WEBVTT 1 00:00:08.039 --> 00:00:11.790 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Hello, hello and welcome. 2 00:00:15.550 --> 00:00:21.549 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): I'm so excited for us to gather for our office hours in November. 3 00:00:22.070 --> 00:00:34.670 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And for those who are newer to office hours, we'll usually begin with a little practice. There'll be a theme. Some folks have submitted questions, and I'll share those in the chat in just a moment. 4 00:00:34.740 --> 00:00:42.119 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And then I'll kind of share a little bit on those questions, and we'll open up for reflection. 5 00:00:42.280 --> 00:00:47.640 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): So, we'll just take a moment while folks are coming in to… 6 00:00:48.070 --> 00:00:53.549 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): ground and orient ourselves. I'll play a little music, and if you could drop 7 00:00:53.840 --> 00:01:03.760 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): two words, a phrase, how are you doing? How is yoga showing up for you right now? And… how are you doing? 8 00:01:05.480 --> 00:01:12.150 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): How is yoga showing up for you? And then our theme is Brahmacharya. 9 00:01:13.660 --> 00:01:15.429 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Our theme for this… 10 00:01:15.670 --> 00:01:32.630 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): this particular period of time, and you can carry that through your next couple weeks, if you like. So, how is energy flowing for you? How are you managing your energy, right? Some people like to… 11 00:01:33.440 --> 00:01:53.350 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): talk about brahmacharya as energy management, I like to think of it that way. In a monastic context, it's celibacy, but in a household or everyday context, like many of us are in, it's just how we… how we manage our energy, our life force energy. And… 12 00:01:53.480 --> 00:02:02.459 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): So, in your tech-in, invitation to share, you know, how is energy flowing for you? And one… one, 13 00:02:03.090 --> 00:02:22.779 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): invitation, and I'll repeat this later as well, is how are you loving yourself so much that you don't even need to have boundaries, right? Like, we can think of brahmacharya as boundaries. We can also think of it as, like, self-sovereignty, self-love, so much self-love that we don't even need that. 14 00:02:22.920 --> 00:02:25.810 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): External, internal, 15 00:02:26.930 --> 00:02:39.590 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): divide. So, just some invitations. I'll play some music for us to just gather and drop in, and for those who are just joining, invitation to share. 16 00:02:40.120 --> 00:02:45.239 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): how energy… Okay, I'm gonna pause for a sec, just because a few more people are… 17 00:02:45.370 --> 00:02:47.640 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): are coming in. 18 00:02:47.900 --> 00:02:58.449 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): So let me drop it now. How, is energy blowing for you? So these are some reflections, let me put on. 19 00:02:58.570 --> 00:03:00.789 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Some music with no words. 20 00:03:04.240 --> 00:03:05.150 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Okay… 21 00:07:58.590 --> 00:08:07.349 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Hmm, this felt like a soft entry would be nice for an exploration of brahmacharya and for this moment. 22 00:08:08.040 --> 00:08:29.499 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Thank you, and thanks for the folks who came in. I don't know if you all have been reading what folks have dropped in the chat around how yoga is showing up for you, but wow, just want to, like, maybe do sparkle… sparkles or, you know, a reaction if you relate with what someone else shared. I'm like, oh, I could have written that. 23 00:08:29.500 --> 00:08:35.680 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And that, and that, like… So much interconnection. Anyone else feel that? 24 00:08:37.720 --> 00:08:38.580 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Yeah… 25 00:08:42.590 --> 00:08:48.440 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Thank you for all of you who shared, and if you didn't, you're welcome to throughout our time. 26 00:08:49.140 --> 00:08:54.590 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): So we're exploring Brahmatarya, which Brahma is life force. 27 00:08:54.770 --> 00:09:13.860 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Ancharya is chariot, right? So it's like you're a life force chariot. And particularly, I think, at this time, you know, those who've been with me for a few years, coming to these office hours, I think there's a few of you that, have been here for a while, I'll often bring brahmatarya in around this time, because 28 00:09:14.070 --> 00:09:31.639 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): we do this funny thing in Western culture where it's, like, the end of the year. For many of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it's darker. Someone mentioned snow. Where I am, it's gonna rain, potentially, for, like, 5 days or 6 days in a row, which is, you know, it's a time where 29 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:37.969 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Going inward, doing less, calming down, you know, being a bit more internal. 30 00:09:38.090 --> 00:09:48.790 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): is part of that natural rhythm, but our culture is like, Q4, year-end this, year-end that, and then we party, right? Like, and the partying can be fun. 31 00:09:48.790 --> 00:10:00.060 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): But it can also be really exhausting, and draining, and being around people that we maybe want to see, and people maybe we don't want to see, or we have complicated relationships with. 32 00:10:00.840 --> 00:10:07.950 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): So, just letting, you know, part of what it is to live our yoga is to… 33 00:10:08.790 --> 00:10:11.070 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): To give ourselves a space. 34 00:10:11.190 --> 00:10:26.490 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): if it's a 5-minute song at the beginning of a class, if it's 3 breaths, you know, a hand on your heart, to be like, what is it that I really need? How is it with me? How is my energy in this… this time? 35 00:10:26.760 --> 00:10:33.580 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And so that's what we'll explore, and in a beautiful way, many of the questions that came in 36 00:10:34.310 --> 00:10:47.050 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): weave into this theme as well. I'm also picking the theme from what's alive for you. And if you're like, wait, I don't remember where to ask questions ahead of time, that's okay, you can always ask them live. 37 00:10:47.250 --> 00:10:49.510 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And there's a… 38 00:10:50.020 --> 00:10:56.390 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): form where you can submit your questions if you want to, and I'll pull that up later. 39 00:10:56.790 --> 00:11:01.980 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): I want to begin with just a little bit of a practice to ground us. 40 00:11:02.290 --> 00:11:07.399 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And… so… You can sit or stand. 41 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:10.890 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): As easily as you would like, or lie down. 42 00:11:11.250 --> 00:11:13.899 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And we'll inhale through our nose. 43 00:11:14.230 --> 00:11:17.500 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And exhale through your mouth with a sound. 44 00:11:20.330 --> 00:11:23.180 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Inhale through your nose. 45 00:11:23.820 --> 00:11:26.380 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Exhale with the sound. 46 00:11:31.640 --> 00:11:37.409 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Inhale. One last full, big exhale through your mouth. 