Happy May Yogis!
After a bit of a sluggish April - the city is in FULL bloom. With it's vibrant colors, sweet scents, and burgeoning life, the wild exuberance of spring-inspired our theme for this month:
Mudita, or Sympathetic Joy.
Mudita is the ability to feel genuine joy in response to the happiness, well-being, or success of others without any feelings of envy or comparison. This is a practice like many others, but there is something about this time of year (perhaps especially in a big city like NYC where nature is rare) that brings us together in a shared joy. In the collective awakening of spring, we find ourselves naturally inclined to rejoice in the happiness and flourishing of others, recognizing that our own gaiety is intertwined with the joy of the world around us. Similarly, in yoga we learn to attune our bodies, minds, and spirits, fostering a sense of interconnectedness with ourselves and the world around us - cultivating empathy and compassion to nurture a reservoir of Mudita within us. Just as spring spreads its warmth and vitality, so too does the practice of Mudita, This month, let's grow our sympathetic joy together!
Erica Barth
Owner, Harlem Yoga Studio