Yoga Provides Stability in Difficult Times

There are a lot of stories floating around the recession-stung ether these days that seek to pluck thin silver linings from an abundance of dense grey cloud cover. These are the pieces intent on celebrating the current economic crisis, by pointing out opportunities for clever, conscious entrepreneurs to capitalize on widespread reversal of fortune. Those same articles make reference to businesses that are so-called "recession proof" or, better yet, "recession friendly."

Yoga, I would submit, falls tidily into both of these categories.

I point this out not to urge the corporate minded to hang up shingles and invest in racks of sticky mats. It's more of an observation, really, that's not even necessarily supported by any mad press of increased humanity at my yoga studio. I'm just musing out loud that, yes, if ever there was a time that yoga would find its stride in the western world, it would be now, as beleaguered people everywhere drag their weary bones from one bit of worry to the next.

A yoga class provides a bit of refuge from the brutal storm of financial crisis. Indeed, the breath of community a visit to a yoga group offers can be fortifying like nothing else can. Fall into the embrace of these like-minded folks and ananda is a foregone conclusion. Yoga, after all, is all about unity. And if you've been laid off, well, you need all the unity you can get.

Up next has to be the mental release that a few minutes in focused yogic endeavour can provide. Those gut-clutching fears about what tomorrow may bring are discharged to the heavens in this environment, where studied detachment from the grips of economic dread are gently nudged aside to make room for a clearwater rush of spiritual clarity. Yoga is the one place (and, yes, forgive me that, but I think of yoga as a destination) where I can let my frantic thoughts settle to the bottom of my roiling aquarium, and let rise to the surface those things I know to be truly important.

Beyond that, of course, are the myriad physical benefits to be gained from wrapping your limbs around the comfort of familiar routines. Mind, body, spirit are all deliciously aligned in this mystic pursuit, and so it follows that the sense of physical accomplishment and balance one achieves with a dedicated pose would lead seamlessly into the same cascade of satisfaction on more psychic levels.

"Recession can be good for yoga because people need to focus on what's important to them, such as their health and well-being," says Eloisa Slimmon-Weber, studio director at Liberty Movement Studio. "They don't have a lot of money to pay for extra things, and health is important for day-to-day living. Perhaps most importantly, this is a time for us to be thankful for everything we have, and not take things for granted. We have been living in a great deal of excess, and yoga is about balance. And so is life."

"Recessions are stressful," sums up Marguerite Arbour, a Wellspring yoga leader at Yoga in Riverdale. "Yoga reduces stress. Yoga gives us the tools to cope with anything."

Indeed. Anything. Even the worst recession in memory. Anything.

Bring it on.