5/16 yoga
Hi friends,
On writing and reading. In preparation for shifting towards dissertation writing, I have been reading a lot about writing and reading. There was a delightful deep dive on literary citations, which reminded me of feminist citation practices and led me to this piece on citation by Maiko Tanaka centered on Claudia Rankine’s work, writing at one point, “Citation here is not only an acknowledgment of sources of inspiration, but also realizes the community it references, performatively bringing it into being.” Citations are deeply connected to acknowledgments, recognition of how prior work influences present work, and Brandon Taylor wrote about the “tiny white people in our heads” and Black subjectivity, while this throwback from Austin Kleon reminds us to read the acknowledgments.
Later in that piece, Tanaka writes about the construction of an artistic response facilitated by Palestinian artist Emily Jacir, and how one artist’s response incorporated a citation that “put seemingly remote events into proximity, bringing the lived experience of war to places where people may not have any idea of what was happening.” The Tanaka piece is from 2015, but I am sitting with it today in light of recent events. Mona Chalabi’s tour guide of Palestine and Sarah Aziza’s writing about how Palestinian lives matter have been particularly evocative and haunting as well.
Western yoga, also, could benefit from more citation of its influences, and as a non-South Asian yoga teacher, I am often thinking about inclusivity and asana, about making clear what the boundaries of my own knowledge are, and where they come from, and how opportunities to participate in asana practice can be invitations for deeper reflection for both students and teachers.
Schedule this week below:
[unless otherwise specified, classes are 60 minutes.]
Monday
noon intermediate with EmilyTuesday
noon intermediate with Emily
5:30pm intermediate with Paulina
5:30pm tender tuesday basics with Jill (75 min)Wednesday
noon intermediate with EmilyThursday
noon intermediate with Emily
6pm intermediate with Jill (75 min)Friday
7:15am Mysore self-practice with Paulina (free)
noon intermediate with Emily
noon power hour with JillSaturday
NoneSunday
10am sunday funday basics with Jill
General housekeeping:
Payments (via Venmo)
Jill: @somerjill
Paulina: @paulinah
Emily: @Emily-Sullivan-6044For Emily's classes, the Zoom password is "Metta."