47 00:11:39.920 --> 00:11:43.330 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Gaze can be soft, or eyes can be closed. 48 00:11:45.640 --> 00:11:49.879 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Invitation to place a hand over your heart. 49 00:11:51.510 --> 00:11:52.870 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And… 50 00:11:53.780 --> 00:12:00.990 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Make sure you can see me. So to place a hand over your heart, one there, and then the other on top. 51 00:12:01.750 --> 00:12:03.550 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): I'm just checking in… 52 00:12:03.810 --> 00:12:10.769 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Maybe seeing if you can feel where your energy is nourishing, and maybe where it's a little bit depleted. 53 00:12:13.660 --> 00:12:26.090 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And then we'll do a practice with our hands. This can be a pranayama practice, as well as a mudra practice. So you're gonna bring one arm out. 54 00:12:26.150 --> 00:12:34.189 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And inhale, and then exhale, bring it in, and as you do, bring the other arm out. So you're just alternating. 55 00:12:35.760 --> 00:12:44.609 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): In X. In X. And lengthening through your spine, slight tilts. 56 00:12:44.800 --> 00:12:49.699 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): In your tailbone, if that feels good, to engage through your midline. 57 00:12:49.970 --> 00:13:02.829 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. And you can stay like this, or if it feels good to bring in Breath of Fire, and you're not germinating life. 58 00:13:02.830 --> 00:13:12.719 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Because we don't want to do any forceful breathing when you're germinating. Your invitation to speed it up and bring in breath of fire. So it would be like. 59 00:13:16.030 --> 00:13:20.780 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): In, out, in, X, in, X, in X, like that. 60 00:13:31.530 --> 00:13:33.479 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And last few. 61 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:43.570 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Now on the last one, inhale, arms rise, holding the breath in, if you would like. 62 00:13:45.180 --> 00:13:55.169 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And on your exhale, as you're ready, bringing your arms down, but letting the energy come up, maybe feeling tingles out through the crown of your head and arms down. 63 00:13:57.610 --> 00:14:00.370 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Taking a moment to feel that. 64 00:14:01.250 --> 00:14:05.849 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): We'll do this again at the… In a few moments. 65 00:14:08.080 --> 00:14:20.850 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Invitation now to twist gently, and a couple options here, you can stay seated if you would like, or for those who want a little more heat, maybe coming up to stand into, 66 00:14:21.440 --> 00:14:30.259 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): your chair pose, so Utkatasana, so welcome to… to stand, or if you're in a chair, maybe sitting on the edge of your chair. 67 00:14:30.280 --> 00:14:44.640 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And then, being here, you can stay right here with your hands on your legs, or push one hand on the inside of one thigh and the other arm up. So, whether you're seated or standing. 68 00:14:44.810 --> 00:14:46.879 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Just getting a little twist. 69 00:14:49.410 --> 00:14:52.970 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Into one side, and breathing here. 70 00:14:56.150 --> 00:15:03.520 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): I'm playing with your own boundaries, right? If you're like, oh, I want to come out a little bit, that's great. If you want to go deeper… 71 00:15:04.660 --> 00:15:10.680 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Exhaling through center when you're ready, and twisting to the other side. 72 00:15:16.430 --> 00:15:18.930 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): So many forms of twists. 73 00:15:21.740 --> 00:15:29.720 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): I'm feeling into… How it feels in your body to open up the side body. 74 00:15:31.590 --> 00:15:34.320 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Maybe as you come back. 75 00:15:35.350 --> 00:15:48.329 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Just giving yourself a little bit of softness, a little bit of massage along the belly, or even along your side body, massaging down your sides for your back. 76 00:15:51.340 --> 00:16:02.430 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And if your hands are on your low back, or if you'd like to put them there on the chair behind you, inhale, gentle arch, opening your heart up towards the sky. 77 00:16:03.480 --> 00:16:06.770 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Breathing into the back of your heart. 78 00:16:13.070 --> 00:16:24.729 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Exhaling, rounding now, folding forward any amount. As we started with, sometimes brahmacharya is finding so much self-love. 79 00:16:25.070 --> 00:16:32.770 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): That you don't even have the need to set up boundaries, because you're just caring for yourself, loving yourself. 80 00:16:33.130 --> 00:16:36.050 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And so we're working a little bit with our heart. 81 00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:38.860 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Chakra, or Heart Energy Center. 82 00:16:40.280 --> 00:16:42.109 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Just feeling into it. 83 00:16:42.650 --> 00:17:00.789 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Inhale back up. And noticing, is it armored? Sometimes that armor can be around here, sometimes up in our jaw, so maybe just taking your hands and rubbing alongside, taking your fingers like this, rubbing along your jaw. 84 00:17:04.890 --> 00:17:06.440 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Down. 85 00:17:06.599 --> 00:17:08.040 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): To your neck. 86 00:17:09.200 --> 00:17:13.269 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Down to your heart, and feeling once again, how does it feel? 87 00:17:13.770 --> 00:17:16.350 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): How is it with you? 88 00:17:17.910 --> 00:17:29.260 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Dropping one shoulder… one shoulder towards the earth, one ear towards that shoulder, maybe lifting up with your hand to stretch through the side of your neck. 89 00:17:29.780 --> 00:17:34.630 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): The side you're stretching can be… that arm can be lengthened out. 90 00:17:35.650 --> 00:17:39.099 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): You can gaze down or up towards the sky. 91 00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:53.939 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Gently sliding your hand back over and using it at your temple, maybe even a little massage on your temple as you come back up to center. 92 00:17:54.160 --> 00:18:01.329 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Dropping your head in the other direction, so this ear, down towards your shoulder, shoulder down towards the ground. 93 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:02.850 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Nice. 94 00:18:04.140 --> 00:18:08.099 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): It's a different side, so just checking in what you need here. 95 00:18:08.560 --> 00:18:11.340 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Maybe a little gaze towards the earth. 96 00:18:11.890 --> 00:18:16.479 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Up towards the sky, or hanging out anywhere that you would like. 97 00:18:28.640 --> 00:18:32.600 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): When you're ready, hand comes down to the side. 98 00:18:33.790 --> 00:18:37.269 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Maybe a massage gently on your temple. 