“As human beings, we are not meant to be alone. We are meant to share experiences to help each other with our pains and our celebrations. It's our group experience that allows us to deepen our own personal experiences.”
- Anne Cox
I am thrilled to share with you that we’re listening to something extraordinary today on the Curious Monki Podcast!
Instead of the usual interview style, I’ve actually collected wisdom from a group of experts to focus a discussion around community and connection…which is something that so many of us desire more of (and can benefit greatly from) in our lives!
The idea for this episode was inspired during a time of feeling a heavy feeling of divide. It’s been almost 2 years since the beginning of the pandemic and many people, including myself, have felt the effects of isolation and loneliness at least once during this whole ride.
Most recently, there’s been a heavy feeling of divide amongst different opinions around the best actions to take (travel vs. don’t travel; vaccinate vs. don’t vaccinate…). Within the strong emotional charge is a feeling of separateness… an “othering” like a “me against you” mentality. This feeling of divide really didn’t sit well with me and in trying to navigate this uncomfortable energy for myself, I came up with and answer: COMMUNITY!!
Yes! The opposite of separation is COMMUNITY. That’s where we find common ground in our humanity and open up with a willingness to see, hear and value each other. At the root of it, us humans desire connection with one another. We want to feel seen, heard, and valued for who we are.
Whenever I’ve experienced a great challenge in my life, the yoga mat is where I go to be held in sacred space where I can just be and feel safe even in my struggles. Specifically, I go to a yoga studio where I know that I’m welcomed just as I am - no fixing, no judgement, no prescribing…just loving space where I can be seen for everything that I am.
Today’s guests are yoga studio owners and/or yoga teachers from some of my favorite local Calgary YYC yoga studios! They have graciously shared their heartfelt experiences around being in and/or creating community, including a little about what it’s been like to run their yoga studios.
Listen to discover:
How community can help you find your authentic selves and higher purpose
3 important questions to ask yourself so that you can find the right kind of community for you
No man is an island. Both happiness and loneliness deserve to be shared since they are all integral human experiences.
In the midst of a pandemic, community and connection are helping businesses (like yoga studios) stay strong and afloat
Key Nuggets:
[00: 00- 14:44] Community, Connection and the Loneliness Crisis
[14: 45- 24:52] Seeing Ourselves within Each Other (Anne Cox of YogaMCC)
[24: 53-34: 19 ] Community For Accountability & Strength (Candace Cooke of Yoga Santosha)
[34: 20- 41: 01 ] Checking In With Your People (Kristin Jostad of Yoga Passage)
[41: 02- 50: 42 ] Community as a Healing Space (Kristine Murphy of Pure Hot Yoga)
[50: 43- 51: 50 ] How Do You Want to Feel?
[51: 51- 59:57 ] How do you want to be supported in community? 3 important questions to help you find the right community for you
Guests:
Anne Cox, Yoga MCC
Anne is the manager of YogaMCC. She began her yoga journey in 1997 to manage back pain and chronic headaches. Starting with restorative yoga classes, she found that the simplest poses could be the most profound. Anne certified herself as a yoga teacher in 2004 with the Southern Okanagan Yoga Association and RYT 500 hour with Yoga Alliance. Her speciality is yoga therapy, working with physical and emotional stress caused by illness, injury, and the pressures of everyday life.
Candace Cooke, Yoga Santosha
I opened Yoga Santosha in 2007 with my husband Alastair. I have been practicing yoga for about 25 years now and teaching for 21. It feels like I have been doing both for my whole life. I love teaching and leading yoga teacher training's as well as leading yoga retreats, especially in far off tropical locations. Our yoga community has kept us feeling connected to people throughout the pandemic and we are incredibly grateful to all who continue to join us either virtually or in person. We look forward to the day when we can all gather again without any restrictions.
Kristin Jostad, Passage Studios
Kristin is the owner of Yoga Passage, and Passage Studios. Often referred to as the Inner City Sweat Sanctuary, this hub fosters community, and a love for sweat therapy.
Kristin started her path to building her knowledge around strength and flexibility over 20 years ago. Her classes speak to connection to yourself, while strengthening the body, in turn elevating our own healing capacity to become clear vessels of possibility.
Kristine Murphy, Pure Hot Yoga
Kristine is the CEO & Founder of Pure Hot Yoga. Her journey into yoga began after taking her first hot yoga class to help with the constant pain she was experiencing from her years as an athlete. Going through the most difficult period of her life, she finally experienced the mental and spiritual side of yoga. She found that through yoga, she became more grounded, calmer and more focused. She became drawn to the practice for her mind, spirit, and being. It allowed her to live in the present and become a happier, more committed and centered person. Today she shares her passion and LOVE with others.
