Samatva Yoga

Tag: community

  • More Than Classes: Introducing the Samatva Podcast and Network

    More Than Classes: Introducing the Samatva Podcast and Network

    Welcome to the Samatva podcast

    Welcome to the Samatva podcast! In each episode I talk with professionals, care workers and community organisations about wellbeing, movement, ageing and mental health, and we share practical resources and experiences that you can use in your own work and life.

    The bigger idea: a service behind the service

    Samatva Yoga doesn’t only offer classes. It also wants to build a connection point between people and organisations working in the same field: yoga and movement teachers, care workers, therapists, community centres and support services. Not just physically, but also online.

    What the network is for

    • Matching needs and offers – communities and centres can share what they need, and professionals can offer their skills or find work.
    • Sharing knowledge and resources – a place to exchange solutions, tools, training and good practices.
    • Supporting each other – no professional can do everything alone.

    An example from my own practice

    As a yoga teacher working with people with mental health challenges, I may meet situations or conditions I don’t feel prepared for. In that case, the network gives me two options:

    • Referral – I can ask a colleague with the right experience to take over that group or setting.
    • Learning – I can ask a more experienced professional to train, mentor or advise me, so I can grow and handle it myself next time.

    Why this matters

    It keeps the quality and safety of care high, prevents professionals from working in isolation, and helps communities get the right support faster.

    Join the conversation

    Are you a professional, an organisation or a community centre working with wellbeing, movement, ageing or mental health? Whether you would like to be a guest on the podcast or become part of the network, you are very welcome. Get in touch – I would love to hear from you.

  • Yoga as a Social Project: Bringing Gentle Movement Where It’s Missing

    Yoga as a Social Project: Bringing Gentle Movement Where It’s Missing

    The gap

    Many community centres, neighbourhood houses (buurthuizen) and care settings already offer social activities such as coffee mornings, crafts or games. But few offer physical activity adapted to older adults or to people with mental health challenges. Regular fitness classes are often too demanding, too expensive or too far away for these groups.

    Why it matters

    Inactivity weakens the body and increases the risk of falls, and according to the World Health Organization, physical inactivity rises after the age of 60. At the same time, loneliness and isolation affect mental health: the WHO estimates that social isolation affects up to one in three older adults, and that people who feel lonely are twice as likely to develop depression. In the Netherlands, about one in ten people aged 15 and over feel strongly lonely, and around three in ten feel lonely to some degree (CBS).

    Movement in a group helps with both at the same time: the body gets stronger, and people meet each other.

    Two target groups

    • Older adults – keeping mobility, balance and independence in daily life.
    • People with mental health challenges – gentle movement and calm breathing can support wellbeing: they may help reduce stress and anxiety, improve sleep and mood, and offer a safe, structured moment in the week.

    Yoga can support wellbeing, but it is not a therapy or a medical treatment. That is why this project always works alongside care workers and health professionals, never instead of them.

    The approach

    Instead of asking people to go somewhere new, the sessions come to places they already know and trust. The sessions are low-threshold:

    • small groups
    • chair-based
    • no experience needed
    • affordable
    • adapted to each person

    Working together

    The project aims to complement what community centres, care workers and health professionals already do, not to replace it. It fills a gap in the existing network, so that gentle movement becomes one more part of the support people already receive.

    Let’s work together

    Are you part of a community centre, a neighbourhood house, a care organisation or a support group, and would you like to offer gentle yoga to the people you work with? Read more on the For community centres page, or get in touch – I would be happy to talk about what could work for your group.

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