Maya - the Essence of Connection

Last week I saw a Broadway play for the first time in a while. It was incredible—the creativity, the exuberance, the emotion. … I could NOT hold it together.

I know I don’t get out much, and I AM a renowned crier, so that alone wasn't unusual. And yes, there were definitely some sad moments in the play (with that music—come on). But that wasn’t the only reason I was crying.

There was a palpable energy in that theater that deeply moved me.

The combination of live music, extraordinary talent on stage, and a packed house—fully present, fully engaged in witnessing something being created in real time—ignited a sense of aliveness and connection in me.

It turns out there’s a yogic concept for exactly this experience that I had previously been unaware of: Rasa.

Rasa is often translated as “essence". In this case, it is the relational emotional experience that arises when we receive something. In other words, its less about what the artist (or musician, playwright, etc) creates— and more about what gets awakened in those of us who witness/ interact with it.

While pulling myself together in the Imperial Theatre bathroom I had a moment of gratitude for how this relationship between art, music, creativity, dance, —whatever form of beauty “it” is—and each of us can be deepened when we experience it together.

Much like a yoga asana class. Each of us moves our body into shape, each of us breathes into and experiences that shape individually—and there is meaningful connection in that internal relationship between body and breath. But something truly

electric happens when we do it together in a room. It becomes emotive, contagious, and deeply connected.

For May, let’s seek—and create—more collective experiences. On the mat, at the theater, listening to music. In a world that so often pulls us into separate threads of experience, let’s choose instead to create more magic by witnessing beauty together.