99 00:18:40.070 --> 00:18:42.870 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Checking in with your heart, and then… 100 00:18:43.240 --> 00:18:47.139 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): practitioner's choice, right? Maybe you just want to take a little… 101 00:18:47.170 --> 00:19:03.039 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): moment with your heart, or at the back of your heart, feeling in one hand in the front, one hand in the back. My hand doesn't really stretch all the way up there, but, you know, somewhere there. Or, perhaps you want to do this practice one more time, just feeling… 102 00:19:03.040 --> 00:19:10.610 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Perhaps if you want to move some energy doing this, and if you want more attending, more nurturing, then… 103 00:19:10.650 --> 00:19:13.850 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Staying right there, so you can make your choice. 104 00:19:14.580 --> 00:19:20.300 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): If you're doing Breath of Fire, inhale, opening out, switching. 105 00:19:21.570 --> 00:19:26.630 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): X, X, X, X, moving at your own rhythm. 106 00:19:42.220 --> 00:19:45.349 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): 10 more breaths, wherever you are. 107 00:19:45.740 --> 00:19:47.400 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Exhaling… 108 00:19:53.220 --> 00:19:57.640 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Inhale, arms come up or stay on your heart. 109 00:19:58.380 --> 00:20:00.369 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Holding breath in… 110 00:20:04.150 --> 00:20:13.189 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): As you're ready, exhale, arms come down, but envisioning the energy rising up through your spine and out the crown of your head. 111 00:20:13.560 --> 00:20:15.629 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Merging with the universe. 112 00:20:19.580 --> 00:20:21.030 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Beautiful. 113 00:20:22.320 --> 00:20:27.110 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): You know, finding your easeful, meditative seat. 114 00:20:33.980 --> 00:20:39.030 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): I'm taking a moment… I'm just… 115 00:20:44.900 --> 00:20:47.089 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Drop in with you. 116 00:20:49.320 --> 00:20:52.230 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Where can you love yourself more? 117 00:20:55.260 --> 00:21:00.120 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And if it's helpful to think of what boundaries you might… 118 00:21:00.260 --> 00:21:06.139 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Set, or… maybe if there's an area of life that's been draining energy. 119 00:21:06.680 --> 00:21:08.549 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Reflect on that. 120 00:21:08.670 --> 00:21:11.350 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Reflect on what replenishes you. 121 00:21:20.660 --> 00:21:21.710 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Hmm. 122 00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:33.660 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): I'll take a moment… To move this meditation into some journaling, if you would like. 123 00:21:37.230 --> 00:21:46.860 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): How… what did I ask you? How can I practice self-love? Any boundaries? 124 00:21:48.120 --> 00:21:50.429 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): That are alive right now. 125 00:21:51.650 --> 00:21:56.320 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): What drains your energy, and what replenishes it? 126 00:21:57.540 --> 00:22:03.890 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): So welcome to… to reflect on that, keeping that kind of meditative… 127 00:22:04.130 --> 00:22:08.590 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Almost like journaling as meditation practice, so… 128 00:22:09.210 --> 00:22:15.169 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Perhaps gazing around, just taking in form and color, noticing where you are. 129 00:22:15.970 --> 00:22:32.489 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): taking a piece of paper, your journal, or journaling digitally, or into the chat. And it can also be super, like, maybe you're drawing, right? Like, maybe it's, like… or maybe it's, like, an actual, you know, representative drawing, or maybe… let me… 130 00:22:33.130 --> 00:22:45.210 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Super bell. Maybe it's just symbolic, like if I was to say, What's… What's nourishing me? 131 00:22:45.210 --> 00:23:06.069 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Sometimes it's just being in spaces that help my energy feel kind of like this, and someone could look at that and be like, oh, I don't really don't want that energy. And that's great, right? It's not… it's not about judging ourselves or each other, it's just what is… what is for you. So this'll be a first thought, best thought, like, 2 minutes. 132 00:23:06.070 --> 00:23:09.079 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Reflection on how can you practice 133 00:23:09.080 --> 00:23:16.780 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): More, more and more self-love. Any boundaries alive for you? What drains your energy? What replenishes it? 134 00:24:58.560 --> 00:25:05.560 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Okay, and you can keep journaling, or… Let's listen… 135 00:25:07.570 --> 00:25:17.019 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): So I just want to ground us in how brahmacharya isn't just about sexual energy, it's about integrity, right? Integrity of our energy. 136 00:25:17.280 --> 00:25:22.430 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And alignment with our… our values. 137 00:25:24.310 --> 00:25:35.439 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And in trauma-informed yoga, we are exploring how safety and harmony, right, maybe some of us have learned that as regulation. 138 00:25:35.640 --> 00:25:39.640 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Are the foundation for recovery, for healing. 139 00:25:40.760 --> 00:25:51.199 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And brahmacharya comes in so deeply here, because when we push past our own capacity, right, our own availability for something. 140 00:25:51.430 --> 00:25:56.560 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): We can replicate the same harm that we're trying to dismantle. 141 00:25:56.770 --> 00:26:12.770 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And so, brahmacharya is, like, this reminder to move from our own center, not from, like, I have to, or I should, or compulsion. Now, I know that many of us work, or… it's really hard to have that kind of… 142 00:26:13.270 --> 00:26:20.119 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): inner compass, and then move from that in the world. Like, our jobs or the world around us might be moving at a different pace. 143 00:26:20.560 --> 00:26:38.249 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): But even just pausing in the midst of it to be like, what do I need? Am I hungry? Am I tired? Am I, you know, do I need a connection with a friend? It helps us trust our own energy, and that, in turn, helps others trust our energy. And it shifts things. 144 00:26:42.620 --> 00:26:52.740 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And so I want to open into some of your really thoughtful questions. I'm gonna drop them in the chat in just a moment. 145 00:26:53.210 --> 00:27:02.960 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And… And explore them. Give me a moment… 146 00:27:06.610 --> 00:27:14.860 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): So our very first question, and I'm just going to drop them all so you'll see the four there, kind of summarized. 147 00:27:15.080 --> 00:27:20.499 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): But, I'm gonna go one by one, so… 148 00:27:20.970 --> 00:27:35.240 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Can I share scripting about how to hold space for difficult conversations, or heavy moments in life, and how, yoga practices can offer opportunities to expand our capacity for these tough conversations? 149 00:27:35.240 --> 00:27:43.199 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): I love this. I want to first just give a plug for Blair Imani, who did the, Tough Conversations Across Difference. 