Book looks at yoga and ways it can be used as an act of resistance
By Tia Carol Jones
Dr. Stacie C.C. Graham was introduced to yoga by a friend that was a physical therapist, who suggested she start using yoga to relieve pain in her shoulders that was causing headaches. She practiced for several years before she learned about the practices of South Asian origins.
When Graham went to India for the first time. it opened her world, and it changed her life in lot of ways. Since then, she has been seeking ways to ensure that other yoga practitioners honor the wisdom tradition yoga originates from, while accepting as with any tradition it will evolve and change with whoever is teaching it and who is learning it.
Graham is the founder of OYA: Mind-Body-Spirit Retreats, a holistic wellness brand. Graham has written a book, “Yoga As Resistance: Equity and Inclusion On and Off the Mat,” which is set to be released on June 14th.
The book is the culmination of work Graham has been doing for years. It consists of four parts and includes a glossary and journaling prompts.
Graham interviewed Haji Healing Salon owner Aya-Nicole Cook for the book. Haji Healing Salon is located at 4448 S. Cottage Grove. Graham has been following Cook for years and reached out to Cook when working on the book. During the interview Cook uses the words, “In this moment, our practice was an act of resistance,” because there was a community violence incident in the neighborhood where she had her first studio. Cook decided not to cancel classes.
“She was talking about this energy they were cultivating in the studio, and then emanating out into the surroundings around them, not only through the practice, but through the people leaving the practice with that renewed energy,” Graham said. That is just one example in the book of yoga as resistance.
Graham feels honored that Susana Barkataki, who wrote one of book’s endorsements, and Kallie Schut, who wrote the book’s foreward, both of South Asian heritage, recognized and received what she was trying to do from a place of allyship for the people of South Asian heritage.
“Just like Black people need allies when it comes to anti-Black racism, people of South Asian heritage, who grew up in a yoga tradition, need allies when it comes to dismantling cultural appropriation in the yoga industry,” Graham said. Graham wants people to read the book and receive it and start to make changes.
Graham’s work focuses on supporting the healing of people who are experiencing oppression and those who are putting themselves out there as activists and advocates, who might not be taking good care of themselves. Yoga is one way a person can take care of themselves.
Graham believes it will take a few different things to make yoga more inclusive. Graham sees a need for more environments where the practice is not hyper commodified and not promoting hyper consumerism. Graham also believes a change is needed to bring people into the practice who really need it – people in the community and caretakers who need someone to take care of them – as well as who is doing the healing.
“I feel like for so long, especially when it comes to Black, Indigenous and People of Color, we have this collective wisdom that was denied many of us. It was looked down upon. Many of us have lost our tangible connection to these practices. So, we need to find ways to ensure that the next generation of healers, of wellness practitioners, of treatment providers and other facilitators, have the opportunities to learn these traditions so they can go out into their own communities and provide it,” Graham said.
Graham herself has made a space for people of color to practice during retreats with OYA. Graham has gone on many retreats – spiritual retreats, meditation retreats. Many times, she was the only Black woman, which she said can be hard when you are supposed to be going into a space where you are supposed to regenerate, let your walls down and work on yourself. Graham found herself not able to do that because of the people around her.
Graham wanted to create a space where Black women and women of color could come and just be. They can just focus on what they’re trying to do there, they all have similar point of departure. The feedback she receives tells her that it is very much needed.
For more information about Dr. Stacie C.C. Graham, visit https://stacieccgraham.com.
