Namaste Dear Community,
Someone asked me today how are you doing? Never before has that question been so hard to answer. As a Yoga practitioner I am personally doing well, using the tools of Yoga to stay in the moment, surrender and breathe through this turbulent time
As a member of the greater whole of humanity, I’m not doing as well. I’m overwhelmed and feeling a huge responsibility. The Yoga community has been called to action right now. This is why the practice of Yoga exists, to not only to heal ourselves, but to bring people together, to recognize and embrace difference, to stand up for equality and justice, to spread love and to realize we are ultimately All One.
So Hum – I am all that is.
As I reflect on what is happening in our country right now I could easily fall into the mindset of anger and frustration. I could allow myself to feel helpless and overwhelmed. Or I can take a good hard look at myself, my business, my policies and how I am contributing to the unending equality in our country. Change begins within each and every one of us.
When I was in my 30’s I spent 10 years working as a social worker in Harlem. I was committed to saving the world and all of the children who were suffering. I knew I was privileged, I rode on a subway out of Harlem every night, making sure to leave before the gunshots started before the gangs hit the street, before the darkness made things more dangerous.
I could ride the subway home to my own one-bedroom apartment on a quiet safe block and sleep a restful night with a full belly and nothing to fear. The students I worked with on the other hand had a very different reality.
There was one little boy in particular who I became very connected to. His name was Richard. Richard was referred to me because he was having difficulty in school with learning and behavioral problems. His teachers were pushing to classify him as having learning disabilities and recommending special education.
After working with Richard in our sessions, it became very clear to me that he was an extremely bright and intelligent young man. I learned that he had witnessed multiple acts of violence both in his household where his father was abusive to his mother and in his housing project where his father was a drug dealer. At 5 years old Richard witnessed his father shot and killed in a drug deal.
I became Richard’s advocate, we acquired testing and it was discovered that he had a very high IQ and was eligible for the NYC Gifted and Talented program. A place was opened for him and his mother did her best to help with his transition. Unfortunately, without the proper support from the school and his mother, who lacked the resources, Richard’s behavioral problems continued. He was eventually placed back in a regular school program.
Shortly after my job was transferred to another school and I lost touch with Richard and his mother. But to this day I always wonder about him. Did anyone see his brilliance and talent and help to guide him on a successful path. Did he get to finish high school or go to college, to sleep peacefully at night in a bright clean apartment with a good job and secure future?
Or did he become the subject of the systemic inequality and injustice in our country? Was he classified as learning disabled and drop out of school, did he start dealing drugs as a way to support his family or join a gang or end up in jail? Maybe he became the victim of police brutality like George Floyd and the many young men of color who were targeted for the color of their skin?
I know if Richard had been a white boy his future would be different. Perhaps not perfect, but I it’s likely he would have received different support from the school, from his community and from society in general. His talent and gifts would have had a much greater chance of being realized if he were a white man and not a man of color.
This is one example of one life, of one young man, and the sad truth is there are thousands upon thousands of these same stories.
So yes, it is time for us to actually stop talking about the problem and to take action. Now is the time to use our Yoga to find a way to create change, to cultivate community, to acknowledge and celebrate difference and to open our hearts to unity.
I’m thinking hard about what Sonic Yoga can do. If you have any thoughts or ideas especially if you are a person of color who is reading this blog post, please reach out to me at lhanna@sonicyoga.com. My deepest apology for getting sidetracked, that young woman with a mission to support the children of Harlem, has forgotten for a few years about the children and her brothers and sisters of color. But now she’s remembered.
The Yoga community has so many opportunities to be agents of change. Our numbers in America surpass 35 million people. We are teachers and healers and it is time for us to focus on the issues of racism and inequality in our country. We have a platform, a strong voice and the ability to enact significant change.
Can we do better? Yes! Absolutely.
With gratitude,
Lauren Hanna, MSW, IAYT, E-RYT500
Director Sonic Yoga
