Yoga From the Inside Out: Response 4

Being part of a group can also help to mirror back to us our greatness. If we are a part of a group that is committed to seeing what is possible in us rather than simply what might be showing up in our personality or body at the moment, then the group serves as a transformational function, not simply a social one (128)

I definitely relate to this idea of the group serving to motivate us to practice better yoga. When I am reading all the class blogs, I am motivated by other students practicing and improving on poses in their own time. In class, when another person finally gets a pose, like headstand or shoulder stand, I see that it is possible to get there at some point. Seeing other classmates’ progress is encouraging for me and proves that the process actually works. Another example is when I am in some pose, like downward dog, and Dr. Schultz says that my pose is coming along very well, I am motivated to keep working on it. 

I liked what Sell wrote about the word “Tantra” in thinking about a group dynamic,

Tantra can be defined as ‘looming together or a weaving together’ Tan- means ‘to stretch’ or ‘to expand,’ while tra- means ‘to integrate.’ This definition of tantra can be used as a metaphor for discussing spiritual community (133-134)

Threads weaving together to make a stronger and more beautiful piece of fabric. This reminded me of my high school cross country team. We each had a “stick” (it was actually a 1/2 inch wide wooden pole rod) that we would decorate and write our names on. We brought our stick to each practice to remember that all the sticks together are stronger than one stick alone. You could easily snap one stick in half, but with more than a few in your hand, they were difficult to break. We used this as a reminder that even though running was technically an “individual” sport, we still needed each other to become stronger and better runners. 

Even though yoga is technically an “individual” practice, it is hard to make much progress with out the help of others. That said, I am grateful for our class and the environment that we have created where we encourage each other and help one another get better at poses.