What happened to nomads?

I have been travelling and moving around for more than fifteen years. What did I learn from it? II found out the value of my rituals and repetitive points of the day. No matter if I am in a hotel room, Airbnb apartment or crashing on friends’ sofas. Rolling out the mat, I do a sequence, I eat the same breakfast, I go for a walk.

Whenever I go far or near I search for the same things. Local supermarkets, or even better farmer markets are the places where I search for food. Because when travelling I avoid restaurants (too much fat, sugar and salt).

This is also why I can stay in a hotel for a maximum of two nights. Minibar fridge is simply too small and not powerful enough to keep the food fresh. Yes, I know in hotels you eat in their restaurant, but then again too much fat, sugar and salt. So I carry with me an extra bag with food. Usually, I have some dried fruits, muesli, and vegan yoghurt (can be kept at room temperature, which is perfect for me because I don’t like cold drinks and foods).

So when I travel (or have been travelling until the lockdown and other quarantine regulations kept us home), I search for apartments with kitchens. No matter if it’s Skopje, Hikkaduwa or Duesseldorf. Then I search where to buy food and I try it locally. Anything from snacks through vegetables to noodles.

So, when food matters are ticked out of my list, I search for a local yoga studio. It is the best way to meet people who live in the area and to see what is the community vibe. It doesn’t matter what kind of yoga or asanas people practice. It is about their openness to bring a stranger into their circle.

In smaller towns where people create tightly knitted communities outsiders may not be welcomed. I was unwelcomed in one studio in Finland. I stayed in Lahti for six winter months in 2012. The town had two yoga spots. I emailed the first studio with a question if I can join. I assumed that I will be welcomed and the response will be: sure come over, we will have class on Wednesday evening. To my surprise, the email was not straightforward, and it listed numerous obstacles and reasons for me not to join. The main issue was language. Sure, I don’t speak Finish.

But it was not a problem in Tel Aviv to join a class in Hebrew. The teacher was very welcoming. She told me to simply follow the movements and then she dropped now and then clue in English. She also left me space for my practice that was loosely attached to what was happening in the room. I enjoyed it!

I didn’t join that class in Finnish and I don’t think it was a matter of language. They preferred to stay within their group. And this is fine. I found another studio that offered practice. It was a hot yoga spot located a bit outside of the centre and so I had to walk through the forest, through the snow, on a path slightly lit by sporadic street lights. Imagine what can be better than a walk wearing snow boots through the snow to get to a hot yoga studio in the middle of Finnish forest? The people were nice too and I became regular for the next 5 months.

Most of the time we assume that yoga practice is a service offered to all. Drop-in classes proliferate all over the world. We jump from studio to studio. There is very little loyalty. If there is some allegiance, people protect their group and don’t want the yoga grasshoppers to spoil their connection. I respect that. I value that.

When this studio in Finland rejected me (it was elegant, in between the line answers that give me a choice of not to join them) I felt dismissed. I didn’t feel appreciated. And why should I? I was an outsider. They protected their circle and from a perspective of years, I see the value in it. Because building a community is a very fragile and long term process.

We got so used to jumping all over the place. Budget airlines have been flying us across Europe like a cheap taxi service. One weekend in Barcelona, the next in Milan. Easy to access, easy to consume. Covid-19 put a pause on it. My guess would be studios that build their local yoga communities carefully over the years, now have the strong support of their people. Places that are based on easy come, easy go fast-moving consuming yoga may be in trouble now when nomads and tourists are not coming.