Yoga in Rwanda

Ive been teaching 8-10 classes a week. A We-Actx driver comes and picks Hanna, my co-teacher and I up and takes us to various places venues around Kigali where we hold the yoga classes - spaces in clinics, local community halls, etc. Co-teaching has been an interesting and, at times, challenging experience. Hannah and I have been gradually synchronising our ideas and methods of teaching, drawing on strengths, supporting weaknesses and slowly finding a pattern that works for both of us. On the whole Hannah talks through the classes while I give adjustements and direct the poses and flow of the class, suggesting modifications as needed. Of all the classes I’ve been teaching with the We-Actx-yoga programme, the following have been my three favourites.

The Inyange Girls Yoga Group

Inyange is the name of a bird that can be found near cows - and sometimes water - and is the name that has been chosen for the teenage girls group I have been teaching for the last two and a half months. In Rwandan culture, Inyange signifies purity, good nature and a welcoming demeanour. Inyange is the image painted by the traditional Rwandan dancer; simple and genuine, graceful and light, with arms spread like wings. Adding the tools of yoga to this cultural sensibility has created a healthy bag of tricks to support the young girls through puberty and beyond.

The project director and coordinator was particularly keen for us to start this new group for teenage girls in order to support their physical health and strength and to bolster confidence and self-esteem. Not least so they have a better chance of warding off any unwanted sexual advances that might come their way. I was sad to have to stop teaching the children’s yoga group - they are joyful bundles of love and immense fun to teach. Hannah now teaches this group, sometimes with the help of interns or volunteers who often go to the children’s class to hang out with the little ones and share in the love. Meanwhile I have had the pleasure of starting up the new group for teenage girls and have been focusing on Astanga sun salutations and standing poses. A few of them have done yoga before but all are taking to the practice like fish to water. They work well, with enthusiasm and commitment and are improving steadily.

Clara shone out as a natural leader and soon became my assistant. When I arrive for class she comes straight up to greet me, takes out the yoga mats and calls the other girls to get ready. I invited her to join another group we teach on Mondays so she could progress a little faster than the others. She brought two friends along, Natalie and Anna, so I now have 3 assistants under my wing.

All of the girls are HIV+ and a few of them are orphans, cared for by older siblings or relatives. The girls who live with their families are happier and more emotionally stable than those who have been taken in by members of the community. A couple of them had been very depressed since discovering their HIV+ status and one girl used to sit near her counsellor every time they met and cry. When asked why she was crying, she said it was because the counsellor reminded her of her mother. Another of the girls was so despondent she didn’t want to wash or have water on her skin. Now with guidance and support from the counsellor and regular yoga classes, both are much happier and have a stronger mental state.

I talked to them a couple of weeks ago about how they were finding the yoga, what profession they’d like to pursue and to demonstrate their favourite yoga pose. Here are some of their responses: -

“Feel well. I have better moral and no longer feel unhappy. My mind is calmer and my thinking is settled. I want to be a translator.” Mary demonstrated forward bend.

“I feel more healthy. I want to be a doctor”. Fatima demonstrated Triangle pose.

“ I feel a change in my body. My bones and body feel stronger, I feel healthy. I want to be a doctor and to teach yoga.” Amanda demonstrated Side Angle pose.

“I no longer feel my bones twisting. My body feels stronger. I want to be a musician.” Sandra demonstrated the dancer pose.

“I used to have aching muscles, not so much now. My chest pain is reduced. I want to become a nurse.” Na’weh demonstrated Chair pose.

Hearing this feedback from the girls was music to my ears and encouraged the idea I had of training up my assistants to talk through Sun Salutation A and B and a few standing poses, so that the group could keep going through the month of September while the yoga programme is suspended. Two new teachers arrive in October.