[00: 00- 14:44] Community, Connection and the Loneliness Crisis
• My realization of the power of community when I first started my entrepreneurial journey and realized what a lonely path it could be
o I wanted to find someone who was like-minded, understood my entrepreneurial journey, and be able to maybe support me without projecting their fears and uncertainties for me
o Finding a group of people that I could really lean on for support
o Developing the same type of support network when I started out as a life coach
• What many people who are in the wellness world has revealed to me as one of the major things they really aspire for
o Having a community and connection, a group of people they can brainstorm ideas together with and know what exactly they are going through
• How the pandemic added to the feelings of isolation, divisiveness, and loneliness among people
o According to Dr. Vivek Murthy, loneliness carries a stigma, and that people who feel lonely feel ashamed to admit it.
o There’s a feeling of great divide among people because of COVID19 (people are constantly debating whether getting the vaccine is a good idea or not) and that inspired me to start a conversation around community
What we want at the end of the day as human beings are to build connection with each other and feel belonging within a safe space.
Doing yoga and going to a yoga studio helped me get through the most challenging times of my life.
[14: 45- 24:52] Seeing Ourselves within Each Other (Anne Cox of YogaMCC)
· Anne Cox shares her beginnings at YogaMCC and how she felt supported and welcomed by the new community she belongs a community that feels like a second family
o Accepting oneself and accepting others are pivotal steps in becoming part of a community
o Practice together, learn together, and share together
o Being part of a community is having the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves
o Only through sharing our experiences, whether good or bad, can we practice empathy and compassion for others
· How the yoga community weathered the storm in a pandemic
o Finding creative ways to stay connected to the community was a way of stepping up when the pandemic hit
o Alter, adapt, and persevere
o Community is about to give and take. Supporting one another in the face of heightened fears and confusions.
o It is helpful to allow for differences among members of the community as each one of us is our own person
o The power of one becomes the power of many
· The world heals when we see ourselves in each other and we become compassionate with one another
[24: 53-34: 19 ] ] Community For Accountability & Strength (Candace Cooke of Yoga Santosha)
· Candace sees the beauty in being able to continue the activities of the yoga community amid the pandemic
o There is a sense of commitment among the members to continue what they have been doing in the past by finding their feet on the virtual platform
· Having the commitment to a certain community buoys people up to hold each other even stronger
o Committing yourself to something and sticking to that commitment makes you feel better
o Commitment helps us feel more connected, whole, and into the moment
o Personally, I feel more confident facing life's endeavors when I know someone or a group is rallying behind me and supporting my efforts to remain whole, connected, and present.
[34: 20- 41: 01 ] Check In With Your People (Kristin Jostad of Yoga Passage)
Kristin relates how she moved to Canada knowing just a single person and how the yoga community revolutionized her life
Kristin recounts that a sense of community allows her to have perspective over her obstacles
It serves as a catalyst for us to go beyond our own interests as we start showing up for other people
How can you check in with other members of the community? How would you like them to check in with you too?
[41: 02- 50: 42 ] Community as a Healing Space (Kristine Murphy of Pure Hot Yoga)
Kristine shares that she wanted to create not just a yoga studio but also a safe space for healing, sharing, opening up, and building friendships for and among people regardless of their backgrounds
She narrates the challenges of teaching yoga online during the initial lockdowns
How she overcame the isolating feeling of not being able to connect enough through the screen when teaching
Yoga is a mental health savior
Treating people in the community as her family
Anything is possible when there is support around.
[50: 43- 51: 50 ] How Do You Want to Feel?
How you feel determines whether you landed in the right community or not.
[51: 51- 59:57 ] How do you want to be supported in community? 3 important questions to help you find the right community for you
RESOURCES:
Join me for NYE Workshop: Create The Life You're Meant For at Passage Studios. Register HERE.
Book: Together, The healing power of human connection in a sometimes lonely world by Vivek Murthy
Podcast Episode: Vivek Murthy talks about Loneliness & Connection on Brene Brown’s podcast, Unlocking Us
Article: Interview with Vivek Murthy that I referred to
If you're looking for an all-in-one business platform to put your wellness brand online, use my link to get a special discount at one of the supporters for this podcast, Offering Tree: offeringtree.com/curious
Connect with today’s Guests:
Visit Anne Cox at Yoga MCC
Visit Candace Cooke at Yoga Santosha
Visit Kristin Jostad at Yoga Passage
Visit Kristine Murphy at Pure Hot Yoga
QUOTES:
“As human beings, we are not meant to be alone. We are meant to share experiences to help each other with our pains and our celebrations. It's our group experience that allows us to deepen our own personal experiences.” - Anne Cox
“There's this power in being around like-minded people.” - Veronica Thai
“We all want connection, to be seen, to be understood, to be heard, to be validated, and in communion with other human beings in a safe space. At the end of the day, we can all agree that that's something that we could benefit from if we had it in our lives, right. Community, not community to create a bigger divide, not community to justify our stance, but more of a peaceful community to be seen.” - Veronica Thai
“When you commit to a community, you also commit more deeply to yourself.” - Candace Cooke
“Word of mouth is more powerful than any ad.” - Kristin Jostad
“It’s during the hardest, most challenging times we grow the most.” - Kristine Murphy
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