Yoga Activism

The combination of yoga and activism is controversial.  The main resistances I face are the following arguments: I teach in cultures which are different from my own – therefore can I be truly sensitive to what is needed? I don’t speak the local language so how can I effectively communicate? I teach for a short period of time, therefore what can I give to the sustainability of the project?  I undoubtly receive a great deal in return – not of course in financial terms - but in what I learn.  Therefore is it even ethical to call what I am doing “teaching” when in fact I am being “taught”? And here in India the most common query, which is why can’t a local teacher be employed to do what I am doing?  Each one of these points is valid. I always believe there is an element of truth in every criticism. Yet if I were to let any one of these arguments dissuade me from giving it a go, I would also fall prey to inaction, which is in itself an action.  

During the dance section of the workshop with the “working” mothers today, Urmi came and invited me to join the team on their next project in the state of Jharkhand.  She said I looked so natural with the women, that it’s a rare quality to have someone jump straight in, feel at home and be at home.  And it’s true – I did.  I love to dance and I love to share movement with these women.  It’s hardly ecstatic dance at the Yoga Barn, but the freedom of movement which over the years I have developed there is strong in my body and free in my mind. As those of us who regularly dance may regularly forget, this space to be physically expressive and creative is a rarity for many.  Yet once gifted, I feel we have a responsibility to share it.  As the music played I encouraged the women to let go a little, to laugh, to play.  Feet moved, eyes smiled.  The next workshop begins tomorrow and is seven hours by train from Kolkata.  It was an honor to be invited.  I said yes without a pause.

The group of women I will be working with are from a tribal community which has systematically been repressed, and as they have no part in the caste system they rank beneath it.  Moreover, the group of women in focus have been branded as “witches” and therefore outcast from their community.  You could see this as triple repression: Ethnicity, gender and finally superstition.  Even tonight a wide eyed American volunteer was aghast when she overhead what I would be doing.  She leaned over and warned me to protect myself from sorcery.  I replied that fear was perpetuating discrimination. The answers to the above questions are also worthy of a reply.

There is something powerful about different cultures coming together to learn from one another.  I might not be a tribal woman, but even working here in the red light district I felt that many of the women were able to connect with me because I was different.  I don’t fit into any box.  I have no caste.  In fact, I observed that in some ways I had an advantage over the local facilitators who in many ways represent a position of power and hierarchy that I appear to be free from.  I also work with the body.  We all have one.  It needs basic staples to survive.  No exceptions.  I work with the mind.  We all feel joy and pain.  The causes for these cross cultures and ages, genders and religions.  And finally, I have no preconceived ideas.  I have my eyes, ears and heart wide open.  I’m ready to be sensitive to what is needed, and of course to listen to the advice of those who do have more experience.  Even looking at my own labeled “culture” it is radically diverse.  And in many ways I am no longer sure where indeed I am meant to “fit” in.  I’ve also been told that simply showing up, paying attention, listening to stories gives a powerful audience to voices which are often silenced.

Now to the point of language.  I don’t indeed speak their dialect or even Hindi and will be working through an interpreter.  However, we communicate in a myriad of ways.  Through body language, tonation, movement, our eyes, our smile.  I see this and I feel this.  To limit our communication to speech alone is indeed to limit our senses and ways which we connect with the world and one another every day.  

The project in Ranchi is a total of four days.  Is it worth it?  In response I think of life changing experiences I have had in one day, in one hour, in one moment.  I see it all the time.  Through the medium of yoga I am sharing a tool to be present.  To listen.  To quiet the mind.  To perhaps not worry for a minute, or an hour.  That is powerful and that is worth it.

As for learning more than I am sharing: Absolutely.  Yet what has become clear is that every project I work on, every time I step out of my comfort zone, every time I teach “outside of the box” and off the proverbial yoga mat, what I am learning is enriching what I am able to teach.  I firmly believe it will be beneficial to someone at some point.  It is also vital that we don’t judge our actions purely by the outcome, but to check in with our intentions and to make sure they remain in alignment with “compassionate action” – the essence of Yoga Activism.  

Finally, what is the point of bringing in a Western teacher to teach yoga when surely there are thousands of local yoga teachers who could be receiving a much needed income which my “service” work is actually stealing?  This one is interesting, right off the bat I would guess (and I might well be wrong) that this is a poor area and I would be very surprised if there are any yoga teachers even in the nearby city of Ranchi.  If so yoga teachers in the area are most likely men.  We are creating an all female group in order for the women to be free from gender discrimination – overtly or covertly.  Moreover, if these women are indeed outcasts, I wonder if there would be a local female teacher prepared to work with them?  And another point which I am seeing more clearly every day, is that what I am doing is not teaching yoga per se.  It is part of a process.  The process of gathering women together in recognition of their power and ability to rise.  This can be very profound and have benefits which perhaps aren’t apparent until after the workshop.  Perhaps these four days will provide a break from the routine, a break from the discrimination, an opportunity to simply have a break, and by doing so build resilience  - this is life affirming.  So yes another yoga teacher from the area might well tick the boxes, however the technicality of it is simply scratching the surface of the potential of this project.

I have no idea what to expect.  After my initial reaction to join the project I then spent the rest of the day debating whether it was a wise choice - precisely because of the above points.  Yet as always the only way through is in, and I feel grateful for the opportunity, prepared for the unexpected, without expectations and thoroughly dedicated to the mantra: “Don’t let the wounded discourage me”.