Stephen Lawrence Day
/Dear Yogis.
What a week it’s been! The Derek Chauvin trial, the breath-taking verdict, then Stephen Lawrence Day, floods of memories of 1993 and that Thursday when the young Stephen was killed. I worked with the National Council of Civil Liberties (NCCL). The murder made no impression on the AGM that weekend. I was so green.
I’ve been wanting to write a Friday Email about racism in the yoga world for a while, and try to figure out how to approach the subject. Lord Simon Woolley, Founder of Operation Black Vote, says that the Chauvin verdict and the Black Lives Matter movement offers “a 1945 moment” of great opportunities to become honest and open and brave and do great things. I think so too! Lock Down also gives the chance to come out into the world better, fairer, and more understanding of historic burdens and of each other!
So… what are the historic burdens that Western yoga carries today?’. First of all, racism leaves trauma. It sits upon years and generations and histories of other traumas and makes people, rightly, sensitive to slights. Any complaints about the yoga world are not from one isolated experience but from a collection of big and small experiences. So… one common complaint is that yoga’s Indian roots are nowhere to be seen in our Western experience of the practice. Just as in many workplaces, yoga studios can show a shocking lack of diversity. What is called the colonisation of yoga is starting to be addressed. Susanna Barkataki writes that to be colonised is to feel a stranger in your own land and culture.
How might someone feel like a stranger in their culture in a yoga class? Well, in that studio you might find sacred deities and Buddha images and Sanskrit writing printed on eye-wateringly expensive leggings and tattoos. Is that appropriate? Or appropriation? The brand Sweaty Betty replaced Sanskrit names for their gymwear to recognise how inappropriate it is to have products such as the Garudasana Yoga Pants or Brahma Bamboo Padded Yoga Bra.
Does it matter if your bra is more sacred than your practice? Is it reasonable for someone else to be offended? Actually, beyond these questions, what matters is the idea that anyone might be uncomfortable in the yoga sphere. We have to know about it and do something about it. Did you know that Namaste is primarily a greeting, not a parting as we use it in class, and saying it might make a yogi uncomfortable/confused? Well… language is dynamic and adapts to different situations and use of Sanskrit in class also reminds us of yoga’s heritage. Maybe we justify use of Namaste… but we should know what we are doing! We must be open to change.
Yoga is not a complacent act. Yoga is skill in action. The definition of yoga is often given as ‘stilling the fluctuations of the mind’. The whole point is to make the mind a more skilful instrument for our daily use. What is the point of anything if we can’t cultivate a skilful mind with which to be sensitive and caring to one another!
Zoom Classes
Gyms have opened but many classes remain online. Some of you have asked about blocks. Yes, I think it’s worth having your own (flat and cork). They get very sweaty in gyms and not wiped down like mats. They’re not heavy, just bulky, to carry around. Your walk to yoga class might be a little bulkier… but I do urge you to get a belt, possibly from here for £1.50.
Come to class!!! Finish your week with a practice!!! The Ashtanga class today is at 4.30.
Yoga in the news
The Independent has: Things you only know if you’re brand new to yoga. ‘Yoga uses unfamiliar muscles in unfamiliar ways, and session number one has a similar effect to the first day of a full body weights programme. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) will have you moving gingerly for a few days, and the further into the deep end you jump, the worse your DOMS will be’.
The Guardian has: Yoga can leave you injured, psychotic and a Hindu, Christian groups claim. Nikunj Trivedi, president of the Coalition of Hindus of North America, said: “These arguments are a reminder of the Hindu-phobia that existed in the US in the 19th and early 20th century, when Hindus were portrayed as strange cult followers out to alter your mind and get you to do crazy things. It’s sad to see such Hindu-phobia still persisting.”
Business Insider has: Lululemon is offering money for used yoga pants, diving into the $30 billion resale market. ‘Offering resale options is especially important if Lululemon wants to attract younger customers, who are spending more on resale than any generation before’.
Lots of love!