Last Sunday I got each of the assistants to talk through Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskar) A with the whole group. They all did extremely well, showing variations in confidence in speaking out and leading the group. Clara was most confident in her delivery and had an inventive use of language - I learned some new phrases that I can add to the ‘Kinyarwanda for Yoga’ notes Hanna and I are compiling as a teaching aid for future volunteers. Salima had the firmest grasp on the sequence, was very clear in her instructions and kept a good eye on the group. She got the group to count the five breaths during Downward Dog in English! Anna was the most shy in her delivery but nevertheless gave a fine example of rising to the challenge of steering the group and moved through determinedly despite others trying to take the reins from her. Where one of the assistants forgot to remind the others to lengthen through the spine, she remembered to draw attention to the breath. Where another was not so strong in her voice projection, she was good at keeping an eye on the group and reminding them with “ fatanya ibirenge”(feet together) and “rambura ibirenge” (toes pointed). Between the three of them I am confident they will keep their group going until the new teachers arrive. It was a joy to see and praise their strengths and support them when they faltered. After this, other girls shot their hands up, wanting to lead the group. “Teacher? Me, me!” So we did one last round with them all talking through together.

Ineza

Another class I do is at the Ineza sewing co-op on Wednesdays and Fridays. The group has been doing yoga for a couple of years and they are very competent. We arrive at 3pm and wait a while for them to wind up their sewing for the day, move the machines to one side, sweep the floor and get their kit on, while laughing, joking, bickering and making fun of each other. The group is of mixed ability, some strong and agile while others have limited mobility, largely as a result of injuries sustained during the Genocide years. One woman wears a leg brace as a result of Polio, another has limited movement because of scar tissue on her back, and a few of the women have limited movement in shoulders, hips and ankles. The group have appreciated getting a few more modifications so that the less able ones can also join in and feel integrated into the group.

The Ineza group are so deeply bonded and take such good care of each other that being witness to this has been an education in itself. I have slowly got to know them as individuals - their sense of humour, physical idiosyncrasies and other foibles - and slowly became comfortable and confident enough to joke and lark around with them. Hanna and I have danced, sang songs and exchanged bits of information about our families and personal lives. I’ve painted their nails, bought a few of their products and helped cut cloth for items they are making. They have made me a pair of trousers and customized products, shared fragments of their stories and marveled at my dreadlocks, incredulous to the fact that they are real and not extensions. We have hugged and kissed and taken hundreds of photos. We are a yoga family and we will all be sad to leave each other. The women find this 3-month changeover difficult - just as they get to really know, trust and love the teachers, the teachers leave - again and again.

At a recent meeting, one of the group members asked if teachers could stay for longer. We explained that we would love to stay longer and that, as much as we have enjoyed working with them, we have family and jobs/ studies to get back to. Of course, the group understood but still they had to ask. They told us a story of when they were offered sewing training from We-Actx a while ago. The training was to take place in a town a few hours away from Kigali and would run for 2 weeks. They discussed and discussed who would make up the delegation to receive the training and bring it back to the group. In the end, no one was willing to go because they didn’t want to leave their families for two weeks. The separation after the bonding is a sad part of the process that all volunteers and the groups we teach have to go through. Still, we all have photos, memories and stories to share.

Nyabugogo

The last group I want to talk about is the Nyabugogo group. With this group, play is a big part of the practice. The group has a counseling session first, during which they share problems, worries, stories and news. We sit with them, listening and watching, not understanding what is being said as each woman takes her turn. We 'hear' their bodies speak and the tone of their voices recount their experiences. Sometimes they cry. The whole group is enveloped by the sorrow but there is a sense of lightness too. We are all held by deep love until the one with tears feels calm enough and ready for the next woman to talk. All tears are heard - the understanding of the counsellor and the empathy and kindness of the group is inspiring and supports the women when in distress.

When the circle is complete we can start the yoga. Not everyone practices every week. Some feel too tired or weak so they sit against the wall to rest and watch, but nevertheless enlivened by the yoga activity and energy. Slowly, coaxing the women into a place of movement, we warm up, moving away from the sadness to slowly enter into the breath and body as a place of fun, discovery and healing. Children join in too, and if the woman with newborn twins is there, she sometimes hands her babies to the resting women so she can also join in. It is a pleasure to see sheer surprise on the women’s faces when they find something new. Sometimes awkward or a little shy or embarrassed; they seem to be discovering their bodies for the first time. I imagine they are marveling at the unknown, untapped wonder of their multilayered physical, emotional and mental being - delighted to be alive.