150 00:27:43.200 --> 00:27:51.230 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): She fleshed out a really wonderful kind of practice for how we can have tough conversations across differences. 151 00:27:51.250 --> 00:27:52.630 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And even just 152 00:27:52.930 --> 00:28:12.269 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): being in the reminder of that, right? That we can do that, that we're built for that, that, to some extent, what yoga is as a path of yana yoga is inviting us to see things a different way, and not just be in our own, kind of, fixed views or our own silos. 153 00:28:13.010 --> 00:28:30.679 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And so the very first step in terms of, like, a script for this, I would actually say begins with pratyahara. It begins with drawing inwards, right? The sensory practice of going within. So when I'm in a tough conversation or, 154 00:28:31.360 --> 00:28:33.819 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): A difficult or heavy moment. 155 00:28:34.280 --> 00:28:35.700 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): I'll take… 156 00:28:35.830 --> 00:28:40.859 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): a breath and pause and check in with myself. Now, I had to learn how to do this 157 00:28:40.910 --> 00:28:46.129 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): With friends, with partners, with my kiddo, at work, in activist spaces like this. 158 00:28:46.160 --> 00:29:02.609 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): I feel like I'm always relearning this, and I'll just share an example with my kiddo. So the way that I was raised when I was young, and some other people here might relate to this, is if I was upset or angry, even if I was sad or hurt, it was like the… 159 00:29:02.610 --> 00:29:10.399 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): reaction that my parents had, particularly my dad, was like, go away and come back when you can, like, be more rational, right? It was like anger. 160 00:29:10.400 --> 00:29:24.090 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And so, you know, and I'm sure his parents had that reaction. And so, for me, it really sparked up around my own child, because he would get hurt, like, toddlers, little kids, they get hurt all the time. 161 00:29:24.090 --> 00:29:28.640 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And the reaction that would come was, like, fury in me. 162 00:29:28.650 --> 00:29:29.850 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And… 163 00:29:30.050 --> 00:29:40.800 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): it would come out as, like, what happened? What, you know, and I'm like, wait, where is that coming from? Why? Why in this hard moment, right? It's really… child is crying. 164 00:29:40.800 --> 00:29:52.590 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): What can I do? Why is anger the thing that is emerging? Well, right, habit energies, cyclical patterns, ancestral wounds, all of the things. 165 00:29:53.210 --> 00:29:59.740 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And so I learned to tend to myself, and literally do what we've been doing in the practice, like, take a moment. 166 00:30:00.140 --> 00:30:03.719 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Put a hand on my heart, sometimes on my belly. 167 00:30:04.100 --> 00:30:17.040 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): take a breath, and so I… and then go and tend, right? Let that intensity of emotion, the fight-flight, kind of move through me and pass. And my kiddo was around… 168 00:30:17.530 --> 00:30:27.430 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): 3. I wish I had realized it before he was… he was, like, 3 or 4. So the 2 to… 2 to 4 was a little rough for… in our house. 169 00:30:27.770 --> 00:30:33.350 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): But we got through it. But around that time, when I started to understand, oh… 170 00:30:34.950 --> 00:30:47.400 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): I hate to care for myself and practice pratyahara, right? Like, apply yoga in this way. I mentioned it. I told him. I was like, I have this habit energy, probably comes from the way I was parented. 171 00:30:47.520 --> 00:30:55.479 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And what I'm doing, like, if you fall on your trike or whatever, and I don't come running right, right, you know, as soon as you fall. 172 00:30:55.720 --> 00:31:05.479 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): is I'm taking a moment to calm myself down so I can really be what I want to be, which is loving and supportive and present. And often in those moments. 173 00:31:06.300 --> 00:31:21.689 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): a kid doesn't need, like, what are you doing? What hap… like, it doesn't matter what happened, right? Like, who cares how they got hurt? They're hurt. And this is little kids, big kids, right? Like, our friends, when they're upset, or our colleagues, they don't need to explain it, they just need to be witnessed. 174 00:31:21.690 --> 00:31:27.609 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And so I go over, right, and I'm regulated now, I'm calm, harmonized in myself. 175 00:31:27.610 --> 00:31:31.930 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Obviously still a little worried, like, are they okay? But… and place a hand. 176 00:31:32.180 --> 00:31:35.699 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): On his back, often, right? If it's not the back that's hurt. 177 00:31:35.940 --> 00:31:37.270 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And just breathe. 178 00:31:37.950 --> 00:31:39.110 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And… 179 00:31:39.700 --> 00:31:53.879 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): the crying would often kind of move through or subside, or we would move into, like, he would share what he needed, not the barrage of questions, the need to control, right? The anxiety that's coming out for me. 180 00:31:54.110 --> 00:31:57.429 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): So, I share that as a metaphor for… 181 00:31:57.790 --> 00:32:10.709 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): in any situation, right? A friend who might be thinking about getting divorced from their partner, and they turn to you in a moment of need, or a coworker who is really upset about something that your boss did. 182 00:32:11.360 --> 00:32:13.200 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Taking that time. 183 00:32:13.420 --> 00:32:31.490 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): to go within. And so I can't give you, like, a script of what to say, because it's gonna depend on the circumstance, right? But I can give you the script of what to practice, because it's yoga. It's internal, like the pratyahara. 184 00:32:35.820 --> 00:32:37.010 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And then… 185 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:53.590 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): kind of resisting that impulse to fix, right? To dominate the space, to control the space, even to withdraw out of discomfort. Because so often, like, think about if you've been in a circle of people 186 00:32:53.910 --> 00:32:59.130 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And someone shares, and they start to cry. And someone gets up and takes them tissues. 187 00:32:59.220 --> 00:33:08.320 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): What does that do? It actually stops the crying. It takes someone who's having a cycle of emotional expression. 188 00:33:08.370 --> 00:33:15.529 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And they have to, like, button it up because there's a subtext with the tissues. Yes, it's supportive. 189 00:33:15.530 --> 00:33:29.550 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): But it's a little more about, you know, if I'm the one giving the tissue, me and my discomfort with their crying than it is truly about that person. So I've learned, when I'm in circles, and in many, where people cry, is… 190 00:33:29.670 --> 00:33:31.250 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): We don't have to fix that. 191 00:33:31.790 --> 00:33:49.929 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): It's not our job. Actually, what our job is, is to witness the full cycle of their expression, right? Their emotion. And with the tools of yoga, right, we're not therapists, unless you're also a therapist, but with the tools of yoga, which are pratyahara. 