In the cold winter months we can be prone to despondency, with the dark nights and January and February seeming to drag. We even dubbed it “Joyful January” in the Studio as a small effort to address this tendency. There is a lot of advice on New Year’s Resolutions and how to do better.
The Iyengar Community
However, for me, the best way through is a sense of community. And I belong to a huge community and if you practice Iyengar Yoga, then so do you. Iyengar Yoga is the most widely practiced yoga in the world. But what marks it out as special is that wherever you go in the world, if you attend an Iyengar Yoga class you will be taught by well-trained teachers and will meet like-minded people. We have welcomed Iyengar students from all over the world to Cheshire Yoga – Singapore, Ireland and the US to name a few. And they were able to slot into class with no problems. Equally, we have recommended teachers to our students all over the country and world. This is echoed in Ronelle’s yoga story from Manchester to South Africa and back again.
The benefits of Community
A sense of community has proven benefits – improving mental health, reducing stress and providing emotional support along side the more obvious benefits of having fun, meeting people and having a sense of shared interest. When we set up Cheshire Yoga we were really keen to create a community. Amongst the teachers, as we are generally self-employed, and so having a space to come together and share learning is vitally important. Equally we wanted to create a sense of community with our students. We have sought to foster that environment with our friendly, welcoming classes, with our trips to the coffee shop after class, with Saturday Social Yoga, with Book Club and the Christmas and Summer events. And this has paid dividends with friendships forged. And what is the most common reply when there is a bit of chat in class – “we were talking about the yoga” !! We are ell enjoying a shared love of yoga and at the same time, enjoying the benefits which yoga brings.
So whether it is Iyengar Yoga or something else, seek out those that share your interest and reap the positives from being part of a community.