04 November 2019 / Uncategorized / Tags: , , , , / By Julia / 42 comments

I spent last weekend on a Yoga retreat and had a very deep feeling of connectedness and community during my stay. Positive Relationships are one of the 5 PERMA pillars for wellbeing and flourishing by Martin Seligman. And during the weekend I was strongly reminded of why this is so.

Firstly, I felt that during our group meditation with chanting we created a powerful energy as a group. I could feel the presence of the other people in the room and I could also hear and feel the energy of their singing. I felt it carry me and surround me with security, purity and love.

Second, I had numerous deep and interesting conversations. Part of those were with people I already knew, others with people who I hadn´t spoken to before. We had deep talks with lots of thinking, understanding, tears and laughter.

Third, coming together to take some time off, to slow down, to practice Yoga together, to nourish body, mind and soul – to have a common reason to be there, made us be open and willing to connect.

I think, that in our hectic and stressful world, we have lost many opportunities to create positive relationships and a community. The result is that we feel disconnected, lonely and fearful. We lose the ability to open our hearts and feel like no one understands us. The other day I spoke to a friend who has just joined an open choir in order to sing with other people. This choir already consists of over 400 people who meet weekly in order to sing and dance together. This shows that we flourish when we are together and that music connects us even more. There is a need in us to build positive relationships and whenever we don´t do that, it is against our nature.

This past weekend I felt how strong positive relationships can be. It gives us so much on many different levels. I feel very thankful for people like my Yoga teacher Annika and the orga team of the choir, who have visions of how to bring people together in a nourishing environment and make them connect.

Being connected to others is our nature. You are not separate. What can you do to connect to other beings and build a community? Try it, it will lift you up – and BE YOUR BEST SELF!