I feel very fortunate that I live in this beautiful part of the world, and so near my family where I grew up. I have many blessings to count.
I acknowledge that the land we occupy in Portland rests on the traditional village sites of the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, bands of the Chinook, Tualatin Kalapuya, Molalla and many other Tribes that have created permanent and seasonal encampments. The land that we occupy as residents is unceded Indigenous land. Due to the strategic and systemic efforts to annihilate Indigenous peoples from these lands and history, there are many other tribes and Nations who traditionally lived, hunted and fished in what is now Multnomah County and Oregon that are not collectively remembered. I thank the descendants of these many Tribes for being the original stewards and protectors of these lands since time immemorial.
The Thanksgiving holiday is wrought with turmoil, grief and hardship for the people who first lived in this land and have been treated so harshly ever since. Knowing this terrible history, is there a place for us to continue to celebrate Thanksgiving? Perhaps by treading lightly on this Earth and by giving-thanks and giving back?
Giving-thanks is core to how I experience yoga. Giving-thanks is honoring. Giving-thanks is paying attention. It is reverence. It is care. It is awareness. It is gratitude. It is reverence. I center on this practice for the season of giving-thanks. Aware of the many ways that I am privileged, I not only see how I have benefited from my ancestry and also benefit from the family I hold close to me today.
Some ways that I stay connected with gratitude are by keeping a gratitude journal or taking a pause each day to reflect on something I feel grateful for. I am grateful for all that I love and I try to be grateful for the rest of it too ;) I am grateful for the beautiful Earth and I strive to become a better steward. I am grateful for every yoga class I participate in or lead, for it brings me closer to you, my community, and because it brings me closer to the spirit that we all share.
I was inspired to take the helm of Yoga NW because I have a desire for community and to help cultivate connection. I truly hope that our studio can be a haven for you and a place for you to commune. Let it be a place for you to get comfortable being you, and let it be a place for you to meet your neighbors and build community. I want you to know that I care about you. If you need a pal, please reach out.
If you have taken a class with me this month, you have likely heard me read from my favorite November book, Earth Prayers: 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations from Around the World. I LOVE this book and can tell you that we might still have a couple of copies for sale. I will share with you a couple of favorites.
The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee by N. Scott Momaday
I am a feather on the bright sky
I am the blue horse that runs in the plain
I am the fish that rolls, shining, in the water
I am the shadow that follows a child
I am the evening light, the lustre of meadows
I am an eagle playing with the wind
I am a cluster of bright beads
I am the farthest star
I am the cold of dawn
I am the roaring of the rain
I am the glitter on the crust of the snow
I am the long track of the moon in a lake
I am a flame of four colors
I am a deer standing away in the dusk
I am a field of sumac and the pomme blanche
I am an angle of geese in the winter sky
I am the hunger of a young wolf
I am the whole dream of these things
You see, I am alive, I am alive
I stand in good relation to the earth
I stand in good relation to the gods
I stand in good relation to all that is beautiful
I stand in good relation to the daughter of Tsen-tainte
You see, I am alive, I am alive
•
Awakening
in a moment of peace
I give thanks to the source of all peace
as I set forth
into the day
the birds sing
with new voice
s
and I listen
with new ears and give thanks
nearby
the flower called Angel's Trumpet
blows in the breeze
and I give thanks
my feet touch the grass
still wet with dew
and I give thank
s
both to my mother earth
for sustaining my steps
and to the seas
cycling once again
to bring forth new life
the dewdrops
become jeweled
with the morning's sun-fire
and I give thanks
you can see forever
when the vision is clear
in this moment
each moment
I give thanks
by Harriet Kofalk
•
and another favorite…
REMEMBER by Joy Harjo
Remember the sky that you were born under,
know each of the star's stories.
Remember the moon, know who she is.
Remember the sun's birth at dawn, that is the
strongest point of time.
Remember sundown
and the giving away to night.
Remember your birth, how your mother struggled
to give you form and breath.
You are evidence of
her life, and her mother's, and hers.
Remember your father. He is your life, also.
Remember the earth whose skin you are:
red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth
, brown earth,
we are earth.
Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their
tribes, their families, their histories, too.
Talk to them,
listen to them. They are alive poems.
Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the
origin of this universe.
Remember you are all people
and all people
are you.
Remember you are this universe
and this
universe is you.
Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you.
Remember language comes from this.
Remember the dance language is, that life is.
Remember.
•
This month Yoga NW will be making donations to a few local nonprofits: NAYA – "Naya Family Center offers a holistic set of wraparound services designed to create stability in the lives of our youth and families. We provide educational services, cultural arts programming, and direct support to reduce poverty to the Portland Metropolitan Area Native American community". Growing Gardens – "Growing Gardens uses the experience of growing food in schools, backyards and correctional facilities to cultivate healthy, equitable communities". Village Gardens – "Village Gardens makes it possible for people living in Oregon's largest affordable housing neighborhoods to grow their own food, gain employment through locally created food projects and have access to a community-run grocery store".
Yours in gratitude and with love,
Laela