A Letter from Kia – The truth of Inter-being
“For the awakening heart, supporting the practice of those around us is just as important as our own individual path - because the two are entirely interdependent.”
Dearest Mysore Yoga Paris Sangha,
How are you? How are you taking care of yourself? How are you holding where we are now?
This week marks one year since we moved our community to our Borderless Online Shala. I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge how long we have been in this situation of navigating a pandemic. How we have all had to jump onto our respective pandemic life boats and push off from the shore of familiarity, routines & safety.
A year ago when we had to close our physical Shala over night, I was with my extended community in Glasgow giving a remembrance weekend for my friend Rosina who had recently passed away. Nicolas was holding our space in Paris, and I remember texting back and forth from my Airbnb in Glasgow about how to manage all the safety precautions and finally having no choice but to close. Little did any of us know that part from one Mysore Intensive week, we still have not been able to come back together in this space.
It´s difficult to put into words how I feel about it all.
Initially there was real sense of groundlessness and loss. And I continue to miss being physically together. It breaks my heart each time I have to move another date for a workshop, retreat or training - which for me is an almost weekly event.
“Personally, this evolution has been one of the richest, most meaningful connections that I have ever experienced through my years of yoga.”
But for those who have followed us online, this has also opened up a whole new dimension of what a Shala and Sangha is and can do. Personally, this evolution has been one of the richest, most meaningful connections that I have ever experienced through my years of yoga.
Teachings and practices have been shared on a deeply integral level, far beyond what the Mysore form allows. New friendships have been made, and ideas shared around all aspects of practice, from asana, pranayama and philosophy to mindfulness and meditation. Over weeks and months the teachings have been marinated, processed and explored, and practitioners evolved towards deeper and more refined layers of understanding and connection. A diverse, global community has blossomed beyond time-zones and physical locations.
“If it´s one thing that this pandemic has taught us, it is insight into our fundamental interconnectedness.
That nothing and no one exist in a vacuum.”
This has been a revelation for me, how it is even possible that something so transformational and authentic can be experienced on an online platform.
Our Borderless Sangha has grown like a lotus flower out of the muddiest of waters: a pandemic. For many of us it has become a life raft, a refuge on this wide open sea of uncertainty.
If it is one thing that this pandemic has taught us, it is insight into our fundamental interconnectedness. That nothing and no one exist in a vacuum. Understanding our shared experience comes of course with much personal responsibility, but also with great possibility. The possibility to allow these very circumstances to be the grounds for real connection, compassion and growth.
“The path of yoga is not only a individual path, it is also a communal one. How we grow as individuals is integral to how we thrive as communities - and vice versa.”
The path of yoga is not only an individual path, it is also a communal one. How we grow as individuals is integral to how we thrive as communities - and vice versa. We can choose whether to take an individualistic approach to practice, or one of connection. The outlook of Yoga, and also of the Buddha is always coming from one of connection, interdependence - or what Thich Nath Hahn calls Inter-Being.
Coming into alignment with a way of living that is based on the truth of our life together, opens us up to real compassion for ourselves, and for others - in its deepest sense.
Inter-Beingness is another word for Borderless. It is our Wholeness. For the awakening heart, supporting the practice of those around us is just as important as our own individual path - because the two are entirely interdependent.
With all my Love and Devotion
/kia x
Paris March 2021