I attended an awesome rocking yoga class when I was in San Francisco for a conference a few years back. There was live music, high positive energy, a heated room and a challenging workout. I enjoyed it so much I make it a point to attend the owner's class whenever I am in San Francisco. It is called Urban Flow.
The first night I attended I didn't know a single soul in the room. I am a friendly person and started to chat with those on the mats around me as we awaited the start of class. But, I really appreciated it when the instructor put a "shout out" to get up and move about the room and get to know someone you haven't met before. I got up and started walking about three rows back - catching the smile of a lovely young lady and sat down to get to know here. She ended up walking to and riding the train partway back home with me. We were in a part of town that one doesn't typically want to walk around in by yourself late at night so it was comforting to have someone that knew the area to travel with for the journey back to my hotel. I keep in touch with her and let her know whenever I return to the Bay Area.
That simple encouragement to get to know someone new can create a lifelong friend or a moment of brightness in a lonely day for someone.
I want my yoga classes to continue to grow as a community. Members generally talk freely with those around them and their friends - but I want to encourage them to reach out even more - especially to those that might be trying yoga for the first time and may need some encouragement. I think I will try the Urban Flow request tomorrow in class.
Where can you create greater community in your work or personal life?
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It was interesting that the sermon in church today covered this very topic - creating a welcoming community - hospitality - paying attention to others. The priest told a story about a man who wore a hat to a church - and it was against the rules. He was approached by a number of people about it. He remarked that he had been coming to that church for three years and no one had approached him until that day when he broke the rules by wearing the hat. The priest reminded us to connect with others - a story with a great point.
ReplyDeleteI tried it and it was a great success. The room was buzzing and people were moving about introducing themselves to people they hadn't met before.
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