love is action

Reflection on this today. I was experiencing some conflict in one of my friendships a few months back, and had said in therapy, “I know it’s coming from a place of love.” & my brilliant therapist asked, “Does it feel like love? Isn’t that what matters?” 🤯🤯🤯 I have been seeing posts within the yoga community in the vein of “loving all beings” and compassion for “all sides.” I know this is in line with the yogic teachings- we are all the same at the core, we are all one. Non-dualism. The intentions aren’t wrong. 
But how that lands in the midst of the current uprising against systemic racism and oppression? When black and brown people are literally fighting for their lives in the streets? It doesn’t land as love. It lands as a dismissal. It lands as a brush-off of the pain and reality of daily life for so much of our country.

As students of yoga- and as humans- our job is to dig under the surface of things, however messy that may get in the process. To peel back the layers of conditioning- personally and collectively. And our group conditioning- our samskaras, in yoga- includes white supremacy, includes fear of the “other,” specifically black men. This is a white person problem and it’s our job to do the work to fix it. We cannot sit on the sidelines and extol the virtues of ahimsa when our silence lands as harm. When our “love and light” lands as harm. Love is action. 
So what to do? Start with educating yourself. Google is your friend. I highly recommend following @rachel.cargleand @nicoleacardoza to start. Love is an action, and it’s time for us all to act. 💚

I’m still in the early stages of learning. I look back on past actions and cringe. And I have been called to task. I felt the textbook white fragility response. It’s not comfortable but it is necessary. 
#yogapractice #yogaeverydamnday#yogaeveryday#yogainthetimeofcorona#yogaoffthemat #ahimsa #nonharming
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