Classes continue on Saturdays at the Othello Tiny Village.  Saturday afternoons are a time of community engagement and wellness support.  While many of the residents are still cautious in their approach to the program, a few have opened up to sharing in our yoga practice.  It can be a process to get people to emerge from habits, especially if those habits have been shaped by trauma.  

In addition to class participation, some of the residents have shared their stories with me.  Individuals who have overcome tragic upbringings, who have experienced debilitating loss, or who are fighting unseen battles within themselves face their days in a system that is hostile to their existence.  In the past two weeks, there has been a drive-by shooting and an assault on one of the residents.   I walked with the head of security, a resident of the village, who showed me the bullet holes that tore through the wooden fence surrounding the community.  This recent shooting was not an isolated incident and it is amazing that no one has yet been hit.  Fed up with the threat of danger, he told me of his plans to build a gabion along the perimeter to ensure protection from within the camp.  Outside of the camp, protection is not guaranteed.  Another resident was assaulted on the bus without apparent cause.  No one came to his support. 

This animosity is not a new development.  Residents feel misunderstood and scorned by many outsiders.  Despite the improvement from tent cities, despite the requirements and accountability residents of tiny villages face, and despite the fact that this social and economic crisis is the product of systemic inequity, many in Seattle blame homeless people for their predicament.  The reality that I have witnessed is far removed from the caricature that is painted in the media.  I am welcomed in this community by people that work tirelessly every day at work and in efforts to maintain the village.  When I told them of my personal struggles, they empathized with me.  I know how hard it is to find affordable accommodation in Seattle.  I know what it is like to worry if I will have money to pay my rent next month.  I, like many thousands of Americans, am living paycheck to paycheck.  I live this way not because I am lazy or irresponsible, but because we live in a nation wherein the disparity between the wealthy and the poor has returned to the levels experienced in the Great Depression.  

In this stark, have and have-not existence, the Othello Community is appreciative for what they do have: a solid roof and relative security within the fenced area.  What we at Maya would like to add to this is a reminder to value oneself, to turn inward and recognize the security, peace, and improvement that can be achieved internally.  We hope to strengthen the bonds of this community by offering group practice and collaborative growth.

We also want to connect this community with our own.  We appreciate the support that has been offered from Maya clients in the way of mat, clothing, and monetary donations.  Further, the Othello Community extends its thanks.  I look forward to sharing new highlights from this program as it progresses.

Namaste.

Reading this article by Kumari Devarajan, I was struck with the increasing frequency of the topic of appropriation and sensitivity in pop culture.  As we grow and progress as a society, we must examine ourselves and ensure that we are opening the way to inclusivity while maintaining diversity.  This article was especially interesting to me, being a yoga instructor whose training was completed in Nepal.  There, I used the word “Namaste” on a daily basis outside of my classes.  “Namaste” is coupled with a bow as a respectful greeting.  Older ones are shown greater honor with a deeper bow and the greeting, “Namaskar”.  The honor inherent in this greeting should encourage all who use it to do so with sincerity and due gravity.
 
My choice to share this information was motivated by my awareness that this issue can be confusing and discouraging to some.  Navigating cultural sensitivity in an increasingly global, cross-cultural system is challenging.  While we love the novel ideas and ancient arts that we obtain from this exchange, we can be blind to the impacts our consumerism has on the cultures from which these practices derived.  At Maya, we are conscious of this divide and are earnestly hoping to bridge the rift as much as we can.  Doing so involves consistent communication with our community, focusing on active listening and respect.  Please do not take the following article to imply that we cannot say “Namaste”.  It is simply a reminder that we should all be aware of where our practices originate, their purpose, and how we can show deference. 

​Taken from NPR’s Code Switch section:

​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. 
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Welcome to our Maya Community, Othello Tiny Village.