๐๐จ๐ ๐ ๐๐จ๐๐ฒโฆ I wrote this poem in late 2019 and performed it live at the Graduate Students of Loyola Marymount University Social Justice Poetry Slam while studying in the LMU Yoga Studies Graduate Program in 2020 right before the global pandemic shuttered all things in-person. โฃโฃ โฃโฃ
At the time, it seemed like there were so many bigger, more substantial issues going on that I never completed or shared the film I created to go along with my wordsโฆ words that felt so personal to me at the time, but also seemed to speak to the frustrations and lamentations of colleagues, comraโฃds, and community who felt some-type-of-way about their practice and positionality within the margins of the โWestern yoga world.โโฃโฃ โฃโฃ
Now, several years later, I revisit this creative work in a post-pandemic world, with a post-graduate mind, and living in a still unfamiliar postpartum body. โฃโฃ โฃโฃ
Everything is different, yet my timeworn words couldnโt ring truer for me AND though some strides were made during the โsocial justice reckoningโ of 2020+ the yoga โindustryโ still has much work to do in the realms of ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ, ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ, ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ, ๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ . โฃ
๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ, and though motherhood has brought with it a current of quiescence, my ๐บ๐ฐ๐จ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐บ of work continues, and I look forward to expanding my public offerings in the near future in the form of more classes, workshops, Teacher Trainings, and social/communal, creative contributions. โฃโฃ โฃ
๐ฃ๐ฌ๐โ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ โ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐บ๐ฐ๐จ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐บ?โจ๐๐ฝโค๏ธ
๐ถ music: The Blue Pearl by Jesse Gallagher๐ต