192 00:33:50.410 --> 00:33:57.739 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Then deep listening, satya, like being a loving witness, just bringing that grounded… 193 00:33:58.280 --> 00:34:04.919 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): present, clear energy to just listen. Maybe ask open-ended questions. 194 00:34:05.430 --> 00:34:14.809 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And meeting, like, that pain with our presence, right? Like, another metaphor, and this is from, 195 00:34:17.150 --> 00:34:22.170 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Shanti Deva, who is a, a Tibetan… 196 00:34:23.210 --> 00:34:29.910 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Buddhist practitioner from, like, 12th century BCE. He used… or 12th century CE, so, like. 197 00:34:30.250 --> 00:34:33.529 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Thousand or so, years ago. 198 00:34:33.739 --> 00:34:34.960 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): A little bit less. 199 00:34:35.190 --> 00:34:39.170 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And he would talk about… his teachings were about… 200 00:34:39.530 --> 00:34:49.129 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): you know, in yoga, we're in this, like, cosmic soup of oneness. I'm closing my eyes because I'm visualizing it, right? We're in this… we're all one. 201 00:34:49.230 --> 00:35:08.409 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And we're each unique manifestations of that one. And sometimes, you know, we're just kind of going along, like, trying to realize our own oneness and our fullest flowering, but sometimes what he called a sentient being pops up. Someone in pain, someone suffering. Could be us, could be someone else, right? Sentient being arises. 202 00:35:08.610 --> 00:35:28.100 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Right? But we're all part of this cosmic oneness, and so when a sentient being arises, what a bodhisattva, which in the Tibetan tradition is, like, someone committed to their own and everyone else's uplift and liberation, which is really what, when you're committed to the yogic path, it's the same thing, just different name. 203 00:35:28.590 --> 00:35:38.479 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): You arise as a sentient being, to be with that person, hold them, care for them, until they can go back into the flow, right, of becoming 204 00:35:38.610 --> 00:35:47.920 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): their own unfoldment of oneness, and then you, too, go back into that unfoldment. So it's, like, that kind of witnessing, that kind of presencing. 205 00:35:48.420 --> 00:36:00.449 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): which, to be fair, and to be honest, right, we're talking about brahmacharya, sometimes we don't have the capacity to do that. It can take energy, it can take presence, but… 206 00:36:00.670 --> 00:36:01.900 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Sometimes. 207 00:36:02.710 --> 00:36:12.569 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): if we want to look at it as part of our practice, right, then we do. Or we're in a work environment, or with a friend, or with someone that we're… we're, you know. 208 00:36:13.280 --> 00:36:22.739 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): I guess from a yogic perspective, karmically, or energetically bound up with, like, a child, right? Like, here we go, you know? 209 00:36:23.050 --> 00:36:31.319 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): How many times can a sentient being pop up in one day? A lot of times when they're 5 or 13. So… 210 00:36:31.500 --> 00:36:44.420 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): But also, like, when they're 25, or 35, or 55, or 75, right? Like, we're just kind of accompanying… accompanying each other through our unfoldment. And that's… 211 00:36:44.720 --> 00:36:52.029 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): that's what I bring to those heavy or difficult conversations, to be honest, is the sort of practices go in 212 00:36:53.840 --> 00:36:55.180 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Harmonize. 213 00:36:55.430 --> 00:36:56.770 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Be present. 214 00:36:56.900 --> 00:37:16.309 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): and then be offered as a practice, right? It is an offering to their unfoldment, to your unfoldment, and, and just be with what is. So, I'm sorry if I can't, you know, give you an exact, like, wording. If you have a specific conversation, I maybe could, you're… you're welcome to, 215 00:37:16.620 --> 00:37:19.869 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): to ask, and I'm just looking for who asked this. 216 00:37:21.150 --> 00:37:22.990 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Hmm… Maggie. 217 00:37:23.130 --> 00:37:24.110 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Yeah. 218 00:37:25.290 --> 00:37:26.720 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Are you here, Maggie? 219 00:37:30.700 --> 00:37:33.810 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): No. Okay. Well, hopefully you'll listen. That's alright. 220 00:37:34.350 --> 00:37:50.600 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Then, our next question is, I signed up for this course but haven't done a whole lot, haven't really started anything. So, yeah, that happens. Life happens. And you are not alone. 221 00:37:51.210 --> 00:37:57.500 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): how to engage with the program, right? So, I think the best way… 222 00:37:57.800 --> 00:38:00.899 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): I would say is really, like, 223 00:38:02.060 --> 00:38:15.320 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): kind of allowing the depth to come through the rhythm and the relationship. We have these two live calls every month, our office hours for conversation and integration and pilgrimage and puja for ritual and practice and embodiment. 224 00:38:15.430 --> 00:38:26.879 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And coming live helps us experience kind of that Sangha, and then also we have the extra, like, calls, usually about once a month, with, one of our faculty. 225 00:38:26.900 --> 00:38:42.949 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And so, come when you can, you know, let it hold you. If you're like, I really want to understand how to honor the roots of yoga, and that's very important, which, you know, for lots of folks, especially folks who are not South Asian. 226 00:38:42.950 --> 00:38:50.470 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): I would say start with Embrace Yoga's Roots in terms of the coursework. It's pretty quick, and you can go through it. 227 00:38:50.470 --> 00:39:09.729 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And then, Yoga Class Curator is more like a beautiful, reverential practice space. I listen to it still, right? I recorded those, and I turn on my Dharma talks when I need to, like, be reminded of brahmacharya, or be reminded of satya. I do my own practices in that. It's more of a practice space, so it's a bit more like… 228 00:39:09.740 --> 00:39:27.680 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): dive in when you need it. You can be, you know, very structured, like, top of every month or end of every month, listen to the talk, do the practice, do the meditation, do the mudra through the month. That's wonderful, too, but I will say, for me, I treat it more oracularly. 229 00:39:27.680 --> 00:39:31.680 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Kind of like, you know, when you have a book, and you just… 230 00:39:32.030 --> 00:39:36.459 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): I just happen to have my book here, open to a page. Huh. 231 00:39:36.870 --> 00:39:52.819 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Okay, this is an example where I just opened to a page, page 92. When we practice interconnection and community care, we remember that our survival and liberation are bound together with the survival and liberation of others, right? Like… 232 00:39:52.890 --> 00:40:00.290 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): that's a great thing for me to meditate on. Please drop in any other… 233 00:40:00.910 --> 00:40:20.330 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): comments on that. Is it possible to do a one-on-one call to connect and meet? So, right now, at this stage, other than, like, some people got a bonus call, either for signing up for the YTT200, I'm doing one-on-one coaching with folks who join the 200-hour training. 