Yoga means "to Unite"
By: Brittany Lopez
Yoga in Sanskrit means “to unite.”
While most people think in the unity of mind, body, & soul, it is much deeper than that.
Yoga asks us to reflect on our connection with everything & everyone that exists within this plane.
Yoga, to me, is honoring how everything is connected.
Oneness rooted in love & humanity.
As I mourn the injustices & exploitation inflicted on my neighbors,
I invite you to ask yourself:
How am I practicing yogic values when interacting with the immigrant community?
We are one.
Western ideology has made us believe in individualism, but really, we are one and the same.
We are mirrors of each other & the life that we could’ve had.
The pain you feel, I feel.
This is what yoga has taught me & continues to preach to me (because yes, I find God in yoga, & its teachings have become my liturgy).
Yoga’s roots are grounded in social justice & love for others.
We cannot separate the two.
To practice yoga means to welcome a foreigner with open arms,
but also to do everything in your power to ensure their liberation.
If you’ve come to my yoga class, you’ve probably heard me play Spanish music.
Many times, I will misspeak or mispronounce a word.
I will never forget how I once cued people to sit on the scrotum instead of their sacrum.
This is to say, I have a personal immigration story... & it’s obvious.
For a very long time, I lived in the northern mountains of Nicaragua.
I loved growing up with my grandparents in their backyard filled with guava & mamoncillo trees.
I can close my eyes & still remember the sound of the marimba, kids' laughter, & different pitches singing to the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary during our annual Purísimas. I miss everything about Nicaragua, & if I had the choice, I don’t think I would’ve left.
That’s the thing about immigration.
Immigrants do not want to leave their homes, but they’re forced to.
Out of desperation for safety, they must do the bravest thing possible & start over in a new place.
In my own journey, Nicaragua was going through a heartbreaking sociopolitical crisis.
Nicaragua’s government is cruel. I witnessed friends who spoke out against state violence disappear, my uncles be targeted for their efforts to defend Nicaraguan democracy, & I learned to memorize protest schedules to avoid being caught in the middle of often deadly demonstrations. I was lucky to be born with dual citizenship, but most of my neighbors who carry an immigration story were not this fortunate.
& even now, is having a US citizenship enough if you look like me?
Current narratives & political discourse are asking us to normalize cruelty against immigrants.
Constant acts of unkindness attempt to deliberately desensitize our shared humanity.
I ask you to reject & resist.
Reject any narrative that seeks to vilify immigrants or create a stereotype of the “good immigrant.”
Do not confuse your perception of a good immigrant with the performative support immigrants are often forced to embody.
A support that ignores their trauma, personal circumstances, or history.
Accept people with open arms because you embody Karuna (compassion) & recognize that we are complex beings just trying to do our best.
Resist the consuming force of hopelessness & the overbearing, violent language that attempts to disconnect us from one another. Remember, yoga teaches us Ahimsa (non-violence). Do not let external forces convince you that a demographic that is exploited & vulnerable is the culprit of your life’s heartbreak.
& if you are like me, you may be tired.
Rest today, & fight tomorrow. 💛
Resist the belief that what you’re doing is not enough.
Practicing yoga requires taking rest when necessary, but also fighting for the liberation of all.
Continue to show up in this labor of love.
If you’re asking yourself:
What can I do for my immigrant neighbors at this time?
I invite you to consider these forms of support:
Sit & walk with your immigrant neighbors who are experiencing distress. Offer a shoulder they can lean on & listening ears that provide a quiet presence when fear overwhelms them. If you are looking to do this through a specific organization, Support for Families in Crisis provides immigrant families facing deportation with a variety of support, including emotional support.
Engage with elected officials & institutions through sustained civic participation to ensure they uphold the rule of humanity (which I will always argue is love.) Participate in town halls, send letters, & make phone calls.
Be a voice of reason & love.Donate to local organizations that are immigrant-focused and immigrant-led. Locally, I think of U-Lead Athens, Support for Families in Crisis, Casa de Amistad, and Dignidad Inmigrante en Athens.
I leave you with one of my favorite quotes by Paramahansa Yogananda:
“I remember when my Master [Swami Sri Yukteswar] asked me, ‘Do you love everybody equally?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ But he said, ‘Not yet, not yet.’ Then my youngest brother came to study in my school at Ranchi, and I had that consciousness that he was mine. I realized then why my Master had said, ‘Not yet.’ Gradually that consciousness wore off, and I realized that my brother was but a part of all humanity which I loved…. One day, again, Master asked me, ‘Do you love the whole world?’ I just said, ‘I love.’ And he smiled
and said, ‘Your work is finished.’”
Remember,
we are one & the same.
With Love,
Brittany López