Building connection, one “like” at a time
Yoga means "to yoke", to connect. We use the practice of yoga to connect to our individual selves, to bring about self-awareness. In Yogic philosophy, the Niyama Svadhyaya means "study to understand the Self". It asks us to reflect on the questions "Who am I?", "What is my purpose in life?"
Equally important is how a yoga practice can be a way to connect to community. During the pandemic, most of us weren’t able to practice side by side with others. We lost the solace and renewal that came from sharing space with our favorite teachers in weekly classes. Our sanghas—opportunities to gather with like-minded, spiritually focused people—suddenly felt at risk of disappearing completely.
When faced with a challenge—especially a challenge that creates disconnection and disenfranchisement—I’ve always been the type to search for solutions.
When I was in first grade, my class wasn’t allowed to leave the school to cross Amsterdam Avenue during recess. That meant the penny candy store was out of bounds. But since second graders were allowed to leave school property (oh the 60s!), I saw an opportunity….
I strategized and created a community. I gathered up the first graders and we pooled our money. We somehow convinced some second graders to go buy candy for us. We called it The Candy Club. I'm not sure what was in it for the second graders, maybe we gave them a cut of our candy? At any rate, I recall the feeling of being in my element organizing people for some type of positive outcome.
A theme through my various lives as restaurant manager, caterer, fundraising event organizer, yoga instructor, and now Strong Bones enthusiast is exactly that: manifesting connection and nurturing community. I created the Strong Bones Challenge Facebook group in 2020. In only 3 years, it’s grown to over 23k women in pursuit of strong bones through movement, diet, and lifestyle changes.
Every month, I share a specific challenge with the group that’s designed to be—you guessed it—challenging, but also scalable and accessible. Some of our recent challenges included:
The hip CARs challenge, where we brought controlled articular rotations of the hip into daily routines to build better hip mobility
The sit-to-stand challenge where everyone worked on getting up and down (from the floor, or a higher surface) without using our hands
Tree pose challenge to increase our opportunities for improving balance
The Step-it-Up challenge where we aimed to use the stairs wherever possible instead of elevators and escalators
A deadlift challenge to help everyone get more comfortable lifting weights with a strong, neutral spine
If you haven’t joined the group yet, consider this your official invitation. Once you join us, be sure to introduce yourself. I look forward to cheering on your progress with each challenge!
Susannah