234 00:40:20.330 --> 00:40:30.920 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Or a few folks right at the beginning we did, who signed up in a particular window, have one-on-ones that'll happen through the year to honor my own energy. 235 00:40:31.390 --> 00:40:35.579 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): To honor, you know, what, 236 00:40:35.870 --> 00:40:42.129 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): like, the essence of brahmacharya for myself, I have to be mindful of where and how my energy flows. 237 00:40:42.270 --> 00:40:45.699 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): I get requests to do one-on-one calls 238 00:40:46.110 --> 00:41:02.570 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): All the time. And if I did all of them, I wouldn't have time to do any of the other stuff that I do. And I also just want to name, like, I've been socialized to… to kind of give and also to equate 239 00:41:02.640 --> 00:41:17.620 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): my worth with how much I can be helpful. So it's… this is a hard… this is one of those where it's not yet fully self-love, it's still a boundary for me, because I'm trying to figure it out, like, how can I… 240 00:41:17.620 --> 00:41:25.489 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): serve the need, but, like, meet that need, but also care for myself. And I will say I'm also, like, healing some chronic, 241 00:41:25.580 --> 00:41:38.159 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): digestion stuff, right? Like, I'm in a lowered capacity at this moment. My answer at a different time might be different. But right now, I'm… I'm working on healing as well as, like. 242 00:41:38.160 --> 00:41:49.459 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): doing, you know, all the things, teaching and things. So, we do have, for individual guidance, you can reach out to hello at Ignite Be Well for consulting options. 243 00:41:49.520 --> 00:41:53.779 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): But the… at this point, those are gonna be, 244 00:41:53.910 --> 00:41:59.330 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): like, donation-based or paid, right? It's not… I'm not doing free, 245 00:42:00.160 --> 00:42:03.849 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): One-on-ones outside of what is already, like. 246 00:42:04.650 --> 00:42:10.729 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): set up. So, I'm just gonna drop in that, because I put, 247 00:42:10.890 --> 00:42:19.350 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And… yeah, it's… so I know it might be disappointed… disappointing, but I also want to say… 248 00:42:20.020 --> 00:42:26.869 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): We have plenty of time to talk here, you know? We're meeting every two weeks, sometimes every… 249 00:42:27.320 --> 00:42:36.199 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): every week, you know, when we have events, and so jump in and, like, chat, you know? Because I'll get to know you that way. 250 00:42:36.480 --> 00:42:51.560 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And then, how do we honor yoga's lineage? Okay, I want to pause before answering this one. Lineage while acknowledging the abuse and oppression in yoga's past, yeah. Where is there information about women present in yoga's history? So I'll come to that, but just any… 251 00:42:51.800 --> 00:42:57.830 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Anything arising for folks on these questions, or just your own questions? 252 00:43:15.360 --> 00:43:16.310 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Mmm. 253 00:43:22.720 --> 00:43:38.299 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Yeah, okay, cool. I see in the chat, I love Celine's suggestion about having tissues around, because then people can get them if they need them, because it is hard to, like, speak or process if your nose is dripping. So it can be supportive, but self-chosen. 254 00:43:38.320 --> 00:43:45.059 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And checking in with yourself. Am I stopping my cycle of emotions because I feel weird crying in a group? 255 00:43:45.240 --> 00:43:53.910 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Or am I just supporting myself, you know? And we're not… it's okay, like… Okay. 256 00:43:56.100 --> 00:43:59.870 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): So I love this question. I think… 257 00:44:00.540 --> 00:44:06.739 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Honoring lineage while acknowledging abuse and oppression is just naming it. Being transparent. 258 00:44:07.240 --> 00:44:09.710 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): We don't need to pretend like… 259 00:44:09.800 --> 00:44:28.109 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Yoga is flawless, or faultless. It is a tool that has been used to heal, absolutely, and also to harm. It's neutral, in a way, right? Like any kind of power is. Power can be used for good, and it can be used, and we see it used so often. 260 00:44:28.150 --> 00:44:39.239 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): In ways that are harmful and unjust and inequitable. And it's the same with yoga. And so honoring lineage is, to me, it is actually part of honoring 261 00:44:39.730 --> 00:44:45.830 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): To tell the truth about How we're relating with yoga. 262 00:44:46.350 --> 00:45:01.940 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And so I think it can be, if you have a particular yoga lineage, wonderful, and naming if there's been any abuse, you know, kind of claims or abuse issues as part of that lineage, and then also. 263 00:45:03.100 --> 00:45:21.980 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): perhaps your lineage is, like, more general, like Hatta Yoga or Patanjali's Yoga sutras, right? Like, the Patanjali lineage of yoga, which is much broader, and is the kind of general, like, where I'm guiding you and teaching you from, is Advaita Vedanta, specifically. 264 00:45:21.980 --> 00:45:32.300 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): and also Sri Orbindo's lineage, right? And then there… also, there's Thich Nhat Hanh in terms of the lineage of what I bring. 265 00:45:32.820 --> 00:45:44.060 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): forward, and so I name those a lot, I try to name them, and honor them, and honor the teachers who I've learned from, and who've come before even my teachers, and before that. 266 00:45:44.220 --> 00:45:47.640 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And then also name. That… 267 00:45:48.170 --> 00:45:58.379 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): there has been abuse in many, many lineages, most lineages that are in… present in the West, and in India. And… 268 00:45:59.660 --> 00:46:05.879 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): telling that full story, right? The ways that caste, that patriarchy, that abuse, that colonization. 269 00:46:06.140 --> 00:46:07.460 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): have shaped. 270 00:46:07.640 --> 00:46:13.460 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): how yoga is moving today. And I think acknowledging that doesn't, like. 271 00:46:14.600 --> 00:46:22.879 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): reject or diminish yoga, it kind of protects it. Because when we're transparent. 272 00:46:23.740 --> 00:46:33.999 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): we can practice right relationship. We can practice healing those… those generational harms, right? Like, that thing I just described. 273 00:46:34.360 --> 00:46:39.499 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): it's changed now, right? My kid will not pass on being, hopefully. 274 00:46:39.800 --> 00:46:43.110 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): I'm pretty sure I've been able to change it enough. 