Finding the Light... | The journey of cultivating community

For the month of February, we are featuring moments of LOVE, COMMUNITY, & BALANCE. You might be wondering, how do we actually build community? Read our latest opinion piece by our Full-Time Teacher, Tanya.
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Hudson Lights, New Jersey Multi-Family Residential

Community has been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember. Since the day I left home at the age of 18 to pursue a career in dance, I have been traveling the globe in search of my community.

​Landing in New York was a start after years on the road with the touring production of Lion King, but I quickly found myself feeling like many do in the city of dreams… very lonely while being squished between strangers on the subway and living on top of each other in apartment buildings.

A little back story
I remember going to a charity event called Gypsy of the Year for Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids and instantly wanting to be a part of a very intimidating and elite group of artists who work on Broadway.

After a lot of hard work and dedication, I was able to accomplish just that with over a decade long career on the stage. It was the sense of belonging to the Broadway community, the connections and friendships that sustained me through the demanding lifestyle of a performer.

Throughout it all I have always been drawn to groups of people who share a common passion and purpose.

​Throughout my career as a dancer and performer, yoga was exactly that. I could keep my body in shape and injury free while having a familial aspect that came from going to the same studio weekly.

One New York Plaza, NY

Embracing Change
​In April 2013, I had my daughter and a lot of things started to naturally shift and change. I didn't have time to take yoga classes and work 6 days a week. I was juggling being a mom, a wife, auditioning and performing. The sense of community that I found with my broadway peers was shifting and I was looking for a community that reflected more of who I was as a new mother and an artist.  

That's the funny thing about communities.

We change, and by nature, our communities change as well.

After many years on the stage, I decided to step back and begin what felt like the biggest transition in my life to date.
I met a yoga teacher and mentor who began to show me yoga as more than a practice but a way of life. Although I had a very strong practice, becoming a teacher had never been of interest to me.

After meeting and working with her, I decided to start training with her and to finally become a yoga teacher. At this point my daughter was 3 years old and becoming a little more independent.

Not long after graduating from my 200-hr Teacher Training, I met ,Evelyn, who ran a yoga class at a women's shelter in midtown called the Dwelling Place.

As part of my seva project for my training (seva meaning service in Sanskrit), I was excited to work with these women and learn from their community as well as leading them in the healing power of yoga.

hOM is pushing the envelope and encouraging people to commune, be healthy and share space together.
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Finding my way hOM
Evelyn quickly told me about a company that she works with called hOM and lets just say the rest is history/herstory.

I have been a teacher with hOM for the past 6 month and love the fact that my job is to create a sense of community through New York City with yoga!

Going into residential buildings and corporate companies has been a joy.

There is something special about yoga studios but the benefit of meeting people literally where they are is the gift of building community where there may not have otherwise been one.

You can ride the elevator with your co-worker or neighbor for years and never say more than “hi, how are you?”
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hOM is pushing the envelope and encouraging people to commune, be healthy and share space together.

A view from the (GW) bridge
I have to highlight one of my favorite communities that I teach for with hOM.
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A kids fit yoga class at Hudson Lights in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

When I first started teaching there we did not have a kids class, but very quickly the adult classes were being filled with parents and their kids who excitedly wanted to join in the fun.

The kids wanted an opportunity to work out and get together as well.

Hudson Lights has a beautiful common space where the kids often meet after school and hang out. All ages playing together, from Bella (18 months) to Aamir (9 year old). 

I was so inspired by them that I took the idea to hOM and quickly we had a kids class on the schedule.

I even bring my daughter (5 years old) every week and she now has a new set of friends that she looks forward to practicing yoga and hanging out with weekly.

The (Hudson) Light in me...
We start each class with a question. Here are few conversations that we have at the beginning of class one day:

Me: “What do you notice/feel when I ring the chimes?
Student: “when you ring the chimes I notice the music in the room getting louder”
Me: That's interesting, because you are listening closely for the chime everything else gets louder as well!

Me: How does it feel to sit very quietly?
Student: It was making me calm

Me: Why do you like doing yoga with your friends in your building?
Student: I like to be peaceful and stretch a lot, and it's fun with my friends!
Student: I like yoga to be strong!
Student: I like yoga in my building because I have the same friend in my class at school, in my yoga class in my building and we live on the same floor!
Student: you know, to get buffed up or something! Hahahaha!
Student: you didn't say why YOU like teaching yoga!
Me: I like teaching yoga because I love to build community and teach people about their bodies and come to cool places like this and meet all of you.

Me: Today we are going to pick an imaginary flower and tell the class what it looks like and smells like.
Student: my flower is a dandelion and it smells like the future!
Student: mine is a rose and it smells like mint!
Student: mine is a rainbow rose and it smells like coconut and grapefruit
StudenT:Mine flower looks like everything inside the universe and smells like everything inside the universe!

Chime Time
​We sit in criss/cross applesauce with their ok fingers on our laps. I ring the chime and they close their eyes and listen closely until they hear the sound of the vibration fade.

Once they do they quietly put their “ok” fingers in the air and settle in as we start the class.

We also begin with a game (frog, frog butterfly or musical mats) and then some Sun Salutations.

We then pick a theme for the week (Moana/warrior class is often a favorite) and I allow the kids to come up with a few poses.

I also add in some more traditional ones as well. Then to allow them to get the poses into their bodies, we play “yogi says” (ala Simon says)  and make it an exciting way for them to remember the postures while still having fun (basically tricking them into memorizing them).

We close with chime time again and repeat together the meaning of namaste.

Instead of using the sanskrit which can be confusing we repeat to each other, “the light in me honors the light in you”. 

This group of kids have so much to teach me and I feel honored to be a part of their community.

Sometimes the parents will plan a pizza party or group hang after class. The kids excitedly spill out into the kids room/ common area energized from class.

It has become more than just a yoga class, it has become a sense of family and a safe space for the kids in the building to grow and learn together.
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Similar to what I have found in my personal yoga practice, we are creating a way of being, together in community.

It has become more than just a yoga class, it has become a sense of family and a safe space for the kids in the building to grow and learn together.

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If you're interested in Kids Community Classes or want to speak directly to Tanya feel free to
reach out to us! 

Tanya Birl

Tanya is an instructor for hOM as well as a freelance writer, facilitator, choreographer and movement director. Through her organization SoHumanity, Tanya holds space for courageous conversations that stand at the intersection of embodiment, Social-Justice and Art.