We play with the sun salutation sequence, make mandalas with standing poses and have fun with balances. We teach poses that incorporate eye gazing and mirroring, poses that build stamina, challenge coordination and get the group smiling. We are constantly reading the group, modifying and adjusting them as required. On the floor we rock and roll the spine, hold poses for longer and slowly move back to stillness. By the end of a class we have moved through all the sadness, physical discomfort and worry. The heart is salved, the body is bolstered the mind calmed and laughter has soothed our souls. We all leave feeling happy, together, loved and looking forward to the next week.

Genocide

Genocide Recordings
Sunday 28th June

*** Please note: some of the content in this post is very disturbing. ***

Yesterday (Saturday 27th June) a few of us went to a screening of ‘Genocide Recordings’, part of the 5th Annual Rwanda Film Festival (12-28th June) that has been taking place the last couple of weeks. We got to the venue an hour early, or rather the programme started an hour late....



Several short films were shown. ‘Massacre at Murambi’, by Sam Kauffmann. Murambi is the site of a newly built secondary school where one of the world’s most horrifying mass murders took place. Over 50,000 Tutsi were urged by the Rwanda authorities to flee to the school for their safety from the murderous Hutu militia. But it was a trap; nearly all of them were slaughtered. ‘Flowers of Rwanda’ by David Munoz, a reflection from survivors looking at the situation in Rwanda now and a discussion about the role of educational films in moving forward from genocide. The work of British television journalist, Nick Hughes, was the most stark and haunting. He shot the only known media footage of killings taking place during the genocide.


Hughes film documents his return to Rwanda 14 years after the genocide to try and find out who had been killed and who had done the killing in the horrifying few minutes he captured on film in 1994. He interviewed people from the area where the killing had taken place, showed them his footage and pieced together the events, locating survivors and those who had helped people to survive. A Gacaca court hearing was arranged on the strength of this evidence and perpetrators who had been identified in the footage by the community were invited to admit their crimes. All denied the crimes.

The following extract about Gacaca courts is the UNIFEM website: United Nations Development Fund for Women,

‘Gacaca, Rwanda's traditional, community-based conflict resolution system, was used historically to adjudicate local property crimes and civil disputes. In the aftermath of the 1994 genocide, the Rwandan government revived and revised this indigenous mechanism to assign jurisdiction over some genocide crimes……

As the majority of survivors and witnesses, women's participation has been an important element of the Gacaca system. For example, although in the past women were not permitted to serve as Gacaca judges, the government has required that at least 30 per cent of the judges be female. According to one scholar, "The community basis of Gacaca allows women to participate on various levels, recognizes their role in the reconciliation process, and gives them an identity beyond that of victims."

It was a difficult experience to watch this screening of people being slaughtered and to see onlookers at the scene jigging about, dancing. But it was also compelling to see survivors, although devastated by the recording, driven to watch the footage again and again, craning their heads toward the small computer, searching the screen and their minds for the identity of the perpetrators, knowing they now lived among them.

There was also a short documentary about the 1dollarcampaign, which is a project to raise funds to build houses, homes, for genocide orphans who stay at school during school holidays because they have not family and nowhere else to go.

In between films there were talks exploring possibilities for recovery and reconciliation and song performances evoking forgiveness and unity, hoping to salve the trauma of this national tragedy.


Genocide Memorials
Tuesday 30th June

Today I went with my housemates, Hanna, Jammie and Noam, to two genocide memorial sites. It was so good to get out of the city. Good to see the endless, lush and beautifully rolling hills of Rwanda but gut wrenching to contemplate the remnants of mass murder and a struggle to grapple mentally and emotionally with the extent and horror of the genocide crimes.

We went first to the church at Nyamata, 30km from Kigali. 10,000 people were massacred in this church and 40,000 in the surrounding areas. The church was administered by European Clergy who were killed once it was discovered they were protecting Tutsis. People had sought refuge in this church because during the 1959 ousting of Tutsis, those who sought safety there had been spared.