275 00:46:43.820 --> 00:47:00.029 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): that… or if they have the anger, it'll be easier for them not to act on it, you know? And when… if their kid or, you know, someone around them gets hurt. They have compassion. In fact, I've seen it, like, when someone around them gets hurt, they just, like, feel for them. 276 00:47:00.030 --> 00:47:18.250 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): They want to help them. They don't have that same impulse that my dad, maybe his dad, or mom, and then I, carry. So, we can change those cycles, the vicious cycles, into virtuous cycles. This is part of what yoga does, right? It actually heals ancestral wounds. 277 00:47:19.760 --> 00:47:27.059 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Backwards and forwards! You will not believe it, but guess who is different now? Still alive, right? My dad is… 278 00:47:27.170 --> 00:47:29.949 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): We don't exactly know his age, because in India you don't. 279 00:47:30.400 --> 00:47:35.239 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): get a birth certificate in the same way you do in the West, but he's probably in his mid-70s. 280 00:47:35.740 --> 00:47:40.949 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Maybe late 70s, and so… He doesn't get angry anymore. 281 00:47:41.210 --> 00:47:43.319 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): He doesn't have that same impulse. 282 00:47:43.670 --> 00:47:47.980 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): It's not like he went to therapy. He has not gone to therapy. 283 00:47:48.220 --> 00:47:54.600 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): But he is different, right? And is he different in part because I'm different? I 100% believe that. 284 00:47:54.720 --> 00:47:58.170 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Right? Like, we heal, we change those cycles. 285 00:47:58.540 --> 00:48:08.660 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And sometimes it's in the afterlife, like, there, you know, sometimes it's in another world, sometimes it's not in this life, sometimes we don't get to see the healing manifest. 286 00:48:08.790 --> 00:48:13.219 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): But we may feel it. 287 00:48:13.680 --> 00:48:23.279 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Or we might not, and then connect to other, right? Other ancestors, other living beings, other chosen families. So it's not always a cure-all for everything, yoga. 288 00:48:23.730 --> 00:48:25.559 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): But it has a lot of power. 289 00:48:26.570 --> 00:48:31.199 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And then the second part of your question, women in yoga. 290 00:48:31.430 --> 00:48:46.059 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): They've always been… women have always been part of yoga's transmission. I love the question, because I do think it's a misconstrual, actually, of yoga's history, that it has been men, or in the purview of men. Definitely… 291 00:48:46.720 --> 00:48:54.429 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): You know, there have been female yogis, yoginis, sages, tantric philosophers and practitioners, 292 00:48:55.580 --> 00:49:02.180 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): all throughout history, from the early days to the, you know, Middle Ages, and of course now. 293 00:49:02.860 --> 00:49:22.659 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): However, under colonial rule especially, and under brahminical patriarchy, the power was consolidated in Brahman priests, which, you know, is men, often, although not everywhere. Where my family is from, there are female priests and leaders, spiritual leaders. It's matriarchal, more matriarchal. 294 00:49:22.710 --> 00:49:25.020 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): So there's no general needle. 295 00:49:25.400 --> 00:49:37.280 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): absolute, but… and then under colonization, and with the way patriarchy is practiced in the West, you kind of had a reinforcing of that. So for the last… 296 00:49:37.610 --> 00:49:53.239 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): like, 150 years ago back, maybe 350 years, definitely. We had a foregrounding of the male voice, male teachers in yoga, but I think it's so powerful to reclaim the stories and the voices of, like. 297 00:49:53.240 --> 00:50:00.990 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Akamaha Debi, you know, Mirabay, like, there's all these wonderful stories, and I want to leave some space for folks to… 298 00:50:00.990 --> 00:50:05.329 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): share, so I'm gonna stop, and in the future, I can kind of… 299 00:50:05.620 --> 00:50:17.369 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): guide us around some of those stories, but there's a lot of reclaiming that we can do around the stories of women, women in yoga. And, it's a very beautiful 300 00:50:17.700 --> 00:50:21.929 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Beautiful journey, and then also, I think. 301 00:50:22.250 --> 00:50:26.489 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): to think about the feminization, I think that was part of your question, or like… 302 00:50:26.830 --> 00:50:29.259 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): the feminine energy, right, which… 303 00:50:31.530 --> 00:50:39.400 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): for some people, I think it's helpful to think in terms of, like, feminine or masculine. For many, I think it's helpful to just think of, like. 304 00:50:39.620 --> 00:50:45.570 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): qualities, like the lunar or the solar, gender as a… 305 00:50:45.940 --> 00:50:54.560 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): as a spectrum, or as a continuum, right, that there's as many genders as there are beings, and even more, because we can change our gender, it can evolve. 306 00:50:54.770 --> 00:50:59.380 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): But in… 307 00:50:59.580 --> 00:51:12.909 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): a lot of yoga philosophy, there is the idea that shakti, which is more of the feminine, you know, the feminine energy, is imperative for the awakening of 308 00:51:12.930 --> 00:51:24.149 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): any consciousness, right? That we're not gonna get, essentially, to liberation without that… that energy, and a lot of Tantric yoga explores these paths, so that's another place to explore. 309 00:51:24.560 --> 00:51:32.650 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Oh, yes, thank you for dropping Yoga is Dead and the Original Godmothers of yoga. I love that, resource. 310 00:51:33.190 --> 00:51:37.970 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Anyone want to share? Anything on your heart or mind? 311 00:51:38.350 --> 00:51:41.380 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Questions? What is alive for you? 312 00:52:09.760 --> 00:52:15.920 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Does anyone want to share about boundaries or brahmacharya? Yes, Laura, I see your hand. 313 00:52:18.260 --> 00:52:32.959 Laura Henderson: Sorry, I'm not on camera. I was going to type this, but then I was like, well, it'll just be easier to say. But in the conversation around… that you were… that you were just having around, 314 00:52:33.550 --> 00:52:35.889 Laura Henderson: Women, or feminine energy in yoga. 315 00:52:36.020 --> 00:52:45.959 Laura Henderson: Valerie Kaur wrote a really beautiful book called Sage Warrior, and it tells… it gives the history of the Sikh gurus. 316 00:52:46.180 --> 00:52:51.900 Laura Henderson: From the perspective of the women in, like, the… the… 317 00:52:52.140 --> 00:53:00.050 Laura Henderson: Wives and daughters and mothers, and, it's… It's really beautiful, and not… 318 00:53:01.340 --> 00:53:07.100 Laura Henderson: not everyone may consider it directly related to yoga, but of course, if you practice kundalini yoga. 319 00:53:07.400 --> 00:53:14.510 Laura Henderson: the origins of Kundalini, you know, Kundalini Yoga was taken from the 6th April. 320 00:53:15.380 --> 00:53:20.740 Laura Henderson: It's just really beautiful, if you're interested in a book that… oh, thank you, whoever dropped that in. 321 00:53:24.700 --> 00:53:25.920 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Thank you. 322 00:53:26.070 --> 00:53:26.910 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Yeah. 323 00:53:29.640 --> 00:53:31.670 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): She's a wonderful teacher. 