Effecting Change Through Yoga with Jeremy Falk
EFFECTING CHANGE THROUGH YOGA: An Interview with Jeremy Falk
By Brittany Tilleman
This past month we caught up with Bay Area yoga instructor and activist, Jeremy Falk, to discuss his recent Activate the Mat fundraiser for Black Lives Matter and how he seeks to effect change on a local level through yoga.
Can you tell our readers more about the inspiration for this benefit? How did it all turn out, from your experience?
JF--- I think anyone with a heart was feeling the fire to participate and make the necessary changes and evolution our society so desperately needs. With that often comes a lot of confusion about how to support. There are undoubtedly many resources available for ways people can support, and while I am taking time to educate myself, make calls, get involved in politics and uncomfortable conversations, it is also helpful for us all to just begin exactly where we are and with the tools we have. For me, that's teaching and bringing a community together, so a fundraiser was an easy first step of how to support the movement without hesitation.
As someone who has expressed a passion for bringing one’s yoga practice “out into the world”, how did this event facilitate that?
JF--- I think it's important that we all recognize that yoga is not separate from what we are going through in life, rather it provides the tools for how to meet life. So the answer is two fold. To meet the challenges of life, we must be resourced in our own body, energy, and strength. The physical practice provides that well. Then, bringing racism and white supremacy into the conversation during yoga, especially into my largely white community, helps to communicate the severity of the times in a space where people are open hearted and able to receive, and it empowers others to feel that people care and we do make a difference. So I hoped to leave 100 people feeling calm, resilient, compassionate, and focused on the matter at hand.
Why do you feel the yoga community, in particular, can make an impact on Black Lives Matter?
JF----We're a huge population! And we tend to be people that are willing to FEEL, and if you're in White skin and you're not living the Black experience, it takes a bravenes and a willingness to lean in to feel that pain and struggle. When we feel it, as much as one can, it naturally inclines us toward action. The essence of privilege that has been harmful is that people who don't have to feel racism aren't compelled to act. Yogis are super feelers and activating that within us will spawn more action. Plus the core teaching is that we are all connected, and therefore we can't individually be safe and free unless we are all safe and free.
During these really politically charged and economically uncertain times, along with this dominant ever-concerning health crisis, when sensitivity is at an all time high, how can a yoga practice help someone or even a larger community?
JF---Yoga helps us to refresh our nervous system, largely through intentional breathing. Our nervous system helps us meet the challenge of life, and a healthy one will respond instead of react. Response is more calculated, intentional, and productive. Yoga also helps us to learn how to be uncomfortable, by regulating ourselves and reducing tension in difficult or strenuous poses. From there our mind and body know we can do it off the mat.
Will you be doing more of these events? And how can other people show up in their own communities and create something like this?
JF--- I do aim to make fundraiser clases a regular part of my offerings so stay tuned there will be more! Anyone can show up this way if they can afford to work an hour or two for the pure benefit of others. Whatever your gift or offering you normally get paid for is, you can dedicate it to a great cause. I've found that class sizes and crowds double and triple for a good cause!
Any other comments or thoughts you would like to share with our audience?
JF---Make calls to elected officials to ask for the changes you want to see, it may feel tedious but the power is with the people. Have difficult conversations and maintain respect for differences. No effort is too small if it is sincere. Everyone showing up a little bit can be more powerful than a few heavy hitters carrying the weight of revolution all the time. Social media sparks revolutions but they do not live there. Get off the screen and out into the world. It's never too late. I have not been as active as I could have been my whole life. I'm willing to learn how to show up better, we all can.