by Omer Day Seven:
22 Nisan 5780
Thursday 16 April 2020
As we complete the first week of the Omer, we move into the majesty of lovingkindness — Malkhut within Chesed. Today’s practice is contributed by Autumn Leonard: racial justice educator, yoga teacher at Urban Yoga Foundation, and Jewish woman of color. Autumn shares a simple yoga-based progression to help root ourselves in our sovereign relationships to the earth, to ourselves, and to community as we think about what it means to shelter in place and how we can work against injustice happening to those up and down the social safety net (or lack thereof).
Autumn is leading a series of *free* online yoga classes for Jews of Color and multiracial Jewish families in partnership with Ammud: JOC Torah Academy, and the Jews of Color Field Building Initiative! See dates and session descriptions below.
☀️Omer Day 7 practice [22 Nisan 5780 | Thursday 16 April 2020] ☀️
- Root your feet and body to the ground;
- Move into Tree Pose on one side, repeating mantra “Bend with the wind.” (2 minutes)
- Move into Tree Pose on other side, same mantra (2 minutes)
- Move into Mountain Pose, repeating mantra “We shall not be moved.” (3 minutes)
🌀Materials 🌀
- Flat open space
- Yoga mat (optional)
✨Practice Notes ✨
- Barefeet recommended for optimal ground feel and balance;
- Tree Pose is about learning to wiggle and fall over and get back up again as you learn to stand on one leg;
- Mountain Pose is about learning to take up space and stand your ground when necessary (ie in the sense of civil rights and Autumn’s parents registering voters in the south);
- We might reflect on the deeper meaning of this practice and these mantras right now in the context of Shelter in Place and also the injustices that are happening up and down the social safety net (or lack thereof);
- Optional modifications for both poses are to do lying down or against a wall. See https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/tree-pose.
☀️This post is part of our Omer Wellness Series – a daily 7-minute opportunity for introspection and intentional focus on caring for ourselves, each other, and our environment in this incredibly challenging time. ☀️#omer #wellness #jewish #countingtheomer #jewishmovement #movementculture #movementecology #selfcare #dailypractice #hebrewcalendar #kabbalah #jewishwellness #dailyomerpractice #omerinplace #omer5780 #yoga #torahyoga
Free online Yoga sessions for Jews of Color & Multiracial Jewish families!
Dates:
- Sunday 4/19 at 11am: Havdalah Stretch
- Sunday 4/26 at 11am: Havdalah Stretch
- Thur 5/7 at 8:30pm: Reach 4 Resilience (for parents and everyone who could use a little more resilience)
- Thur 5/14 at 8:30 pm: Reach 4 Resilience
Class Descriptions:
- Havdalah Stretch (with Ammud: The JOC Torah Academy and Jews of Color Field Building Initiative)
- Length: 45 minute stretch + Havdalah (15 – 30 minutes)
- Havdalah marks the separation from the ideal of shabbat and a return to our daily grind. What does it mean to celebrate the end of perfection? Right now the world we are surviving is anything but perfect. Discover what your body needs this week through both prayer and movement in community with other Jews Of Color.
- Beginner and Advanced yoga students welcome.
- Candle and Besamim (yummy smelling things) optional!
- Reach4Resilience
- Length: 75 minutes
- Have you heard this before? We got this! You can do it! 加油! Suck it up! As Jews of color we are often asked to do more with less, to pray in spaces that don’t always have our back, to show up to work or study despite micro aggressions or outright racism. And now we are living through these times… What happens when your body says Dayeinu! Enough! I don’t got this!
- Come and spend some time with yourself and your fam. Learn some techniques to help you find resilience inside yourself, and when that doesn’t work… find it in your JOC fam! Good for beginning and advanced practitioners.
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