Greetings Avatars, Jedi's, Celestial Beings & all Followers of the Light!

Join me on this fantastic voyage through Time and Space armed with the Harmony of Yoga Sutras and philosophy as my guide.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Real Yogis Have Curves






Namaste Light Beings and let me begin with Happy Chinese New Year!  Year of the Horse. I thought I would slide into 2014 without posting a blog, after all, my last official post was Jan 2012. So much for for my prolific writing career, *smh*. I  had no intention of observing today's Super Moon aka Black moon with a writing sample, however the universe always has its own  cheeky methods to prod and steer us in the right direction on our individual Shakti Yoga Trip. 

Yoga is Union, full stop. The synchronization of mind, body and spirit in such concentrated capacity as to bring the yogi into a state of full presence. When I am fully present, as you, it becomes effortless to read between the lines, rise above petty matter and see things clearly, especially when the Universe is emitting subtle pulses of data to be downloaded. This morning, I wasn't sure what my focus or purpose would be after sending my youngest son off to school, but it was soon very clear. Two siStars that I have known for many years from different parts of the country, hit me up on Facebook with a must read article. There Are No Black People In My Yoga Classes...... Of course I smiled and chuckled as I thought it was satire, however the reactions by my fellow Jedi to the yet unread article was disconcerting. I followed the whispers and instead of starring and storing for later, I read the literary contribution.

Exhale...... it is these instances when a yogi practices yoga and when a Jedi uses The Force.
Those who know me up close and personal can attest that easy offense is not in my nature. Not that I am oblivious to racism, sexism, caste and class wars, etc... I see the "isms" clearly with coherent eyes. 
'I Am Not That'
I am not one for high drama or controversy, yet as a co-founder of the first female African American yoga and wellness center, Shakti Mindbody Studio 8 years ago in Washington, DC, and as a teacher of the fine art of Yoga for over 10yrs, I had to speak on it.  It being the blog submission linked above by Jen Caron to xoJane.com. At best, I chalked it up to a juvenile attempt to be provocative, as she did  provoke laughter in me. At worse, it caused me to mourn the fact that this young lady has been misguided on her Shakti Yoga Trip and has missed the fundamental architecture of a truly faithful yoga practice. It is not a competition and comparison has no place.  

My girl states, "Even when I wasn’t positioned to stare directly at her, I knew she was still staring directly at me. Over the course of the next hour, I watched as her despair turned into resentment and then contempt. I felt it all directed toward me and my body."

     Exhale.....eyebrow raised. Hmmmmm.... there seems to be a lot of outward attention during this appointed time of inward reflection. I wondered who is teaching this class? Who does she study with? In my classes I remind my Jedis to "remain focused on the task at hand," meaning the asana, the breath, the sensations rising from within, there is no space to observe or judge anything outside of this present moment. Focus yogini Focus. The author seems to be resolving her 3rd Chakra (EGO management) issues on the oblivious black woman stationed next to her. I believe nothing is by chance. This was a serendipitous part of the self awareness process that is born of yoga. NOT the black woman's process, but the purging of darkness from the author's mind about her perceptions and misconceptions of Black women. 

The ideas expressed in this article goes beyond the fact that yes, Real women have curves. Yogis come in a variety of shapes and sizes and no matter how frequent the asana practice, or how hot the room is heated, not all female yogis are intended to be a size 6 arm balancing Diva! That is not the goal or purpose of a faithful yoga practice. Yoga is a spiritual practice. 

The liberal use of words like resentment, hostility and despair about someone the author has never interacted with are quite simply tangible examples of the obsequious nature of racism and prejudice (pre-Judgement).

The author goes on to offer, "I thought about how that must feel: to be a heavyset black woman entering for the first time a system that by all accounts seems unable to accommodate her body. What could I do to help her? If I were her, I thought, I would want as little attention to be drawn to my despair as possible—I would not want anyone to look at me or notice me. And so I tried to very deliberately avoid looking in her direction each time I was in downward dog, but I could feel her hostility just the same...."

Exhale...eyebrow raised.. shaking my head...forehead in palm. Hmmmmm... there seems to be a lot of loaded innuendo about the character of this anonymous "heavyset black woman." All the while the author purports to be very concerned about the feelings and needs of this yogi, who like herself, is on the mat  finding her way, like us all. 


Master Yoda reminds the Jedis in his training, "judge me by my size, do not." 

There was a lot of "monkey mind" happening on the mat of this self proclaimed, "skinny white girl"  that day. The ancient Gurus liken the fluctuations of the mind to a DRUNKEN MONKEY BITTEN BY A SCORPION. It's crazy if you don't learn to tame it. This is yet another reason the Jedis convene on the mat to strengthen our mind tricks, after all mind tricks the body.  It is on the mat where we learn the tools and techniques to quiet the noise and tune into the Divine signals of the THE FORCE. Our misguided author missed this lesson in YOGA 101 and for this I am sorry for her.  
I teach, "each one, teach one." 
This is a learning opportunity for us all. 

I'm of the belief that the author was too caught up in her apparently distorted body image and fashion issues that she missed the fact that this experience is not about judging. Yes she did a lot of judging of herself and others. The judgements were of a hostile nature presumably stemming from her personal inadequacies. "A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never attack." says Master Yoda. The author forgot that it is not about judging the neophyte "affluent white women" who have taken to the ancient science in mass, nor the fabulously fierce black women who have been practicing the spirit of yoga for centuries.

Africa and Africans have been steeped in the yogic tradition since ancient times, it was part of the curriculum in the mysterious schools of Ancient Egypt and beyond. A mastery of Pranayama (breathwork) and understanding of meditation was required to remain calm in the cramped and deplorable hulls of slave ships that crossed the perilous Atlantic ocean. Understanding of harmony and frequency in the form of mantra, prayer and song which raised our vibrations and transformed mind into matter as we BUILT the AMERICAN economy with every piece of cotton picked under the scorching sun. 
That is the essence of yoga off the mat and in the real world. 

I do concede that in my seven years of owning and operating a yoga studio, a disproportionate percentage of my clients have been of the Caucasian and Asian persuasion. 90% of the time I am the sole African American in the class, yep the only one and I'm leading the charge. Whether I am a size 2 or postpartum size 10, like the cornucopia of curvy and angular yogis I serve, I have enjoyed all of them as we traveled and quested together. It was their support, loyalty and dedication that kept my doors open and filled my heart with love and joyful exchanges in class on and off the mat. They have taught me as much as I have taught them and guess what they are my Jedi Federation that constitutes all nations, not my white or Asian clients with skinny bodies and lululemon uniforms.  

I continue to make it my business to reach out and recruit more of my siStars into this "movement" now epic in the west. Not to shrink their shapely thighs or bountiful bottoms, after all the butt implant industry is doing quite well in America. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, no?  It's a matter of remembering the mind and how to best apply the energy of this complex and powerful tool at our disposal. So I say let the tears flow girlfriend, it is through these tears that the cleansing of the self important and distorted ego occurs and the clearing of the myopic 3rd eye that caused her to believe  that this black woman deserved her judgement or required her pity. 
It's cool, each one teach one and there's more where that came from.

As master Yoda affirms, "luminous beings are we... not this crude matter."

1 comment:

  1. I love you to this day my dear friend and respect you and your ways beyond measures. And bless us all as we learn to forgive ourselves so we learn to forgive others. Only by loving and approving of ourselves we can do the same to others. You are without a doubt an example of that. Your sister from many journeys, Heloisa

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