Attending the Colorado Ayurvedic Medicine Association conference live was so energizing. I’ve been getting messages about the need to form community for some time. This experience helped propel me forward in this work.
When I was a midwife I had “the Birth Lodge” meetings where women in my practice would have a potluck at my home and we’d just eat and talk together. I didn’t teach. I participated and held the space. The women would teach each other about what they’d learned in their experiences. It was a natural course in childbirth and postpartum that I just hosted – no agendas. Many women became fast friends, supporting each other well after postpartum.
I’ve also learned a lot from being part of a large community called Bright Line Eating TM . This group offers the “head” knowledge but also the “heart” support to people who have eating disorders – eating too much or too little.
I dream of this sort of community growth and sharing for Ayurveda and Shamanism. That’s what inspired me to start the Ayurveda Rising support group for new practitioners. And in the new year, I will offer more community opportunities around Shamanism as well.
This type of community – where it’s so safe you can be yourself and supported – does not come easily. It requires commitment by someone to hold the space – sometimes it takes awhile for things to build organically. It requires commitment by members to show up consistently and to stick together long enough to form actual relationships. It requires some ground rules to keep the meetings safe and avoid controversies which can take away from the goals of the community.
Over and over, community relationships are shown to be a necessary part of a healthy lifestyle. It helps us to heal traumas and to express our triumphs and gratitudes
If you are excited about creating more community in this all-too divided world, please join me in this quest. Join my communities. Start your own communities – ask me for support to do that if you want.
May you be surrounded by a loving community!