The site, lovingly maintained, is decked with purple and white bunting and bouquets of flowers. Purple is the colour of death in Rwanda. I entered the church slowly, halted after just a few steps by scene the before me, my diaphragm and throat tightened against the rising tide of emotions. I saw mounds and mounds of dirty, dusty remnants of clothing piled up on wooden benches, blood stained walls, shrapnel holes in the blood-splattered ceiling and instruments of death on the altar. I recalled the work of Christian Boltanski, a Paris based installation artist whose work wrestles with death, memory and loss. I sat down for a while to get a hold of myself before moving slowly through the space, full of sorrow for the people who had been murdered - suffering brutal and merciless death.

We were told by our guide and Banner, our very well informed taxi driver, that clothes and bones were gathered from outside the church and the surrounding area and bodies were still being discovered to this day; pregnant women were held down on the altar, babies violently ripped from their bodes and we were shown a blood stained patch where a baby had been bashed to death against the wall. It was impossible to take it all in. Shocked and enraged I started to take photographs, forcing myself to witness this aftermath, present to the experience of my whole body in revolt against what I was seeing and had been told.


Outside in the courtyard two underground caverns have been dug to house countless bones and coffins, each containing the bones of 10 or more people. Walking along the short, very narrow, claustrophobic corridor, surrounded on either side by stacked coffins and shelves upon shelves of bones and skulls, some of which were cracked from the powerful blow of a machete, again brought the enormity of the crimes home. Feeling a bit nauseous, it was a relief to get back out in the open and feel- very aware of my alive body - fresh air in my lungs and warm bright sunlight ton my skin. The purple and white bunting blowing in the cool breeze, the pale blue sky, and brightly coloured flowers and the blue-green hills in the distance all quietly comforting, helping me to regain a sense of cohesion.



We drove on to Ntarama church, just a few kilometers away from Nyamata on the road back to Kigali. This genocide site has been left as it was after the bodies were removed. Again remnants of clothes were hung on the walls and also the rafters of the church. There were shelves of skulls (some very small), bones, piles of personal belongings and weapons. 5,000 were slaughtered at this site, mostly women and children. Behind the church were two small buildings where people had also been killed. One building was a Sunday school for the children the other a kitchen. Nearby there was a wall of names of the deceased, a work in progress. We all stood and walked around drying our eyes, taking in the devastation, feeling countless emotions and speechless. Then, dry-eyed, we signed the visitors’ book, left our donations and instinctively sought contact with the children who had gathered outside to watch the group of Muzungus. Amakuru? Amakuru? How are you? We called out. After a moment’s hesitation, their chorus response, Nymesa! Fine! brought a smile to all our faces, lifting our spirits as we got into the car to go.


We drove back in silence and stopped at Gahaya Links, a basket making business started by two Rwandans sisters, employing over 4,000 rural women, many widows from the Genocide. A few women were sitting together outside the main warehouse talking, one feeding her child, about to start making baskets. Inside, the splendour of their handiwork in countless colours and designs of traditionally woven baskets, bowls and mats. I received this sight as a celebration of traditional Rwandan handicraft skills and a testament to the enduring strength, survival spirit and sustained recovery among women in Rwanda.

Day of the African Child

Sunday 21st June 2009

It’s Sunday and I have an extra day off, resting, reading and relishing the extra time on my hands.

Last Tuesday was ‘Day of the African Child’, an annual event which commemorates South African children who lost their lives protesting against poor education….

“In Soweto, South Africa, thousands of black school children took to the streets in 1976, in a march more than half a mile long, to protest the inferior quality of their education and to demand their right to be taught in their own language. Hundreds of young boys and girls were shot down; and in the two weeks of protest that followed, more than a hundred people were killed and more than a thousand were injured. To honour the memory of those killed and the courage of all those who marched, the Day of the African Child has been celebrated on 16 June every year since 1991, when it was first initiated by the Organization of African Unity. The Day also draws attention to the lives of African children today. This year's theme is the need to ensure all children are registered at birth.” UNICEF

Four years ago We-Actx chose this as the day on which to celebrate the good health, future possibilities, hopes and dreams of all the children in the We-Actx programme, linking the importance of their lives to the wider history of Africa.

