@young-hee-heegmail-com Great post... thanks for sharing. I hadn't heard of that podcast but just added it to my list (and I appreciate the warning that it might be triggering).
The challenge of people resisting "yoga" is interesting... I organize presentations with PYP and the Veterans Yoga Project for treatment court conferences and never put the word "yoga" in the title.. a common title I use is "Breath, Movement, Mind....." and then ease into the discussion of yoga during the presentation. I think most people - particularly men in prison - will resist woo woo concepts (which they equate with yoga) at first. But the idea of breathing better, of moving better, of having a stronger mind - those concepts are much more widely accepted and offer a framework to communicate with the clients... (In some circumstances you can take that discussion to the idea of "getting higher" which I guarantee you will draw interest from the clients....)
You are absolutely on the right path when you reflect on how blessed your own life is when compared to many of the folks you are working with. I regularly reflect on how grateful I am for my (deceased) father when I see so many men in the criminal justice system who were denied that birthright. I often tell my kids (now in their 30s) how grateful I am for what good people they are when I see young people every day who are breaking their families' hearts. Breathe deep that gratitude - that can be your antidote for tough times.
And you would be surprised how much hope you can bring to a lifer, even if (under current laws) they may be LWOP.
"Awake with curiosity..." what a fabulous idea... mahalo!
but Dan, that’s the thing, in my experience, yoga has always been a white woo woo space that often feels so superficial and nasty. It feels very painful to be in a place where you want the after effects of yoga but you are surrounded by white wome who say,” namaste.” But there’s no way they would ever take the time to remember your name. I often say,” younghee,” just remember a young dude. But the woo wooness evokes a closeness that is completely based upon stealing shit and feelings as apart of colonialism. Moreover, guilt that these people
are being nice to you illustrate no interest or regard. A casual example is I’ve lived in Tahoe since 1999 however, I am still called a,” gaper,” or a “ Bayesian.” Woo woo without context is very much apart of white privilege. To feel connected or safe, is very much apart of the white experience. We just hope you guys have good intentions.
This module/lesson/discussion has been a very interesting one for me to contemplate on and I'm grateful for everyone's comments and work they're doing on practicing brahmacharya. For a couple of years now, I've been investing more time and energy into my consumer habits, trying to buy more from small businesses and making it the standard to no longer buy new clothes now that I have what I need. This year, I'm focusing on trying to not order from Amazon anymore and plan ahead so that it's not necessary. I appreciated the graphic regarding the relationship between values, decisions, actions, and reactions.
I appreciated the introduction of consumption of media as something to reflect on, because I am a TV-show watcher - I used to binge TV shows a lot, and although I don't watch as much as I did before, it's still my 'alone/reset' time, to the extent that I get bothered/annoyed if someone or something else gets in the way of that. For me and a lot of my loved ones, TV shows are very much a distraction or a form of escapism from the hustle and discomforts of our truths and realities. Before this YTT, I noticed that I was starting to rely too much on TV shows, and challenged myself to read Wikipedia articles, or watch documentaries, or listen to media grounded in truth and aligned with my values. I found it to be more fulfilling however it is a practice that I haven't been intentional about for a few months.
One thing this really illuminated to me and helped frame was the fact that when I visit home, after a long day of work, I want to eat and watch my tv show, and if my mom or sibling tries to talk to me, I get annoyed and try to end the conversation, despite the fact that I don't see my family very often. I am going to visit home next week, so I am going to be in the present moment and connect with my family, instead of prioritizing the distractions that the TV show gives me.
For strength and mobility, I would start with cat/cow on the floor, exploring with movements that feel good to people and then start doing bird dogs. Thehn I would lead folks to downward dogs and upward dogs. Then, I would come up and lead folks to explore triangle pose.
Brahmacharya is definitely the yama I am most and least excited about diving into. It is where I feel I need the most work. I come from a long line of addicts. I myself have one of the most addictive personalities I know and an even higher tolerance. For many things. The thing I am most addicted to however is dopamine. And how I will next be able to release dopamine from my brain for another hit. Whether with a drink, favorite food, scrolling on my phone, binging tv etc. I am trying to be more mindful of where I am finding my dopamine at. And before I reward myself maybe having myself do a productive or difficult task. No matter how small. I am trying to get away from an all black or all white mind set. Either having the faucet all the way on or off. Finding balance has not been easy. But when I am "in it" I definitely feel more connected and safe with myself.
The application of Brahmacharya in the context of privilege helped a lot of things click for me. In a time where there is so much violence and injustice in the world, it is difficult to have compassion for the people in power who actively support this violence. When I view it through the lens of those people in power being addicted to their privilege and power, it helps make sense of how their brain is allowing them to carry out this violence – of course their violent actions are never justified, but it helps my mind make more sense of their behavior. This connects a bit to Thich Nhat Hanh's poem "Please Call Me By My True Names" in which he so beautifully showed his compassion for all people, even those in positions of power who carry out violent acts, through reminding us of our interconnected nature.