What Yoga thought me about Community Management
Sangha (meaning community in Sanskrit) plays a massive role for anyone going on their spiritual journey. In yoga philosophy, community is an inseparable part of all teachings, practices, and experiences — in a community we grow, we find each other and we heal
During my yoga teacher training, I gained a new vision on how powerful and life-changing communities can be when we go beyond the numbers, objectives and conversions. Yoga can provide us a different perspective about community management even if when we are not practicing it — all the we need is to look wider and be open for the messages we can learn.
1. Seasonality and cycles
We observe nature daily. Nature goes through many phases: the sun rises and sets every day, the moon moves through a 28-day cycle; seasons change, and with them all flora and fauna. We as human beings also change even through every single breath.
So, how can we use these cycles in our communities? We can observe in what season our members are, and what life phase they are navigating through and adjust our activities accordingly. The changes that are happening privately for each member will reflect in their behavior in the community so we have to respect that and provide the appropriate support.
Some writing prompts to reflect on:
What is the winter in my community? What do my members need this season?
What is the spring in my community? What do my members need this season?
What is the summer in my community? What do my members need this season?
What is the autumn in my community? What do my members need this season?
Are there any transitions between different phases? What do my members need then?
2. Elements of Nature
Yogis work a lot with nature and its five elements: earth, water, fire, air, and space. These elements not only build our human body and physical reality; they also represent different states of our being and of our surroundings. By reflecting on them, we can move from disbalance to a more harmonious state. And we can apply the same to our communities.
We can start introducing different activities and content to our community members that support different elements:
Earth - stands for stability, security, balance, and grounding. Here we can provide members the space to take care of themselves by introducing some self-care practices and time for connecting with nature. These can be activities like gardening, walking in nature, going to a massage, or working out.
Water - stands for creativity, sensuality, and fluidity. Here we can include some creative activities and content that invites members to be more playful and connect to their inner child. Also, water represents our emotions so community activities can focus on vulnerability, sharing, and inviting introspection (i.e. journaling).
Fire - stands for passion, transformation, and desire. Here we can set some goals with our community members and ask them to focus on things they are working on. We can hold Show and Tells or sessions where members give each other feedback. Giveaways and monthly challenges can also keep the fire alive for members who need some support to start working on their ideas.
Air - stands for communication, inspiration, and expansion. Air is the first element we don’t see but mostly feel, so here we can ask the members to think about their wishes and desires, the things they want to do in the future. Also, communication is very important for the air element, so organizing some networking events or grouping members into peer buddies can help them strengthen the connection to this element.
Space - stands for consciousness, and being. Space is the element that includes everything in itself and that’s why it is always present. When it comes to community, managers, and professionals in the space should ask themselves how they are holding space for their members. But here we can also ask members to reflect on how they are showing up in the spaces we create — are they present, are they respectful and are they authentic?
We can find the five elements in every single community — it’s our job as community managers to balance them and to play with the mix between them.
3. Letting go of Ego
As a community professional, I often struggle with my own expectations of what the community needs and wants. In this space, we all are trying to do our best so that our members are feeling happy, supported, and seen. Thus, we tend to do too much and to overcomplicate our work by chasing bigger goals.
Yoga teaches us to be grateful and satisfied for what we have right now, in every single present moment. To take a pause and reflect on how much we achieved and how much we already have. And sometimes, we forget to do this and we blame ourselves when our content for the community is not performing the way we want. In these cases, we need to really ask ourselves: Is this coming from my Ego and the desire to do more, or from my heart and the desire to love and help?
By letting go of our own expectations and Ego, we actually create the most authentic experience for our members. Then, what we create leaves a deeper mark, because it comes from our love for the work we do and the spaces we create.
Some writing prompts:
In moments when I feel that I am not doing enough, can I actually pull back and hold? Can I observe the community as an outsider and see the value in the things I am creating?
Do I accept that my members might not be needing what I want for them?
Why am I doing this and what real value does it bring?
Can I respect the changes that are happening in the community and flow with them instead of staying in the same place?
Why do I do this job?
Communities are so special, they lift us ups, they guide us and they show us how important connection is. In communities, we are constantly mirroring each other, and we can learn and expand every single moment if we have the right tools and the safe space to do it. Yoga can give us a lot of wisdom on how we can create more mindful communities, where individual members are not there just for themselves but also for the togetherness, for the tribe, for the Sangha. ☀︎