All age groups, from the 4-5 year olds to the 18-20 year old young adults, worked hard for weeks preparing for the day’s celebrations. Watched by proud parents, invited guests, local government representatives and We-Actx executive, many of them displayed their diverse talents during the half day programme of music and dance performances, poetry and comedy sketches. There were speeches from the We-Actx programme directors, the giving of prizes by to those who had excelled and also a few choice words from the United Sates Ambassador to Rwanda - including a smattering of Kinyarwanda, which had everyone raising their eyebrows, impressed.

The ambassador described the children as the ’lights of Rwanda’, and asked them all to look into each other’s eyes. “Can you see the light in the eyes of the person sitting next to you?” The children ogled each other. Some smiling brightly while others had fun pulling faces; some pensive while others were confused as to what was being asked of them. He then turned to the parents and asked, ‘Do you see the light in the eyes of your children? That light is the light and hope of Rwanda: the light from the future stars of your country.” I wasn’t sure how to interpret this. It reminded me of drama exercises I used to do while doing theatre studies in Amsterdam and creative personal development workshops I did in London soon after the shock of losing one of my beloved sisters. On the one hand I felt slightly embarrassed. It was so American, so cheesy. On the other, here was a very simple technique employed to bypass the critical mind and connect to the deeper place of hope and inspiration that is a perpetual source of creativity and love in us all. This is the light that shines so brightly in children unless it is dimmed and marred by the harsh consequences of social unrest, war or, in the case of Rwanda, Genocide. Poverty, HIV infection and the attendant maladies of ill health, mal nutrition, social stigma, lack of education, the trauma of genocide and genocide rape together with that of sexual abuse etc. all combine in different ways to impede the lives of the children and families all We-Actx staff and volunteers serve. There was something very special and necessary about this day of celebration that reminded everyone just how precious each and every one of the 600 odd children present that day really is and that in the wake of so much devastation, hope lives on in the lives and dreams of all Rwanda’s children.

Speeches were followed by a slap up Rwandan lunch of rice, spinach, bean stew and or meat stew, baked potatoes, macaroni cheese and a bottle of Fanta. The children were served first and, as a few of the volunteers queued up to get food for the children, I noticed several Rwandan guests or perhaps journalists taking the opportunity to photograph ‘mzungus’ (white or rich people) serving food. It was good to meet and mingle with more of the We-Actx staff and to see many of the women I teach out in their Sunday best. Happy, proud and enjoying a little respite from the hardship of their daily lives to celebrate the good health and future hopes for their bright and beautiful children. The event made the front page of a local paper, hailed as a success all round.

Teaching
Monday 22nd June 2009

Numbers in some of the groups seemed to be a little low and after a little investigation through the group counselors, we discovered that many of the women are tired: they walk a long way in the heat of the dry season to get to the class, or they have been working for hours before the class. They are hungry and thirsty and don’t have money for food and yoga is relatively or completely new to some. Speaking with Deirdre, who was instrumental in setting up the We-Actxyoga project over a year ago and overseas all the teaching, we are beginning to understand that the yoga we offer is not just a way to exercise and relax body and mind but also an opportunity to have some fun, feel happy, elevate serotonin levels and feel loved.

As a result, Hanna (my co-teacher) and I have loosened our teaching approach considerably. Astanga yoga follows a set sequence that is repeated each time one does the yoga practice. This is both a benefit and a possible drawback. On the plus side, once the sequence is learned, one has a very well designed yoga sequence for life. The down side is that the practice can lack creativity and become a bit too serious if followed to the letter blindly. Although heavily modified, the yoga we’ve been teaching the various groups has followed the Astanga primary series sequence fairly faithfully. Letting go of adherence to the set primary sequence even further has brought change, liberating creativity and freeing us up to be more playful and spontaneous.

