Extending beyond the concept of a group of people in a proximity of space, community is a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.

I came to the SamYoga community at a time when I had lost my sense of self to all the things in life that can get in the way: kids, work, relationships that felt like work, and feeling limited in time and resources.  I had forgotten to be present in myself.  A friend/client/peer/colleague/neighbor (I honestly can’t remember which hat she wore first) referred me to Janice George and assured me that Janice’s class was exactly where I needed to be.  She was right. While it took me a few years to listen and actually show up to class and for myself, I have known well since I first arrived that this was right and I was exactly where I needed to be.  I instantly felt welcomed, accepted, and like I mattered and belonged.  I remembered.

As I continued to come to the mat over the years, I watched the SamYoga community grow and watched the interweaving of the web of community.  Community at SamYoga is about Saturday potluck lunches made by the community and enjoyed together and the inevitable sharing of recipes that follow. It is about family group time that supports that ‘got your back’ feeling.  It is about being at a workshop and meeting up with friends you had not seen in years or being surprised to see someone  you know from some other place or time. It is about taking a yoga class with community and taught by community.  It is about needing a yoga sub and being one, too.  It is about having a place to say, “hey, what do you think about that?” and receiving a wide variety of fabulous responses.  It is about laughing and crying together,  working and playing together, living and learning together.  In the times when we are apart, it is the feeling when coming back together that we had never been separated.   It is about knowing that at any time when you need it, this community has got your back.

While we each come from different places, we share good intentions.  We are a community of students and teachers of yoga and of life: moms and dads, daughters and sons, nieces and nephews.  We are nannies, nurses, counselors and therapists.  We are arborists, artists, chefs and gardeners.  We are firefighters, trainers, IT, RNs, LMTs.  The list is endless.  We serve our country, serve our community, volunteer time, and shine our own light, wherever and whatever that may be.   We extend beyond Columbus and beyond Ohio.  Our community is Chicago, Tennessee, Florida, Colorado, California and extends beyond that to Canada and India. As our community grows and grows, the world seems smaller and more welcoming.  Remember that when you root into community, you do not lose yourself.  Instead, you allow for a deepening of self. Much gratitude to the community, to all teachers before me and the all teachers who will follow.

Walk in light, walk in love, and remember that you never, ever walk alone.

Shanti,

Emily