Joy is an act of Resistance.
Profess > Protest
Liberation can look like JOY!!! We can (and are allowed to) approach things with optimism. Don’t let this crooked system make you feel defeated. For just as much tragedy as there is on this godforsaken planet, there is an equal amount of GOOD and HOPE. I’m not saying, “everything is alright,” or “good vibes only,” what I’m saying is, invite the darkness and you’ll end up welcoming the light!!!!! Keep fighting. Keep showing up in spaces where your voice is heard. If you’re privileged, show up TWICE as often and TWICE AS HARD. Don’t let these systems bind us and corner us into a state of fear. Don’t get it twisted, baby — this is what resistance looks like: pure, unadulterated joy and an eagerness to band together. Your joy is your profession of love and when that love is detected by other people, it magnifies. Your joy is integral.
I wrote this in my notes app when taking the subway the other day. The subway — a place where all peoples of almost every walk of life are congregating, whether by necessity or choice. Being in spaces like this allows me to detect joy in the wild. Do I see quite the opposite? Sure. But for the sake of this post, we’re focusing on the optimism of it all. OPTIMISM and HOPE in the sense of being the opposite of fear and hopelessness.
And then a subway performer turned on their portable speaker, started blasting an upbeat 90s dance song, and began jumping effortlessly around the subway train, swinging from the poles above our heads and in between us. Every time I witness one of these performances, my eyes instantly well up. It’s a true come-to-god moment for me. Because in that moment, when everyone is fully present, eyes on the show, that is god — that feeling that you can’t put into words but makes your heart swell and your eyes grow wide and wet. That feeling, some may consider love, and it is, but it’s also joy. It’s an act of liberation. And if we can be witnesses to these acts of expression in a world that demands we be glued to our phones, if we can witness these raw acts of humanity, these simple reminders that we are all the same species, we can begin to witness joy.
Joy is not just beautiful, sporadic, rhythmic dances on the subways — joy is noticing things that spark a happy feeling within you and acting on joy is staying committed to that feeling. Joy is running off the fumes of pure optimism; having the deep understanding that even if, and even as, all these atrocious things keep taking place in the world, your act of resistance to it all comes from the pure ability to notice and seek out moments of bliss and exclaim that bliss to others so that you might act as a lighthouse for other joyous beings. Finding the silver lining that allows you to be grateful for inhabiting a body with a mind that lets you contemplate things that make you happy and inspire you so that you may act as a literal beacon of joy itself that sparks the liberation in another. This collective feeling is part of the unique experience of being a human. That not everything in life is meant to spur such complex feelings. That you can combat a lot of what feels hindering and suffocating by exclaiming your jubilation.
You can participate in the revolution by bringing your ferocity equipped with the love in your heart and joy in your soul.
In times of uncertainty, I go by
:
and recently discovered this one:
🌊 Flow into the week with ease…
Interested in yoga yet? At YogaRenew, we don’t dilute the true practice. What does this mean? It means you’re experiencing the raw, real, ancient teachings by real teachers (specifically BKS Iyengar) from the Eastern world. If you haven’t been encouraged to at least try the practice yet, then maybe I’m not being enticing enough in my emails… 🤔
The PATH train is up and running again Tuesday, February 25th at 5:00am — this means you can come to YogaRenew Hoboken and take class with me!!!! Our studio is located directly across from the PATH station, which means: you pop out, walk outside, and you’re staring at us on the 2nd floor (you’ll see huge banners that say “YogaRenew studios.” You can take the L, M, J, etc. or any line that connects you to the PATH if you’re coming from Brooklyn or the city. Annnnddddd maybe I’ll record some little YouTube videos of myself teachin’ that you can have access to exclusively in these letters. My goal is to open up this practice to literally EVERYONE.
Please listen to me:
You DON’T need to be flexible to start yoga.
You DON’T need to have a spiritual or philosophical inkling to start yoga.
You SHOULDN’T be embarrassed, ashamed, intimidated by, or nervous about the fact that you maybe have no idea what downward facing dog is.
Yoga is NOT a practice to make you “fit” and “flexi” — those are just added benefits!!! *“Fit and flexi” meaning mobility ~ being mobile!!!
WE ARE ALL LEARNING WHEN WE STEP ONTO THE MAT — INCLUDING YOUR TEACHER! Whether it’s me or not, the instructor has just as much to gain by you coming to class as you do. The seat of the student and seat of the teacher are one in the same. Please know this.
Okay 😊 here’s when I teach:
TUESDAYS 12:30PM - 1:30PM LUNCH HOUR!!! OPEN LEVEL — XTRA FUN
THURSDAYS 6:30PM - 7:30PM EVENING!!! BEGINNER/LEVEL ONE — FUN, FUN, FUN
SOUNDTRACK SNEAK PEEK:
SONG OF THE WEEK TO GET UR VIBE ON:
Okay, last things last but never forgotten:
Your weekly mantra:
I am a bad@$$ b who can take on the challenges thrown at me, the challenges thrown at my people, and show up unequivocally in spaces where I can share and exclaim my joy as an act of resistance. I am bound by no systems and channel the divine and dank within me to move forward with peace and immaculate .@$$ vibes.
I love you all. peace and joy, my good ones. 🪽
alia