Community is key to our sense of self and belonging. No matter what they look like, or where we find them, our communities give us comfort, joy, and the freedom to take risks and challenge ourselves, with the security of knowing the people around us have our backs.
As a young adult, it can feel overwhelming to try to find new people to connect with. Making friends in adulthood is a notorious uphill battle, only made more complicated by our natural gravitation towards online spaces following the increase in online connectivity, and events like Covid-19 and the reduction of inexpensive, accessible community spaces. This is why I gravitate so strongly towards local and grassroot community groups—they provide accessible spaces to connect and try new things, often on your own doorstep. One local group I’ve personally found connection and safety in is Salty Sips, organised by Human.Kind Studios here in South Australia.
Salty Sips is a regular community event run most fortnights up and down the coast near Adelaide. All are welcome to join their early morning yoga session, followed by an ocean dip – provided for free by the community, for the community, and followed by an optional stop at a local cafe for coffee or breakfast.
I first heard about Salty Sips through Instagram, and ended up getting convinced into going by an old friend who dragged me out of bed early one Wednesday morning so we could both attend together. While I’m not a regular, I have attended many times since, and can attest to the way the organisers of Salties truly make everybody feel welcome and comfortable. Whether you’re totally new to yoga (like me) or well-versed in the practice, they guide you through an accessible, entry-level flow that focuses on grounding you amidst the rush of everyday life.
By setting such a welcoming tone, Salty Sips sets up the community they foster to flourish and connect with one another in whatever way works for them – be it the strange comfort of silently doing yoga side-by-side with strangers, or the conversations you strike up convincing yourself to run into the ocean right afterwards, or the chats you can have over coffee once you’ve warmed up later on!
Each time I attend, I’m blown away not just by how centred and calm I feel by the end of the 30-minute session, but also by the sheer number of people who gather week after week. As a not-so-coordinated person, I’ve always struggled to find forms of exercise that work with my body and brain. Salty Sips provides such a comfortable space to explore that mind-body relationship in a new way through their yoga, and to pair that with the beauty of the ocean being literally right beside you grounds me not just in my own body, but in my gratitude for the incredible environment we are surrounded by.
Unfortunately, South Australia has been hit by an unprecedented and unrelenting algal bloom that has devastated our native marine life and ecosystems along our coastline since March of this year. This has been incredibly detrimental to the South Australian community at large; the ocean is a part of everybody’s lives here, in big and small ways, and to see this scale of destruction with little control or knowledge of what will happen next has been utterly devastating.
Salty Sips is an example of how community only becomes more important during times of such crisis. They have become a safe space for those of us processing and grieving during the algal bloom, all while using their platform to advocate for the communities’ safety, and that of our marine life. And they are not alone in doing so – countless community groups, local councils and businesses throughout South Australia have come together this year to use their voice to uplift our community and our environment, doing whatever we can to raise money and awareness for this cause.
I aspire to foster community in the way Salty Sips has for me and countless others. No matter the challenges we are facing, it’s our community that provides us shelter, safety and solidarity. Whether it be a community-wide crisis or a more personal hardship, groups like Salty Sips demonstrate how powerful simple human connection is. Connecting to one another is what helps us harbour our hope, in even the hardest of times.
It may not always feel easy to put ourselves out there to connect with new people, or try new things—but it is always worth giving it a go. Whether you go out to a community group once, and never again, or whether you find a regular space that becomes part of your day-to-day life, you can contribute to the culture and community around you in ways you might not imagine. You never know the kind people, or the mindful practices, you may stumble into in the process.
