During the course of my Yoga Teacher Training, we were asked to write several essays on deeply thoughtful and fairly personal topics. The exercise was mostly to have us do some self examining so we could more clearly define what kind of people we want to be, and therefore, what kind of yoga teachers we want to be. One of the prompts asked us to consider what we, as individuals, considered to be the most serious problem in the world and how yoga might be able to help with it. After I had turned in the assignment and checked off that graduation requirement, I shared this essay with a few family members, who each asked to share it with others, feeling that my message might be an inspiration to certain people they knew. My sweet, supportive husband also encouraged me to share it with a wider audience, and so, here I am sharing it on the largest platform I currently have access to.
The Most Serious Problem in the World
Upon first seeing the prompt for this essay, I felt overwhelmed. The world is seemingly full of problems, many of them serious, so I wondered how one would go about deciding which is the most serious. But after some reflection, I believe the most serious problem in the world is disconnection, and I believe this is the problem that essentially leads to all others.
First and foremost, individuals are disconnected from themselves. Most people don't take the time to truly know themselves, but instead, spend all their time pursuing distractions in every form possible. In this state of distraction, people disconnect from their minds, from their bodies, from their feelings, from their passions, from their morals, and from their purpose. Consequently, they go through the motions of living a life but miss true living. Most people even disengage from what they consume, both in terms of food and beverages and in terms of mind-shaping content. Feeling disconnected from yourself is a quick path to anxiety and depression, which leads to even more desire to disconnect from the self as a means of escape. It is a vicious cycle that starts subtly but has far-reaching and ever greater consequences.
The more disconnected people are from themselves, the more they distance themselves from others. When you don't really know or love yourself, it is difficult to know and love others. When you don't know your passions, it is hard to find others who share those passions. When you are disconnected from others, it is easy to dismiss and disrespect them. Even within families, there is a growing atmosphere of disconnection. Through physical distance, busyness, distractions, and sometimes necessary boundary setting, families are often completely disconnected from one another, even when they live under the same roof. Frequently, families don't share meals or conversation. And often each family member has their own device in hand that allows them to completely check out from what is going on around them. A similar thing happens in many friend groups and other communities, where the interactions are often shallow and devoid of any true meaning. And, obviously, we can feel an even greater sense of disconnection with strangers. Many false connections are created through social media and superficial in-person interactions, but at the end of the day, these can feel very empty and meaningless. In fact, in a world where we have more "social" outlets that ever before, we are facing the greatest loneliness epidemic of all time. People feel isolated and disconnected from others. They compare their very normal and mundane lives with heavily edited and curated lives they see online and feel they are lacking in any number of ways. They feel a growing sense of lost authenticity, both in themselves and in others. They feel unseen and devalued, as they also unsee and devalue others. A sense of community is lost and with it the knowing that "we are in this together." Instead, it seems like it's just "me against the world." Everyone seems too caught up in their own distractions to care much about the people around them. And when humans devalue other humans, the environment is ripe for a myriad of societal problems.
Furthermore, we are disconnected from nature and the natural cycles of growth and rest it has to offer us. We spend most of our time indoors with artificial heat and cooling, artificial light, artificial and out-of-season foods, and artificial images that keep nature abstract and at arm's length. Our circadian rhythms are shot, which affects our sleep, our hunger cues, and the general flow of life. As we stay indoors, we become increasingly sedentary, which affects our physical and mental health in big and small ways. And then we treat our symptoms with artificial medications that only mask diseases rather than curing them. Additionally, we limit our opportunities to notice, appreciate, and learn from the beauty of every season. We treat nature with contempt--getting angry if it rains when we have plans, killing insects and animals without a thought, and clearing life-giving vegetation in favor of consumerism. We are so out of touch with nature that we think of it as an enemy rather than the beautiful friend it is.
Humans are built for connection, and when it is lacking, there is no end to the problems that will arise. Being disconnected from ourselves, other people, and nature subconsciously gives the impression that these things don't matter, which leads to commoditizing them and treating them with disrespect, in the best case, and utter disregard, in the worst case. Disregard for ourselves, other people, and nature then leads to some of the most serious issues in the world, including, but in no way limited to, physical and mental diseases, substance abuse, environmental issues, human trafficking, war, murder, racism, gun violence, domestic abuse, and so many others. And instead of stepping up and taking responsibility for causing these issues through our disconnection, we disconnect ourselves from all of it and just shake our heads and wonder how things got so bad.
I'm not sure if yoga could solve all these problems, but the very nature of yoga is connection. Stepping onto our mats asks us to connect deeply with ourselves and to pay attention to our bodies and our minds. It asks us to connect our mind to our body and our breath to our movement. When we begin to really see and know ourselves, we are more open to really seeing and knowing others. Many yoga classes are also taught in community, which demands we recognize the others on this journey sharing space with us. Communities create support and connection. They give us a sense that we are not alone in the struggle. They allow us to learn from others and to open ourselves to different ways of doing and being. Yoga also connects us with nature through the very names of many of the poses. But not only that, yoga teaches us that all living things are connected through the prana (energy) that flows through us all. When we become connected to ourselves, to others, and to nature, we begin to to find true peace. And when you think of it like that, perhaps it isn't so far-fetched to believe that yoga could actually solve all the world's problems after all.
