All for one: Although yoga is a practice of going deep inside the self, it is also a way to foster a sense of community with others and to help those in need. One group, Yoga Gembira, is organizing an event to help victims of the West Sumatra earthquake. Courtesy of Tim Jahja
Yoga may be a practice of going deep inside yourself, one that encourages you to nurture a space for silence and be at peace with solitude, but in its modern-day practice, it has also proven an effective means to foster a sense of community.
Through yoga, people can meet other likeminded people on the path of spiritual development, or those who just appreciate the physical aspects of yoga.
Yoga communities are thriving in many parts of the world and very often they are a mix of a social clubs and charitable groups.
These groups raise money and awareness around issues close to their hearts, from green living — such as buying fair-trade products, supporting sustainable industries and incorporating eco-friendly choices in products — to taking part in community service.
This has a root in the philosophy of seva, the Sanskrit word for selfless service, which is a core tenet of the karma yoga or the yoga of action.
Some yoga studios even incorporated seva as part of their regular activities, coordinating volunteer activities to help the poor.
One of the most prominent of the yoga groups is the nonprofit Seva Foundation, founded by some yogis and philanthropists in 1978 to build a partnership to respond to local problems with culturally sustainable solutions throughout the world.
Seva Foundation’s projects in Tibet, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Tanzania, Mexico and Guatemala have given back sight to more than two million blind people through surgery, self-sufficient eye-care systems and low-cost manufacturing of intraocular lenses
Their other projects included helping to set up the Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai, India, and diabetes prevention programs and grants for indigenous peoples of North America.
More recently, some internationally renowned yoga teachers have established the Global Mala Yoga for Project, which is less a formal organization than a movement of collective practices for better consciousness and good cause.
Tapping into the power of meditation in action, the movement united yoga communities throughout the world from various schools or approaches to form a mala or a prayer bead around the earth by practicing 108 rounds of suryanamakara (sun salutations) in their own events. (The number 108 is considered sacred in the Indian religious traditions because it is the number of beads in the mala and the number of Upanishads or sacred Vedic texts).
Each Global Mala Yoga for Peace event can be dedicated to seva service by integrating local actions, raising funds for the organizations or causes of their choice.
In Jakarta, where yoga is gaining popularity, a few yoga communities have grown over the years. Mostly informal, these groups organize yoga classes and workshops, inviting local or foreign teachers in workshops.
One of them is Yoga Gembira, or the Social Yoga Club, which organizes cheap yoga classes to anyone interested. The group sets aside for charity 20 percent of the money it collects, and participants are encouraged to bring in their used clothes or food supplies to be distributed to the poor.
Another of these “accidental groupings” is the self-proclaimed “yogaholics”, a group of people
in South Jakarta with a passion for yoga.
Last week’s earthquake in West Sumatra has prompted these groups to be of service to the victims. They are planning a fundraising Yoga Mala event on Saturday Oct. 10 for the disaster victims.
The event, called “Yoga Mala — Care & Love for West Sumatra 2009”, is open for everyone, not just yoga practitioners. But those who do take part in the yoga practice will perform 108 rounds of suryanamaskara (sun salutations) led by nine instructors from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. There will be a brunch afterward courtesy of the host Tim Jahja.
The event will take place in Gudang Gambar, the residence of Tim and his sister Mona, in Jl. Antasari, South Jakarta. Participants are suggested to donate a minimum of Rp 100,000 or more; they can also bring items to put in the boxes of donations that will be provided at the event.
All the proceeds will be donated to the earthquake victims in West Sumatra. Yoga Gembira has also pledged to donate all its proceeds from the upcoming class to disaster victims.
The “yogaholics” have already donated blankets and bolsters they normally used as yoga props to victims in displacement camps. They are also coordinating with other aid centers to help those who want to channel their contribution.
Tim said that having practiced together with other yogis, they found that their passion for yoga extended beyond the mat.
“We’ve always wanted to be of service to others — this is the perfect time to act on that,” he said.
Indeed, more than bending to reach your toes, or standing upside down on your head, this is a bigger practice of yoga. Namaste.
If you’re interested in joining the Yoga Mala event or if you want to donate to the quake victims, contact me at dasmaran@indo.net.id and I will forward your email to the organizer.
The writer is a yoga practitioner and teacher. Yoga Connection is a regular column on all things yoga, appearing every second week in the Body & Soul section. For questions and comments, please email her at
dasmaran@indo.net.id.