Yoga classes taught after the emergence of this new understanding last week were much more fun. There are fewer struggles with the language, the adjustments and the pace and more connection to joy. Rearranging the sequence a little, including in a variety of balance poses, being led by spontaneous movements women made and weaving them into asana (yoga poses), things began to flow more freely. These small changes have upped the entertainment factor in our classes, making way for more laughter, more energy, more sweat and more of the “happy” hormone, serotonin. Serotonin occurs naturally in the brain and greatly influences an overall sense of well-being. Stimulated by exercise, laughter happiness it helps to regulate moods, temper anxiety, and relieve depression. It is also credited with being a natural sleep aid. All of which will go a long way to bringing health happiness and healing the women who come to class.

The notion of yoga as performance or entertainment might seem contrary to some but its ability to unlock, release and stimulate healing in the body-mind complex is now undisputed. I feel as if I’ve turned a corner and got my yoga teaching groove back!

Grooving
Tuesday 23rd June 2009

Its now the early hours of Tuesday morning and im still buzzing from the best an most sociable weekend yet in Rwanda. This included a delicious brunch overlooking a spectacular view of Kigali with a few members of the yoga group I teach at the American Embassy; a few films shown as part of the 5th Rwandan Film Festival and a twilight hour leaving party which offered all who went from the house their first dance in Rwanda. The band played butt shaking Congolese style music that, in spite of the sporadic problems with the mic and speakers, kept us going after other guests had gone. The waiting staff and musicians and our selves the last limber occupiers of that starlit, green dance floor.

Meeting the WE-ACTx Women and Children

Ineza Sewing Co-operative
Wednesday 11th June 2009

WE-ACTx has set up various projects and collaborates with various partner organizations to offer medical treatment, care and support for those living with HIV. Staff and service users of many the projects are offered free yoga classes by WE-ACTx Yoga a branch of the parent company. Ineza is an income generating in-house sewing and crafts co-operative set up by WE-ACTx in 2007 to make crafts and cloths for sale on the international market.

This is the longest standing yoga group that WE-ACTx Yoga support and has been running twice a week for two years. The women of the group are very familiar with the Astanga Yoga Primary Series and happily our stammering Kinyarwanda and tell us how to talk through the movements we are demonstrating. We teach yoga and we are taught Kinyarwanda. There are 25 women in the co-op. I have met about half of them. It is not always the same group present every week but there is hard core that are regularly there, ready and willing to get on their mats. A couple of the women have injuries that prohibit them from doing Astanga so a gentler style of Hatha yoga is necessary. Its wonderful to see that, in spite of the horrific experiences they have been through, the Ineza women have a high degree of body awareness and are not afraid to say if they don’t want to practice, they are tired, I’m going too fast or they have had enough.

Relaxation, Savasana - Corps Pose - seems to be the favourite time. It is perhaps the most healing time but also potentially the most risky time. All the women are genocide survivors and some of them were in churches, feigning death, as their kinfolk were hacked to pieces around them. Hanna and I have been warned never to take photos at this time as it can trigger PTSD flashbacks although gladly, we were informed, there haven’t been any for over a year. In the case of flashbacks, we have been instructed to stand back and let the women deal with the situation. They have learnt how to group round anyone who has been jolted back in time to horrific and terrifying events that are then relived as if occurring in real-time. The women know how to cope and do what needs to be done to help each other return to a place of safety. Never take photos in Savasana.

There is a photography issue in general. Volunteers are not permitted to take photos of anyone on any of the programmes unless we seek approval first. The Rwanda guide book advises to request permission when wanting to take photos of people, their shops stalls etc. So, posted photos are taken on routes too projects or looking out from project venues etc. Until i get some photo release forms signed. Under no circumstances are people to photograph any military presence or activity including soldiers or guards with guns, who I see often around town.

Nyabugogo

This is a relatively new group in the busy market district of Nyabugogo. The group has only had a few classes with Gail, the previous yoga volunteer. Many women come to see, speak with and be around their trauma counselor, Alice, and the feeling of health and healing that emanates from being together for the yoga. We practice on large reed mats, laid out to overlap each other and cover a large dusty floor. This is to accommodate the 5 or 25 women who may want to practice yoga while others sit on long benches against the walls and watch. We don’t have so many regular yoga mats so having a sticky mat each, although preferable, is not possible just now. We rely on people bringing a few with them when they arrive or leaving their behind when they go.

