How your yoga practice can cultivate collective peace and well-being
As the 2021 calendar year draws to a close, many might be taking a step back to contemplate where they’ve been, what they’ve been through, and what hopes they might have for the year ahead. It’s a potent time to remember that one’s yoga practice can be a powerful tool for cultivating inner peace and well-being—which, in turn, ripples out to benefit collective well-being too.
In a short video first shared on this blog in 2019, yoga researcher Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, PhD, C-IAYT, highlights the link between internal and collective peace. “I think the idea of peace, both internal and even societal, really comes down to engendering this sense of peace, and harmony, and flow within yourself,” Khalsa explains.
Yoga supports individuals in reducing stress and improving emotion regulation, both of which contribute to a sense of internal peace and well-being. What Khalsa refers to as stress-induced emotions— “experiences of anxiety, experiences of fear, experiences of anger”—decrease when engaging in contemplative practices like yoga. Then, positive emotions can thrive.
“The more we can engage in these contemplative practices,” Khalsa explains, “the more we’re going to express those positive emotions of compassion, of gratitude, of love.”
Watch the full video for more on this simple formula with world-changing potential.
Find a certified yoga therapist to support you or a loved one in cultivating health and well-being.
