I hope you’ve all had a good week – the final one of May! I can hardly believe that June begins today. Many have come to the end of the strangest school year in our lifetime, some are still finishing out their last days of virtual learning. Some have gotten to escape for brief vacations, and others have settled into the new normal of “camp at home”. Where ever this finds you today, I hope you feel happy and safe.
It has been an interesting week out in the world – difficult to watch and fully understand. Yet again (as was the case at the beginning of quarantine) I have found myself asking “What is my role in all of this?” Two answers continue coming in clearly, and one I am still en route to uncover. First and foremost, I am a mother whose desires for her own children include being instruments of peace and kindness wherever life leads them. Second, I am a teacher. In this role, I aim to create space where kids feel seen and heard, while also gaining skills to hear their inner voice. The more connected we are to our own inner guidance, the greater chance we have to speak to ourselves in a kind compassionate way through all situations. Hopefully, that practice acts as a compass and guides each of our choices, bringing us to a higher level of compassion toward and understanding of others.
The third role I’m seeing for myself is as a student. While I do feel like I’m always learning, there are many lessons revealing themselves within a world that is rapidly changing. This last role is still a bit ambiguous, but I want to be transparent in my personal journey to undo as much racism as possible in my life. I believe there is room and abundance for all creatures here on this Earth – that there is a way to live in harmony. It begins with finding harmony within ourselves, then seeking ways to find it with others.
This all relates to yoga in a multitude of ways and is why I bring it up here now. While I will not directly speak about race in class, I want you all to know that seeds of acceptance and kindness will be consistent messages presented in class. Yoga is more than the shapes we make with our bodies. We get to work with so many layers of the human experience: our minds, our emotions, all the way to the most inner places within. All are welcome to my classes, and occasionally – especially with older kids – larger topics and questions do come up. Fears of the Coronavirus have come up, and I can see that potential concerns about race relations in the world could surface. I will continue doing my best to acknowledge all fears without creating more of a story around any of them, and pointing back to finding acceptance and kindness within.
Hopefully, this all translates, but please do feel free to reach out with any questions. The delay of this message is a result of finding words to what is above, but I feel it is an important statement to make.