With this group, we are slowly building up the foundations of breath, body awareness and alignment, together with the strength and flexibility required to sustain the continuous flow of standing poses that make up the Astanga sequence. For now, we focus on warm up asana (poses) leading to few slow rounds of Sun Salutation A. We then do a few standing poses to prepare the women for Sun Salutation B. Some of the women tire easily because they are hungry, ill and have low energy or have injuries of some kind. They take time out, as they need to, sit against the wall and rest a while. After our last class (Wed 11th June), there was a tangible air of ease as the women eased into Savasana, to take rest on their backs. After a few moments, I found myself getting up and heading for my camera. Nooooo! Hanna, my co-teacher whispered urgently. I remembered instantly, halted in my tracks. How on earth could I forget, even for a moment? It was the look of peace on the women’s faces and the presence of peace in their bodies as they lay still resting that I wanted to avow. To see again and share with others at some other time to show that it is possible to feel a sense of safety and peace after experiences of extreme trauma, even if only for a few moment. It’s a good thing there are two of us teaching together. There is so much to learn and remember and of course mistakes can easily be made. Thankfully, with two of us, there is less chance of serious error. This is very comforting in the midst of so much that is new.

Nyacyonga
Friday 13th June 2009

This is a completely new yoga group that we have just set up at the Nyacyonga District Health Center on the outskirts of Kigali. It’s about 30 minutes from the centre and is the furthest class on my teaching schedule. I enjoyed the views whizzing past as we drove and took photos through the open car window. We got to the centre round 1pm as arranged, and introduced our selves at reception. Seraphine, the co-ordinator was occupied elsewhere so we took a seat on one of the long wooden benches and waited. We sat with 30 odd men women and children who were waiting to be seen for various reasons including from prenatal care, birthing, well-child care including vaccinations, diagnosis and treatment of acute illnesses such as malaria and endemic infectious diarrhea and HIV evaluation, care and treatment with antiretroviral (ARV) medications.

By the time Seraphine arrived it was a little too late for us to give the class. To clear the space, wait while everyone got changed have a decent time for the class and then pack up would have made us late for our next appointment. This was African yoga time – very different from English yoga time. I am learning to go with the flow, be more flexible with time and enjoy the space this gives to become more aware of and engaged with my surroundings. Still, we couldn’t let go of our schedule completely so had to disappointment those who wanted the class to start that day (Wedensday 11th) as planned.

We visited the Nyaconga group again today (Friday 13th). We arrived early to set up and allow for people to get ready. Still, we had to wait for some time for people to change and be ready to begin. This group is made up of the health centre staff and took place along a shaded corridor outside nursing rooms full of inpatients receiving treatment at the centre.

It was a very different experience teaching this group of well educated young people as opposed to the women service user groups, most of whom will not have had such a high level of schooling. Everyone was completely new to yoga, wondered what it was all about and wanted to know a bit about it before we began. Many of the participants wanted us to teach in French, some wanted English but we settled on Kinyarwanda so that everyone would understand and we could practice our talking through. It was a pleasure to teach such a lively group and experience their surprise and wonder as they executed movements they had not done before and encountered the bodily sensations, thoughts and feeling that came with this new form of breath synchronised exercise. It was also a challenge because they all chatted away through most of the class, some even answering mobile calls and texting as they went along. They ignored my suggestion to put aside their phones while doing yoga. Not seeing any reason why they should not. This reminded me of going to the cinema in London with my mum many, many years ago. My mother is Nigerian. I forget what we were seeing but we were quietly talking through the film. After a while someone behind us leant forward; “Shhhhh! Be quiet”. My mother, offended, turned round and raising her voice said, “What do you mean keep quiet? You can’t tell me to keep quiet.” She kissed her teeth and we carried on. For her, and me when I am out with her, it is normal to talk at social events, be it the cinema, theatre, live music, whatever. It’s a cultural thing. Relaxation was also different with this group. People found it hard to keep still and stop talking. Once the movement stopped, it seemed the session was over. We explained that relaxation was an important part of the practice.

