"If You Build It...": The Gift of Community
/By Laura Adams — Last Updated: July 10, 2025
“If you build it, he will come.”
This iconic line from Kevin Costner’s 1989 film, Field of Dreams, is one of my favorite cinematic moments, partly because when I first heard it while sitting alongside my dad with a bucket of popcorn, I didn’t understand its meaning. The mystery of it compelled me, as it would any avid Nancy Drew fan like myself. Mind you, I was also about seven years old at the time and was watching the movie mostly so I could be with one of my favorite people while eating some yummy snacks.
Still, I’ve watched this scene more than a dozen times since then, and the line continues to reveal diverse truths in a gentle whisper that mimics the actual (and masterful) voice in the film.
During my most recent viewing, I heard the words differently, and they came to make sense in the context of what had just occurred in my life.
“If you build it, they will come.”
But who was my “they”?
Why did I hear the words that way?
This past month has been a dumpster fire in my little world, mostly because of the busyness of springtime and a myriad of family health issues, including my young son’s first—and then second— bout of croup. One morning, I walked into my 10:00 a.m. Mindfulness Class with tears ready to fall and a heart not entirely comfortable with sharing my vulnerability because of my role in holding the seat of the teacher. However, the truth was that my husband and I had been up with our son all night, and our little guy was a week into struggling, clinging to mommy every chance he got, and showing his frustration the way we as his parents wished we could have, too—by throwing his various play trains against our living room wall. I might’ve decided to scream into a pillow instead, but the conviction to “let it all out” was the same.
I mentioned to the students in class that I felt very incompetent lately, and I was fearful that I wasn’t cut out for someone else needing me so intensely 24/7. I remember admitting, “I just don’t feel good at this.”
What I received in my sharing brings me to tears now (and thankfully, saved me from crying that day). One student, lying in their grounding posture, lifted their head, and said, “no one does.” That same student added, “you have to breathe through it, right?” A little wink in their question; a little humor to ease my distress.
They were throwing my mindfulness words right back at me with a genuine understanding that the breath matters in times of joy—and in struggle. That I just have to remain present with it all. Right? Right.
It will pass.
Sleepless nights.
Uncertainty.
Distress.
It will pass.
Not only will it pass, but I am not alone, and I never have been.
This student’s remarks prove what I’ve been saying all along—you yogis are your own best teachers in class; I just hold safe space—but they also allowed me to realize that in my half decade at Green Lotus, I’ve been welcomed into a community that shows up for human beings through a shared compassion for life’s journey.
That is, we are part of the human experience community. It’s a cool, albeit bittersweet, club, am I right?
I know we all come to this yoga space for varying reasons and in shifting seasons of our lives, but we are bonded by this love for feeling more unified with ourselves, which allows us to feel connected to all. It might not be our conscious intention, but it’s always there lurking in our hearts.
After that dumpster fire class, numerous students approached me with their stories about parenting and struggle, and I still think of these stories as I continue to navigate this beautiful chapter I am in with my young family. I believe I will always think of these stories; they are the cornerstone of the Green Lotus brand and the reason I look forward to teaching every week.
Community.
To delve into a little vocabulary lesson for a moment, the word community comes from the Latin root word communis, meaning “common” or “shared by all.” It’s the name for a group of people who share in fellowship or some sort of interest.
When individuals come together in yoga class, they are offering a vow to honor each other’s paths, even as they are investigating their own path through asana and breathwork. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. More impactfully, I’ve felt it with my own heart during many of the classes I’ve instructed. Humbly, it has nothing to do with me, really. It’s the energy of the collective group of students uniting to breathe nourishment into themselves, breathe out fears and doubts we all have. On some level, we respect that we are a community of yogis just doing our best “to yoke” our way into embracing our wholeness, trusting that we can help each other get there. We may not explicitly say these things to each other, but it’s revealed through our shared laughter, grimaces, grumbles, and sometimes tears (and in my class, the occasional throwing around of props to each other just to make some eye contact with our yoga friends). Every human experience is welcome, and that’s why togetherness is essential, so that we can give ourselves permission to observe life in all its complex glory.
Moreover, community promotes health and mental wellness; it makes us feel less alone; it offers us the opportunity to share our gifts because they are valuable and enough. For instance, even if you come to class and lie in savasana the whole time, do you realize you might be teaching the student next to you that it’s okay to rest?
What a gift.
Do the world a favor and foster community wherever you go, perhaps through hosting something, organizing an event, donating your time to a cause that matters to you, smiling at a stranger, or stopping to listen in on their answer when you ask someone how they are.
You don’t have to build a baseball field at the edge of a cornfield (I mean, you could if you wanted) to reap the benefits of creating oneness. Often, it takes much less than that. And, it all starts with simply showing up as a present, open-minded, evolving human being who recognizes these things in another. Believing in community is believing in love, and trusting in your participation of that idea is connecting to the truest part of yourself.
So, when you hear the whisper, “If you build it…”, let the words embrace you; let them carry you forward; and, let them change your life for the better. Find your people. Find your thing. Begin here at Green Lotus with a roll-out yoga mat that represents your blank canvas. Then, set your story free. We are listening with the same reverence as to any tale passed down from generation to generation.
If you build it…
The sky’s the limit.
You community is waiting.
Practice with Laura
Laura is a yoga teacher as well as a freelance writer. Laura received her 200- and 500-hour yoga teacher trainings from Green Lotus Yoga and Healing Center. She teaches several classes a week in a variety of formats at Green Lotus. Her own practice began in 2006 as a way to connect breath to body after dealing with a stress-borne illness.
