
Lacking social connection can increase the risk for premature death as much as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.
Approximately half of U.S. adults report experiencing loneliness, with some of the highest rates among young adults.
In 2018, only 16% of Americans reported that they felt very attached to their local community.
We’re so lucky and privileged to be able to have this space and sense of community when we practice yoga at NYS. It may not feel like it but when we show up and practice we are building this sense of community and mitigating the effects of this widespread epidemic of loneliness.
I have two ideas of what is happening when we practice together:
On the physical level, mirror neurons in our brains activate when we see each other practice and when we move in unison. The activation of these neurons creates a sense of connection and empathy, a way that our brains can empathically attune to each other.
On the subtle body level, our prana impacts each other. My energy can affect your energy when we share the same space. I think we’ve all experienced someone else’s energy shift our own.
Resma Menakam, the author of My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies, writes, “Our bodies guide and follow other bodies. A settled nervous system encourages other nervous systems to settle. This is why a calm settled presence can create room for a multitude of possibilities and become the foundation for changing the world.” We come together and practice in community. We settle our bodies together. And we create the possibility of changing the world together. That’s quite powerful.
I say this a lot because I like to believe that it’s true: Thich Nhat Hahn said that the next Buddha may be a sangha. The next awakened one might just be the community. I like to believe in the power of community in creating our individual and collective liberation.
A blog post by Jacquie Brown. Jacquie teaches on Tuesdays at 9:30am you can join her in person or virtually.