I just returned from the YMCA in Estes Park, Co. Wow is it dry up there! My nose and skin are still recovering. I was a presenter at the magazine Yoga Journal’s Game Changers conference. Organized by Seane Corn and her Off the Mat non-profit organization, the Game Changers conference aimed to support and foster yoga practitioners in becoming leaders in the quest for social justice. Basically this meant confronting and processing the train wreck of inequality that is human perception, human systems, and human institutions. Needless to say, this was an intense and emotional conference.
How do you support an agenda like that? How do you support people who are stepping up and into their lives to help human culture heal what is an unspeakable complicit injury in all of us? More than that, how do you help people step forward into a culture that is systematically and unconsciously committed to denying such truths? This was the task of the Game Changers conference. In some ways, we were successful and in some ways we were not. But isn’t that always the case?
Deepening the meaning and purpose of our lives is a profoundly personal task. It’s scary and gut wrenching and vulnerable. It is much easier to follow the way things have always been, to not question what we have culturally inherited. Working for change means swimming upstream. Sometimes it means feeling lost and lonely and unsure. It can also mean absorbing distain, judgment, and ridicule. But it’s also worth it. There is an indescribable feeling of rawness and hope that is often earned by tears. There is a feeling from inside-to-out that something matters. The feeling is priceless.
Each of us needs to step into our lives, whatever that might be. Social justice may not be your thing. Find something, find anything outside of yourself and work for it…care for it…help it find expression in this world. In this endeavor, I hope you find support. I hope you find community. I hope you also learn how to support others in their quest for more meaningful expression.
This finally brings me to the point of this blog. The photo above was a particularly touching moment in the Game Changers conference. It was the morning of the last day. Participants had already been put through the ringer – broken wide open through the practice of yoga, accepting the injurious disempowerment propagated by our culture, and feeling the uncertainty of choosing to do something about it. In this moment of fatigue and inspiration, participants walked in a connected line and spiraled their way into a series of interlocking circles. Everyone kneeled and put their hands behind their neighbor’s heart – an action that connected the whole group. They leaned back into a modified version of camel pose, a very invigorating backbend that deeply opens one’s chest skyward. At first, many people felt a little goofy and embarrassed. But then they felt it – collective, connected support in the journey ahead.
Looking from the sidelines, the pattern resembled a flower. It was beautiful as chests opened to the empty space of the room. The relief was tangible and well earned. As I felt the power of the moment, I wept silently and asked myself – why don’t we support each other in ways better than we do? Why don’t we allow a little goofiness, allow ourselves to venture a little out of our comfort zones, and feel support from others through both mind and body. This shared moment was a highlight of the conference. I needed it. I suspect you do too.