| Our newsletters have been a tool for informing
supporters and volunteers about current and planned projects, and
give a good feel of the lessons we are learning as we teach yoga
to homeless and at risk youth. Please feel free to read our current newsletter (March, 2007),
or a past issue by clicking on one of the following links.
Thanks. Past Newsletters |
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| August 27,
2006 June 15, 2006 May 17, 2006 Feb 16, 2006 Dec 22, 2005 Oct 27, 2005 Sept 22, 2005 July 22, 2005 |
Apr 22, 2005
Feb 5, 2005 Oct 29, 2004 May 14, 2004 Mar 8, 2004 Feb 7, 2004 Jan 2, 2004 Sept 12, 2003 |
Aug 5, 2003
July 22, 2003 June 27, 2003 June 22, 2003 May 30, 2003 May 16, 2003 May 9, 2003 May 2, 2003 |
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Last month, i suffered what in the grand scheme of things, was a very modest loss. Nonetheless, at the time, i suffered greatly, denied, argued with Fate, bargained, sought solace, moved on. My hard drive had melted down, erasing the entire contents of the disk that held all my websites, all my writing, all our family photos of the last few years. It was devastating. I later learned that i had backed up some of the files, the photos and much of the writing. But the loss still stung.
What intrigued me throughout, though, was the synchronicity with which this crash occurred and the last bit of writing i did immediately beforehand. I was writing up a review of The Bhagavad Gita, According to Gandhi. I had just finished quoting the following passage, when minutes later i got a Segmentation Fault Error and the meltdown was on. The esteemed Mr. Gandhi wrote:
"This self-realization is the subject of the Gita, as it is of all scriptures. But its author surely did not write it to establish that doctrine. The object of the Gita appears to me to be that of showing the most excellent way to attain self-realization. That which is to be found, more or less clearly, spread out here and there in Hindu religious books, has been brought out in the clearest possible language in the Gita even at the risk of repetition. That matchless remedy [i.e. the way to self-realization] is renunciation of fruits of action. This is the center round which the Gita is woven."
He goes on a bit further on to explain: "This is the unmistakable teaching of the Gita. He who gives up action falls. He who gives up only the reward rises. But renunciation of the fruit in no way means indifference to the result. In regard to every action one must know the result that is expected to follow, the means thereto and the capacity for it. He, who, being thus equipped, is without desire for the result, and is yet wholly engrossed in the due fulfillment of the task before him, is said to have renounced the fruits of his action."
The blessing for me in all this is that i am now wedded in one small way to this text, to this sublime thinking, through the fortunate course of one bout of my worldly suffering. I try to live this every day, but in the context of Street Yoga, it is especially important. Often a class will go by where it seems that no one enjoyed a bit of it, that yoga was a burden better left far behind. And yet, the glimpses and comments roll in, at times inadvertently. "That was great!" Smile. From a 14 year old girl who scowled at me at the start of class. Let go of the fruits. Act each moment with love in order to honor God. Strive to do right with every breath. Much to learn, much of it hard, but there are indeed guides and spirits along the way who do befriend us. Thank you, Mr. Gandhi. Thank you.
Last newsletter i mentioned a visit to Morrison Edgefield. I erred in that writing --gave too many details that skirted upon the edges of betraying confidentiality. Properly chastened and humbled, i worked with two of our teachers, Mara and Amy, to create a curriculum for our new class there, a group of spirited 8-12 year old boys and girls. We taught there last Monday the first time and it was a delight! The young people were less skeptical than we expected. We asked them what they knew about yoga and they answered with enthusiasm. "It's stretching." "It's about getting stronger." And one young girl chimed in "And the most important part of yoga is to have fun!" Indeed!!
Here's our class One lesson plan, just in case you're interested in the nitty gritty:
- What is Yoga? Brief(!) chat. [see above, about our first class]
- Arrange the space, mats, with the kids help. create a "yoga space". Talk about yoga being great for building safe and positive boundaries.[we talked about how you could do yoga anywhere, how the mat was their safe zone, and how they could create that "place of yoga" anywhere they were.]
- Yoga Simon Says: do breathing, and three basic poses (one standing, one inversion, one on the floor)[This went well. They were more athletic and flexible than we had surmised. Being 9 years old does that to a person]
- Body Mapping: Have the kids lie on the ground on big ol' pieces of butcher paper and we will sketch outlines of their bodies --they can start the sketching by sitting w/ legs out and outlining their own lower body. We then make sure everyone knows all the yoga body parts --forearm, upper arm, shoulder, lower back, neck, heel, shins, calfs, thighs, knees, foot arch, mound of big toe, palm of the hand, pad of the fingers, crown of head....[This went quite well; it engaged all the kids and was instructive to help them name in a safe way all the ways we'll talk about the body.]
