Latest letter from Karen

Karen is one of the original OTYF creators.  She has been working steadily to create peace through yoga, and this is her report from her summer:

Shalom from Israel,

This summer was very exciting for me as I got to participate in a little bit of Olive Tree here in Israel, and then I was able to act as an ambassador for Olive Tree while teaching yoga in a Summer camp in the United States.

There is one lingering thought I have as I feel the ripple effects of Olive Tree Yoga Foundation's mission: there is a lot more to do.  If I had a shekel (worth a quarter) for the amount of time I said (not even thought) how amazing it would be to give up my full-time work and be able to devote my time to Olive Tree I would have plenty of money to keep Ruthie and all her dreams coming to the Middle East.

Look, it is not just that it would be amazing to actually work for the Olive Tree Yoga Foundation, it would be very important to be on the ground here creating creative changes, bringing a simple idea to fruition with the fruits benefiting all types of people.  This work would be meaningful and productive, because as you know from Ruthie and from others who have had the good fortune to do work here, it takes focused energy to make a big change here.  People here want change, people want to look at their insecure living situation differently.  It is a delicate situation, it is a sensitive situation.  I know and trust that people want peace, and the only way to get peace is to make changes.  Not drastic changes, but small shifts in mindsets.  I am asked daily to do that, and I know how challenging it is.

We have to do everything we can to contribute to peaceful living, whether that be dialogue or yoga classes. When I write these words, I imagine many people thinking: that is ridiculously far-fetched, but for me it is the easiest link to make.  It makes perfect sense, it is not complicated, it is not expensive and it works.  It connects people one to another, and it creates an environment of trust and good feelings.  How better to start making real change in this world?

I can write forever on this idea, but I want to leave you with one last thought.  Rosh Hashana is coming for the Jewish people, and Yom Kippur follows. The sound of the shofar, the blasting of the rams horn, is a wake-up call a month before Rosh Hashana and then all the way through Yom Kippur, the day of Judgement, for the Jewish people.  The simple, uncomplicated, basic sound of the shofar acts as a wake-up call to us.  In my opinion there is no stronger or more meaningful commitment to be woken up to peaceful living, peaceful thinking, peaceful acts of kindness.  I know Olive Tree is an answer, the question is finding the resources to make Olive Tree a bigger presence in the Middle East to start waking up more people.

Wishing everyone a peaceful New Year with the hopes of seeing more Olive Trees growing in the Middle East.

So much more to do ... and how you can help!

Hey OTYF followers, we have had an amazing few days.  In one week, we have taught 7 classes at Aida refugee camp, three workshop-length classes at Wings of Hope, four classes at Jerusalem Flow Power, a workshop at Yogama in Even Yehuda, another workshop at Zman Yoga in Jerusalem, a class at the Wellness center here in Bethlehem, and an Acro workshop at the Bethlehem Wellness center.  Here are some awesome pictures from the Acro Workshop:

Georgia flying Nimala, one of the regular yogis in Nahed's classes in Bethlehem!

Here are two women, new to class, who arrived to Nahed's class and promptly learned how to fly!

In addition to the cool yoga, we have been reading, learning, and even having meetings with the fantastic Rachel Feldman.  She came to talk to us about the history of the solidarity movement here.  We learned so much and left the meeting fired up and ready to go.

Top row: Nahed, Georgia, Anastasia, Kathleen.

Front Row: Zanna, Amber, Ruthie, Rachel.

Our team also managed to take ourselves (on our own dimes, not OTYF's) to Tel Aviv for an afternoon so some of us could see the Mediterranean for the first time!  

Amber and Ruthie crossed the Israeli checkpoint in Bethlehem on foot on Friday morning of Ramadan, and wow did we get a feeling for what it is like to cross on a busy day.  It took us a while, and we were able to get even more of a feeling what our yogis in Bethlehem deal with just to get to the mosque in Jerusalem on Ramadan.

Coming up, we have a meeting with the owner of Farashe in Ramallah, we teach one more time at Jerusalem Flow power, have a meeting with some of the women at Aida camp who want to learn how to teach yoga to kids while we are away, we teach two more times at Wings of Hope and two more times at Aida camp.  Ruthie is meeting with more yogi-peace-activists in Jerusalem this week, too.  We are working hard to create an impact that will last through the year until we can come back and train teachers!

We are nearing the end of the trip for many of the women.  Amber, Georgia, Anastasia and Kathleen leave this week, and return home with a new fire to grow OTYF during the year.  Zanna and Ruthie are staying longer in Tel Aviv to teach at Bala Yoga in Givatayim and meet with Tel Aviv yogis and people interested in our project.  

