Yoga – to make the world a better place

Yoga is sexy! It was once considered an esoteric relaxation method and has since become an integral part of our Instagram feeds. If you like to enjoy deep relaxation in interesting poses, you aren’t just doing something good for your health, but boosting your number of followers too! Yoga is very photogenic!

But the most important aspect of yoga is its healing power. Whether for mental stress, physical tension or fitness, it’s a good solution for many physical and mental ailments. There are numerous reasons why yoga is good for you and the positive effects on the body and mind have been proven by numerous studies.

But yoga is more than a trend. It’s a “battery recharge” and maybe even has the potential to benefit the entire world.

For 5 years, on World Yoga Day (International Yoga Day on Sunday, June 21), yogi practitioners worldwide come together to celebrate yoga teachings. So we asked ourselves what would a world look like where everybody practices yoga and meditates regularly?

The yoga teachers have joined forces during lockdown to give a voice to over 100 yoga schools in Stuttgart under the hashtag #wirsindyoga. In an open letter to Susanne Eisenmann (CDU), Minister of Culture and Sport, Ralf and Oz documented the value of traditional yoga practice for body and mind and used scientific hygiene concepts to demonstrate the safe reopening of yoga studios.

In doing so, Ralf and Oz demonstrated what yoga has always been about since it’s birth 5,000 years ago. “Yoga has always been about recognizing our true nature, connecting with our consciousness – and thus with all people and all beings in this world,” says Ralf, explaining the philosophy behind it.

Great challenges in our current climate

With social isolation playing a big part in everyday life, many of us are feeling more restless and stressed than ever before. Even if public life is slowly getting back on track, the future remains uncertain.

Of course you can’t fight viruses with relaxation techniques and meditation, but yoga plays an important role in finding and maintaining inner peace and reduced stress means a stronger immune system. As soon as you are able to become present, it is easier to detach from what is happening around you which is mentally strengthening.

“True happiness and true contentment, which is one of the most important teachings of yoga, we do not find in the outward appearance, not in material things, but only in ourselves. And out of this awareness we feel not only an ever increasing connectedness, but also a responsibility towards all people and living beings.”

Finding contentment within

Techniques you learn in yoga or meditation lead you inward, and this is the key to a more mindful and conscious life that isn’t influenced by external circumstances and material things.

“In many ways, yoga helps to cultivate the mentality of lightness and balance, not only as a result of the vibrancy we feel after practicing our daily asanas, but also through the philosophy that serves as the foundation for our practice,” Oz says.

Strengthening the collective consciousness through yoga

The Sanskrit term “Kula” translates to “flock”, “family” or “community” in India.  This concept plays an important role in the history of yoga, because yogic practice is always about the development of the individual in connection with the whole. As we can see on World Yoga Day, yoga brings people all over the world together to create that Kula feeling.

According to Ralf and Oz, yoga practice can contribute to building a healthier and more stable society in the post-Corona era. “In some yoga classes the energy is almost palpable. The students experience an intensity of practice that they never reach if they perhaps practice at home with a video. They are literally carried through the hour. Call it energy or collective consciousness, but whatever it is, it’s something that connects us all.”

More yoga for humanity

Yoga is an inspiring sport that can be practiced regardless of age. It brings the body into shape through relaxing sequences and helps bring order and focus to jumbled thoughts.

Yoga teaches mindfulness which brings the human being as a whole back into harmony. “More people should do yoga to strengthen both our individual and collective health and to develop a deeper awareness that begins with each individual,” Oz says.

Through increased mindfulness, we can live in a world of inclusiveness rather than exclusivity – a world where people connect rather than disconnect.

So yoga and meditation don’t just benefit us as individuals, they also make the world a better place.

If you want to find the right yoga class for you, have a look at our website or app and discover new styles of yoga and meditation.