The Maya Team and the Low-Income Housing Institute have worked together during these busy holiday months to establish a regularly scheduled yoga class for the Othello Tiny Village with the possibility of expanding further. We have been collecting mats and donations at Maya Whole Health for months. All this time, effort, and persistence has finally come through!
As the instructor, I am so excited to begin my journey with this community! I was afforded the opportunity to meet them last Tuesday during weekly community meeting. At these meetings, they discuss community issues/plans, update practices, and open the floor for individual concerns. This past Tuesday (1/7), they voted on the initiative to host yoga classes on site. Consent was unanimous. Classes begin at 1:30 pm on Saturday, January 11th.
After the meeting, I was taken on a small tour of the site. It's maintained by the residents, who manage everything from security to human waste removal. My guide, one of the residents, was a proud community member whose labor-intensive work made him a perfect candidate for yoga therapy. He showed me to the room that would be our studio.
Though simple and uninsulated, the communal entertainment room is kept with care. It's freezing cold, but the old Persian rug and a petite upright piano make it cozy. Toys are collected in one corner, chairs along the wall. The warmth of the space was apparent despite the wind beating against its tarpaulin walls.
I left in awe of this group. As it was not my first visit to a Tiny Village, I knew that I would a have a great experience. However, this occasion was especially touching. Accountability and respect were emphasized in discussions or evident in the proceedings. While encouraging compliance to rules, the director also reminded them that “everyone deserves a roof over their heads”. This basic concept is sometimes missed in our big, prosperous, competitive, detached city. My hope is that Maya Whole Health can be one of the many bridges constructed across this dehumanizing social cavern. By bringing wellness and mindfulness tools to these residents, our aim at Maya is to provide resources to those who had previously found them inaccessible. By reaching out, showing we care, and listening to stories and concerns, we hope to affirm their value as fellow residents of a shared planet. My hope is, at some point in this relationship, to carry these stories from their community to this one.
Welcome to our Maya Community, Othello Tiny Village.
As the instructor, I am so excited to begin my journey with this community! I was afforded the opportunity to meet them last Tuesday during weekly community meeting. At these meetings, they discuss community issues/plans, update practices, and open the floor for individual concerns. This past Tuesday (1/7), they voted on the initiative to host yoga classes on site. Consent was unanimous. Classes begin at 1:30 pm on Saturday, January 11th.
After the meeting, I was taken on a small tour of the site. It's maintained by the residents, who manage everything from security to human waste removal. My guide, one of the residents, was a proud community member whose labor-intensive work made him a perfect candidate for yoga therapy. He showed me to the room that would be our studio.
Though simple and uninsulated, the communal entertainment room is kept with care. It's freezing cold, but the old Persian rug and a petite upright piano make it cozy. Toys are collected in one corner, chairs along the wall. The warmth of the space was apparent despite the wind beating against its tarpaulin walls.
I left in awe of this group. As it was not my first visit to a Tiny Village, I knew that I would a have a great experience. However, this occasion was especially touching. Accountability and respect were emphasized in discussions or evident in the proceedings. While encouraging compliance to rules, the director also reminded them that “everyone deserves a roof over their heads”. This basic concept is sometimes missed in our big, prosperous, competitive, detached city. My hope is that Maya Whole Health can be one of the many bridges constructed across this dehumanizing social cavern. By bringing wellness and mindfulness tools to these residents, our aim at Maya is to provide resources to those who had previously found them inaccessible. By reaching out, showing we care, and listening to stories and concerns, we hope to affirm their value as fellow residents of a shared planet. My hope is, at some point in this relationship, to carry these stories from their community to this one.
Welcome to our Maya Community, Othello Tiny Village.
Hillary Jasper Rose
Yoga Instructor and Community Outreach Coordinator at Maya Whole Health. Her philosophical focus while pursuing her Yoga teacher training at Nepal Yoga Academy was on the effects and treatments of chakras.
This blog was started to engage more deeply with our Maya Community. If you would like to make contribute then please contact Hillary:
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