With great courage and no other reasonable choice asylum seekers leave home to find freedom. We all want to be free to live without fear, to advance our education, to contribute according to our gifts, to express ourselves. An invitation to teach yoga to asylum seekers and refugees is a invitation to share peace with those whose peace has been absent, stolen or severely disturbed.
In a small and unassuming community centre we send the men away and roll out mats, with babies crying in the background. The room isn’t very warm but the company is. Women united by an ancient practice of breath and movement that softens the physical tensions, creates a space between the thoughts and reminds us that we are one humanity. Yoga returns us home.
How are you doing? So good, they reply. So refreshed. So much less stress.