Just jump. Oh, and hang on.: Africa, Unite

May 16, 2015

Practicing in black and white (Photo credit: Africa, Unite yoga class).

April brought darkness in South Africa.

Let me give a bit of background before I explain further.

While I've mentioned in previous posts that there are not a lot of expats living in South Africa, what I didn't really explain is that there actually are a lot of non-South Africans living in South Africa. What I mean is that while there may not be the influx of foreign professionals working here that exist in other countries (aka, expats), many, many people from other African countries have come to South Africa. Those looking to find work, or escape a possibly volatile environment in their home country, make their way to South Africa. Many of these individuals are the working force of South Africa; the house keepers, the cleaners, the gardeners, and the shop keepers. Historically, these immigrants were not met with open arms in South Africa (both pre and post apartheid). This dislike has been termed "xenophobia"- which Wikipedia defines as "the dislike of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange". In 2008 there were outbreaks of xenophobia attacks in South Africa, which cumulated in riots that resulted in 62 deaths.

Then, in April 2015, it started again. The country saw a spike in xenophobia attacks from Durban to Johannesburg, and some places in between. It filled the news everyday, there were rallies and murders, and it was disgusting.

In an effort to bring people together, rather than tear them apart, a beautiful soul named Mandisa hosted a yoga class (you can see the video here). The aim was to raise funds for xenophobia victims, but also to create something to celebrate in a dismal time. This was part of a larger initiative known as Africa, Unite.

And so, we found ourselves in the middle of Johannesburg's central business district sitting on yoga mats on a dusty concrete floor in an old warehouse-turned-market, at 8am on a Saturday, ready to practice. I suppose it's quite fitting, really, as yoga means unity, after all.

*Note from the Editor: Xenephobia attacks were noted to subside in late May 2015. The death tolls in 2015 did not reach the levels tallied back in 2008, thankfully, but the mere fact this happened is still incredibly tragic.

The "studio".

Mandisa read this quote during the class:"When one experiences truth, the madness of finding fault with others disappears" (Photo credit: Africa, Unite yoga class).

I think this must have been before B and I did "back-to-back" postures that resulted in somersaulting over the concrete as we both came crashing down...I had tears in my eyes I was laughing so hard (Photo credit: Africa, Unite yoga class).