with all of the tragic events that happened in the past week, from flooding and despair in puerto rico to the rolling back of the birth control mandate and the terrifying and senseless shooting in las vegas, our hearts and minds and bodies have hardly had time to recover, to understand, to heal and to help. we are left with so much uncertainty, grief, pain and sadness. so what do we do to help find a solution? where do we turn to help heal ourselves while helping others? how do we get involved here in our community to help ourselves and others? what if yoga could be a space to practice self-care, to be nourished, to shed your pain and gain community and understanding and also to help the people of puerto rico, who need so much more than a golf trophy dedication?
tuesday night in an old firehouse-turned-loft in north greenpoint this can all be a reality, with a personalized yoga and community dinner led by joanna stevens, founder and leader of what if yoga.
to be in joanna’s presence you immediately feel both calmed and inspired. she’s one of those women who is strong, wise, deeply spiritual and incredibly generous. it’s this spirit, along with her passion for yoga and prowess for cooking, that led joanna to start what if yoga. sitting down with her sunday night, she described the concept simply as “what if you could take care of yourself and others too?” as a trained strala yoga instructor, her approach to life, wellness, and femininity is whole and cyclical. to bring together two of her passions, yoga and cooking, joanna has been putting on nearly monthly yoga dinners. it’s like a secret supper club meets a personalized yoga session and focuses on maintaining the cleansing and nourishment of the body. this week, joanna adds another dynamic to her event by invoking a tribal connectedness with yoga for people with periods. yep, i said periods. full stop.
a lot has changed for women in the past year. from a parade of people, both men and women, wearing pussy hats, to so much support being raised for planned parenthood when it’s needed it most, to trendy tampon-free period underwear, to this video that still gives me chills. we are finally having conversations surrounding our bodies that we so desperately need to have, and for the first time, we’re being heard. because if we don’t bring this language out into the open we will continue to suffer under that dangerous suppression of locker room talk and nearsighted injustices by politicians and incompetent assholes alike, who all too often, end up in positions of power and influence.
rarely do we put much recognition into menstruation beyond checking to make sure we have a tampon in our bags before running out the door. in conversation with joanna, she told me about reading how villages handled menstruation in the past. “all of the women would menstruate at the same time. they would go into a tent for that 5-day period and spend this time together, taking care of each other and connecting to a deeper part of community, of womanhood, and their own bodies.” it is this same tribal connectivity that joanna is trying to bring in to tuesday night’s yoga for people with periods.
joanna recognzies that for as much time as we all spend bitching and moaning about our periods, every month is actually an opportunity. ”if we have something that is considered a problem that repeats itself over and over again, it’s no longer a problem; it’s a laboratory,” she told me. “each month we should be deeply connected with how we are feeling, and how our bodies are reacting.” tuesday night’s event will be centered around this approach. upon arrival, guests will choose on a graphic where they are in their cycle (you don’t have to be bleeding to attend), and once chosen, the yoga class will be personalized depending on where your monthly cycle falls. to find a deeper connection to your monthly flow as you go through your flow. she also encourages participants to prepare to mentally shed something that has been holding them back or weighing heavy on their minds and hearts recently. “just as our body is shedding something monthly, we can connect to that and help rid ourselves of our own personal resistance, anger, frustration, or grief.”
a communal dinner will be provided after the class, made with love and intention by joanna’s masterful hands. all guests will have an opportunity to connect and communicate and to build bonds, as a community of women or women-identifying people, to recognize that we are stronger together. the atmosphere that joanna creates is one that first has you feel and understand both the strength and limitations of your body, transcending into a calming and restorative appreciation with a 10-minute savasana, and finally, in sharing in a meal of nourishment and comfort and love.
in addition to this body-centric approach to yoga, jo will be collecting tampons for the women of puerto rico, which is something that has been painfully forgotten at donation centers. “women are handling most of the emotional impact of the hurricane. they are dealing with a flood and now a flood of their own,” she remarked.
this donation-based event starts at 7pm. sign up here. $30 suggested, and donations over $40 will have 50% of proceeds going to recovery efforts in puerto rico.
come, connect with your menstrual flow. make yourself physically and emotionally stronger by engaging in a 45-minute yoga session that will help you shed your grievances and personal resistance. connect with a community of inspiring females over a meal cooked by the hands of another. and send love and support for the women of puerto rico so they know they have not been forgotten. and then follow @what_if_yoga for updates on her yoga dinners and events, that will take place every tuesday in october.
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