Wednesday, 26 November 2014

not your mama's yoga

How did a nice Jewish gal get caught up in leading bible study? Here’s the secret ingredient to events in Vanuatu: add Jesus to anything and you’ve got instant attendance! I’ve been wanting to teach a women’s yoga class, but wasn’t having an easy time convincing people that it would be a nice weekly gathering. Which is understandable if you think about how busy the mamas are here- tending to the garden, raising children, cooking, cleaning, and all the other little things that add up, but rarely get recognized. The goal of the yoga class would be to bring the women together for an hour of relaxation and focus on their own bodies and minds. So in order for this to come about, I proposed a yoga/bible study mamas group. Tack on 20 minutes of bible stories and wa-la! Everyone’s down to try out some poses.

Explaining and introducing yoga was an interesting challenge. To do this in the limited vocabulary that makes up pidgin Bislama and with women who aren’t usually encouraged to focus on their personal growth made it that much more difficult. But class numbawan went well! We all wore island dresses and tied them up between our legs to create trousers. We laid out woven mats in a classroom and went slow. Although yoga is a spiritual practice, it felt a little taboo connecting it with religious messages. But you know what? It works here. We talk about how our bodies are temples that we should honor. How noble words are powerful, but actions and deeds are much stronger. And that meditation in the heart and mind is the key to inner peace. Okay, fine, so maybe the bible does make a few good points!

Since the first one, I’ve held class every other week or so. Some days only a few women show up. Some classes, a dozen mamas in downward dog! We do poses that focus on back and neck relief, as these women are constantly bending over- building fires, making laplap, washing clothes, and weeding the garden. At the end, I serve orange leaf tea (bring your own mug!) and we storian. The best part is when they come up to me during the week and say how their bodies feel happier. Maybe they are just saying it because it sounds like the right thing to say. Regardless, I think it’s assisting them in some well-deserved self-attention and provides a great place for us to come together as women. Last class I tried something out. I asked them what they think Mama Pose would look like. We all did different poses, which was the point: women fill so many different roles and we each have our own way of looking at ourselves. This activity seemed to resonate with them, encouraging some tea discussion. Baby steps!

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