- Simple moving game called Traffic Jam. Run in circle, hop from mat to mat and then return to your own mat and stop in downward dog pose. mindfulness about movement to stillness. [didn't happen]
- Practice downward dog and go into pushup position (Plank pose), and hold it, hold it, hold it.... build a bit of heat and use muscles.[didn't happen]
- Relaxation and Story time. Indian folk tales...[we told a story about a young childless couple at the festival of Divali, how they always made offerings in hopes of begetting a child that year, and how this one year the husband asked the wife to sing as an offering, since she had the loveliest voice, and she did and they had a child soon thereafter... and how each of us has something to give, a smile, a song, a moment of listening....]
The kids left energized and grateful; the feeling was mutual. We'll be offering this class throughout the summer and then continue into the fall.
On June 10th, the last day of the year, we were privileged to offer to an audience of about 100 guests (mostly under the age of 10) a play performed by our yoga students at Community Transitional School. Produced and directed by our very own Mara McLoughlin, the story was a collaboration between the students and us. Set in the lush forest lands at the base of the Himalayan mountains, the story followed two twins, separated at birth, who each found different passions in life, one as a hunter and one as a dancer. They grew up, met Saduhs, learned what's important. In time, they reunited and overthrew a despotic king, using their goodness and natural skills.
The production was a Shadow Play, many of the kids had speaking parts, and each scene was enacted using yoga poses we had been working on throughout the year. The whole adventure was a lot of fun, a lot of work, and hopefully left the kids with a good end of year yoga send off.
Yesterday was Spa Day during yoga class at White Shield. Mara and Amy introduced the girls to a little bit of self-care. Mara describes it: "I gave a little talk about ayurveda; we anointed ourselves with oils (feet and leg self-massages), and then I broke out the honey and clay masks, and we put masks on and laid down listening to Indian music and put cuke slices over our eyes." The girls loved it and want to do it every week. We'll see about doing it twice each month, to help them broaden their sense of yoga, and in new ways see themselves as wonderful, valuable human beings!
Briefly, our new friend from Canada, Brooke A., came to Portland in June and interviewed nine of the youth who take our classes at Outside In. Her whole project was super-respectful, and we'll be posting more of her findings as they become available. The one glimpse she shared with me was how important and intense for the youth was Savasana and the meditative relaxation at the end of class. It wasn't the nearness to sleep, but rather the stillness of mind, a quality that they could not achieve any other way than through yoga --not through meditation alone or via other inducements.
In light of those findings, we are looking to offer a class focused on meditation and stillness to our yoga students through Outside In, under the premise that there is a powerful space of quietude that yoga creates that is hard to maintain throughout the week of surviving, and if we can offer a bit more calm, we can perhaps be of some small use to our students.
We have a newly designed website borne of the recent technical difficulties. Please check it out sometime. It'll grow more useful over time but right now it's pretty bare bones.
Due to some fine generous programming by John Emerson, who publishes this blog, we are able to offer the bare beginnings of the Yoga Map, which sets out to showcase groups all over North America and the world who offer yoga for homeless, at-risk and incarcerated young people. You can check it out here and if you know any other sites that should be listed, please let us know.
If you never heard of The International Association of Black Yoga Teachers check them out. Their mission includes dedication to "increasing the presence of yoga in the inner city." More power their way.
Just a brief shout-out to Portland, OR which is a very fine city indeed. Aside from all the unseen folks working on urban permaculture, taking care of homeless people, and striving to build green, there are a million, nay jillion berries all over everywhere. We've picked scads of raspberries, marionberries, strawberries, blueberries, and this weekend, we'll wander over to Sauvie Island to gather our share of free and juicy blackberries. What a blessing!
But this Portland shout-out in particular goes to Growing Gardens which this weekend sponsored the second annual Tour de Coops. These good folks help community members, people in apartments and shelters, students and other citizens grow gardens and build health and knowledge while they grow. The kids and i got to wander through Portlanders backyards, admiring hen houses, gabbing about Barred Rock layers, meeting aspiring beekeepers.
I'm done, thank you for reading this far. But before i go, please allow me a few more lines. Mr Gandhi again:
It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.
Blessings to you all, mark
