Living in Yokohama, I get to meet people from all over Japan. And not just Japan, but all over the world! I just counted, and we’ve had people from 10 different countries in the English yoga class so far. Having lived in six countries, I’ve often struggled to find community where I feel a sense of belonging, and out of that experience, I know how important and life giving it is to find that space.
After yoga the other day, several of us had coffee at a local coffee shop as usual. Some of us had grown up in one city where we knew people and we were known. Some of us had grown up in multiple countries where our sense of home was with people who also didn’t have just one home. But the commonality we all shared was the need for community, especially living in Japan. “How do you find a sense of home in a new place?” To that question, there were answers like,
“Getting out into your community and exploring.” “It helps to greet people you see everyday, like security guards or shop keepers.” “Having a routine and finding a shop or a restaurant that you go to regularly.”
One of the answers was that this yoga class is also a part of making that sense of home happen. You show up every week, practice yoga together, and have coffee at a cafe nearby. And not just you but your dog too 🙂 It was a gift to know that yoga is making a place of belonging here in Yokohama.
Afterwards, I also thought about the importance of cultivating your sense of home within you. Because let’s be real. We will always be lonely in different moments. Like feeling anonymous in a huge crowd. After an argument with your loved one. Doing your mundane daily routine. When your mind is going all over the place and you don’t feel settled. For me, taking deep breaths and repeating to myself these truths is finding my way back home to myself:
I am here. I am loved. I am full of love. I am enough. I am connected with all things.
And I can come home to a place where I can relax and let go and know that all is well (even when there’s shit all around). It truly is a daily practice, to practice coming home to myself in yoga asana (pose) practice, meditation, daily chores, and even when I’m with others. I can be home, anytime, anywhere.
How do you cultivate your sense of belonging??