The class was also attended by a whole host of people who had come to seek help and treatment at the centre, so we had a sizable audience for the proceedings with much chatting, laughing and commentary as it was a new experience for them also. I cant say whether this was a disturbing distraction for those doing yoga or whether is didn’t make any difference at all. Interestingly, after the class a few people wanted to know why the Sun Salutation greeted sun and not God. I said it was because the sun is the source of energy for all life on earth. This answer seemed to be acceptable. I look forward to seeing how the group develops as they become more familiar with yoga and discussing with them what they think about this practice from a cultural point of view. In London, people of African and Caribbean heritage make up a very small percentage to the overall yoga community. I often wonder why this is. I know there is a common perception in the black community that yoga is perceived as a religious practice and no not compatible with Christian belief. If anyone can shed any light on this, your comments will be very welcome.

Gadaffi Mosque
Sunday 14th June 2009

Over a hundred children between the ages of 4 and 20 gather every Sunday at the Gadaffi Mosque in Nyamirambo district to attend the children’s programme. They play football, take lessons in English, receive supportive and motivational talk reminding them to take good care of themselves, take their medicine, study well etc, and, at the moment, prepare for the Day of the African Child celebrations. The younger children 4-10 have been having yoga classes once a week for some time and love it. We hope to start giving yoga classes to the teenage girls in a week or two.

I first taught the children’s session last Sunday and had been looking forward to meeting them all week. After they had finished their weekly support and motivational talk from Bertin, who runs the children’s programme, about 40 odd of the younger children, ran over to where we were waiting in the outdoor yoga space, smiling, chatting and clamoring to hold our hands. What a welcome. The innocence and love that emanates from young children must be one of the eternal joys in life. The class is held on a big open square of dusty concrete without mats. Slowly we arranged ourselves into a circle, held hands and, with eyes closed, stood in silence for a while - the little ones peaking from time to time. This is how we commenced an hour of fun yoga. We did a few rounds of sun salutation A then tackled sun salutation B. Once in downward dog we counted to ten in English, Hanna and I doing our best to slow down their quickening pace. Trying to keep an eye on so many of them was almost impossible but amazingly most of them stayed with us. We played with various standing poses, balances and sitting partner work. It was definitely the highlight of my teaching week.

The session today was equally fun although the children were a little less focused and therefore more restless. We did more standing partner balances, trying to keep off the dusty floor and worked in smaller groups. They play well together but often want to have Hanna n I as a partner instead of each other. Especially Hanna because she is a muzungu – white person! After teaching the children and hanging out with everyone for a while, watching some of the chidren playing football, I walk back with hanna and other volunteers through the busy streets of Nyamirambo enjoying the sights to be seen, wishing i could have taken more photos.

Thinking about my teaching practice, usually flowing and full of detailed instruction, here it hobbles along awkwardly. Much as I feel I have reached a certain level of attunement in teaching yoga, my slowness in picking up the language throws me back to a that challenging and uncomfortable place we inhabit when learning something new. Without words, it feels at times like starting all over again. On the positive side, this is a wonderful opportunity for Svadhyaya, which means self-study. Using our experiences in life, our mistakes, hurts and challenges, joys and successes, to help us cultivate greater self-awareness that works for the betterment of our selves and our community and world at large. In this vein, it’s interesting to watch myself oscillating between and tussles with varying ego states of mind and emotion that are harsh and throw me off centre, clouding access to more forgiving inner resource. What is required here is that invaluable tool that new and old yoga students are encouraged to adopt: ‘the beginners mind’. This is the child-like attitude of open curiosity, uninhibited enthusiasm and a non-judgmental receptivity to new experiences. Teaching from this frame of mind, the inner critic, ever ready to judge, quietens.

Beginners mind enables a letting go of overly high expectations that I should be teaching flowing Astanga Vinyasa classes in fluent Kinyarwanda inside two weeks! Instead I attempt to fully inhabit my body and mind and tune into the present moment of experience and be with the women, children or mixed group I am teaching. The present moment of experience being the most potent place to be when learning anything new and the best place from which to meet all challenges that arise. As the Ineza women say, Buhoro Buhoro! - Slowly, Slowly! And as the late Pattabhi Jois would say, “practice, practice and all is coming.”