324 00:53:32.500 --> 00:53:33.990 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Anyone else? 325 00:54:25.230 --> 00:54:28.299 Margaret Graham (she/her): I have a question, but I don't know how to raise my hand. 326 00:54:28.540 --> 00:54:30.730 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Yeah! 327 00:54:30.730 --> 00:54:35.269 Margaret Graham (she/her): I shared a little bit about my project last time, 328 00:54:35.830 --> 00:54:50.220 Margaret Graham (she/her): But I recall that you mentioned a few organizations that I could consider giving back to, but I did not write them down, and I was wondering if you could repeat those for me again, so that I can actually… 329 00:54:50.330 --> 00:54:51.680 Margaret Graham (she/her): Get them down this time. 330 00:54:53.380 --> 00:54:54.290 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Hold that… 331 00:55:10.830 --> 00:55:14.540 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Mine Drive is doing something weird. 332 00:55:14.710 --> 00:55:18.319 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): I have a whole document, however, I do want to say 333 00:55:19.170 --> 00:55:23.060 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): What is happening? Why is Google not letting me? 334 00:55:25.230 --> 00:55:26.390 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Hmm… 335 00:55:29.500 --> 00:55:32.090 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Give me just a moment… 336 00:55:35.640 --> 00:55:37.310 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): There we go, okay. 337 00:55:38.880 --> 00:55:41.969 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): So, a few of these organizations 338 00:55:42.370 --> 00:55:58.629 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): are a little bit outdated, you know how orgs change, or all of that. So, right at the top, there's, like, trainings, people to continue learning from, a lot of resources, books, podcasts… 339 00:55:58.860 --> 00:56:14.949 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): in this doc, books that I love, kids yoga, there's just a lot of resources. And then, underneath, I put resources to research, and I'm just gonna share my… my screen so you can see. 340 00:56:15.180 --> 00:56:25.159 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): So… Resources to research, learn from, donate to. 341 00:56:25.280 --> 00:56:36.069 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And… just letting you know that I donate, particularly to Black Lives Matter, but particularly now, actually it's, 342 00:56:37.650 --> 00:56:48.259 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): a specific organization that I'll drop in here, as well as Indigenous First Nations and South Asian justice organizations, right? So, so here's some yoga-based 343 00:56:48.390 --> 00:56:50.870 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): schools or service in India. 344 00:56:51.130 --> 00:57:00.879 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): U.S.-based organizations, South Asian organizations, humanitarian aid, intersectional equity organizations. 345 00:57:01.230 --> 00:57:04.899 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And, and so, I hope that's helpful. 346 00:57:05.070 --> 00:57:09.940 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): But yeah, that's accessible to everyone. I think you all can… Just open that. 347 00:57:10.220 --> 00:57:17.059 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And I think I linked it in the… As well, in our… 348 00:57:18.460 --> 00:57:20.799 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): syllabus, but if I didn't, I will. 349 00:57:21.860 --> 00:57:23.959 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Any other questions? 350 00:57:26.130 --> 00:57:29.569 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Comments. So nice to see the babies today. 351 00:57:32.200 --> 00:57:33.799 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Oh my goodness. 352 00:57:35.600 --> 00:57:37.300 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Like, such a gift. 353 00:57:41.120 --> 00:57:46.819 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): So in this time, right, like, what fills your energy? Can you do more of it? 354 00:57:46.960 --> 00:57:55.910 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): I… Ended up co-organizing a neighborhood gathering last week that kind of came out of some needfulness. 355 00:57:57.610 --> 00:58:00.910 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Of stuff going on in our community, it's a little bit intense. 356 00:58:00.980 --> 00:58:02.130 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And… 357 00:58:02.170 --> 00:58:22.100 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): I realized that night and the next day, I was like, wow, I feel really good. And I think it's because, like, gathering with neighbors, conversations across difference, I don't love, I don't agree with the values of all my neighbors, but I still felt recharged and energized, right, by doing something social. We're thinking about now maybe having, like, a… 358 00:58:22.100 --> 00:58:29.909 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): a holiday gathering out in the kind of community area in the middle of all of our places. Like, really… 359 00:58:29.950 --> 00:58:36.830 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): I never would have thought that that recharged my energy, but it totally did. And so, being mindful of… 360 00:58:36.940 --> 00:58:49.500 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): you know, what is surprisingly recharging you? What might surprisingly be draining you? And maybe you can't not go to work, right, if it's work, but maybe, you know, I spent… 361 00:58:49.850 --> 00:58:56.269 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): a good couple years in a job that was really draining that I couldn't leave for, you know, financial reasons, and… 362 00:58:56.660 --> 00:59:11.369 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): I just shifted my orientation. Sometimes I was a teacher, right? I love the students, but, you know, the administration was difficult, tricky, and so some days I would literally say, okay, Susanna, like, can I sub for myself? 363 00:59:11.370 --> 00:59:21.769 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): can I basically, like, do… like, when I'm with the kids, really be there, but in the… in the requirements of the administration, can I just be a sub? Like, not do… 364 00:59:21.830 --> 00:59:24.920 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): 100%, do 80, 70%. 365 00:59:25.470 --> 00:59:31.899 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And it really changed things. It helped preserve my own energy for the things that I loved. 366 00:59:32.600 --> 00:59:38.100 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): So, an invitation to practice brahmatarya through our day, through our week. 367 00:59:38.280 --> 00:59:42.629 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): And we will close, and if you'd like… 368 00:59:42.790 --> 00:59:47.580 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Stretching, what's more, lifting up towards the sky. 369 00:59:47.790 --> 00:59:53.440 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Inhale, exhale, hands down at your heart, and we'll close with… 370 00:59:54.460 --> 01:00:00.849 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Omloka, Samasta Suki no Babantu, may all beings everywhere be happy, safe. 371 01:00:01.250 --> 01:00:07.940 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Free from harm, and full of everlasting joy. And if you'd like to chant, you are most welcome. 372 01:00:12.550 --> 01:00:23.960 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Sukino, Pavantu. 373 01:00:35.770 --> 01:00:39.569 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Thank you, and please unmute and say goodbye if you would like. 374 01:00:42.130 --> 01:00:43.659 Siri Gillespie: Thank you so much. 375 01:00:43.660 --> 01:00:45.399 Susanna Barkataki (She/They): Thank you. Thank you. 376 01:00:45.400 --> 01:00:45.920 Katherine Sorensen: I hate. 377 01:00:45.920 --> 01:00:46.719 Katie's iPhone: Thank you. Bye! 378 01:00:46.720 --> 01:00:47.680 --Heather Hale: Thank you. 379 01:00:47.680 --> 01:00:48.100 Laura Henderson: Thank you. 380 01:00:48.100 --> 01:00:48.750 Selene Kumin Vega (she, her): here. 381 01:00:48.750 --> 01:00:49.319 Eva (she/her): Thank you.