We are doing incredible work on a shoe-string budget.  ANY donation you send helps us get to and from Jerusalem, Aida camp, Ramallah for our meeting, buys us lunch or dinner, and an occasional necessary coffee between our classes.  Your donations keeps us in our house here in Bethlehem for another night, and buy craft supplies for our classes with children.  Your donations help us figure out a way to buy a book on how to teach yoga for children for the women at Aida camp.  Thank you so much for all your help to get us here and to help us create a yoga community for people who live here under extreme stress.  Any other donation you can offer will help keep our OTYF community here thriving during the year!

You can donate at rally.org/olivetreeyogafoundation to support our grass-roots operation here in Bethlehem!

THANK YOU!!

Georgia hearts the Aida Refugee Camp Children

Every morning we take a taxi to the Aida camp just outside of Bethlehem. We are dropped off under an arch the shape of a keyhole and walk up a long, steep hill that runs along the wall separating Israeli territory from the Palestinian refugee camp. The wall is covered in pictures and words. My favorite is a quote added to the wall this week, “only free men can negotiate.” –Nelson Mandela

We visit Aida to teach yoga to children. Growing up in an overpopulated, under-resourced area, it’s amazing how these kids thrive. I come home to Bethlehem every day wondering how these kids, who are coping with so much, can be this open and trusting with a group of strangers. As sad as the situation at Aida is, these kids have developed an amazing set of skills for dealing with hardship and getting along in the world. 

The group dynamic in Aida is totally foreign to me. The supervising adults are very hands-off and let the kids resolve things for themselves. Rather than the lord-of-the-flies situation you might envision, these kids have developed a really protective, supportive community.  The big kids take care of the little kids, they resolve conflicts on their own and they are great collaborators.  They will take on any challenge presented to them.

A lot of the Aida kids like to have their pictures taken, and I think that speaks to their need to have a voice and an identity both inside and outside of their community.  I hope that our presence is able to bring some of these kids a sense of individuality and freedom they haven’t felt before.

I feel so energized by these kids, and I can’t wait to see them take on the world… with a little help from OTYF.

Yoga in Skirts, by Anastasia!

Here's Anastasia's first in-country blog post, and it is about a great group of women, doing some yoga while sitting on chairs!

Yoga In Skirts

First lesson of Yoga In Skirts: do not actually do yoga in a skirt, neither a long skirt nor a short skirt. Second lesson: smile.

Yesterday our friend Nahed invited me to come to a class she taught, which she called Yoga in Skirts. I know very, very little Arabic and really had no idea what to expect of this class other than that it was all women, and Nahed was teaching it. What I found was something really quite amazing.

A group of about eight women come together every Monday morning for about an hour and do yoga seated in chairs. They do this in chairs because they are elderly and not so flexible as your stereotypical yogi. But they have an underlying sense of resilience and perseverance that was really quite inspiring. These women did not do everything correctly and often confused their lefts and rights. These women cannot always straighten out their legs or stretch their arms up as high as Nahed, yet the love and attachment they show her is hard to find elsewhere.

My experience was quite entertaining. I had to laugh at myself, as I was the only one actually wearing a skirt (and trying really hard not to let my underwear peak out in warrior one).  I was also entertained by how much conversing was going on during the yoga class. These older women did not feel intimidated by Nahed being “the teacher” and openly asked questions or corrected one another with body positioning. To me, it seemed like none of this detracted from the class but instead imbedded it with a sense of genuine community.

I also learned a whole lot of Arabic. Ok, not a LOT but quite a large amount of words by my standards. Part of me wishes I could stay in an Arabic speaking country for a good long chunk of time so that I could learn how to speak it properly but I am proud to say that during the class I could distinguish where one word ended and another began. My favorite word I picked up on yesterday was ‘slowly’, phonetically pronounced “shweeshwee”. The language barrier was not a big deal though, I just smiled and told them what I was doing here in Bethlehem (Nahed translated) and they smiled back and said, “Thank you”.

Last thing I would like to comment on is this: many people think of Israel and Palestine to be an area of Jews versus Muslims. I find this perception to be very misrepresentative. (I will not even comment on the “versus” aspect.) This class was filled with Christian women and took place at the Lutheran Wellness Center. There is more in this holy shmoly land than just two conflicting people. There are men and women and children who live here who do not seek conflict, who do not want conflict but instead work on building communities. And as much as I felt so different from these women- in terms of age, ethnicity, culture and citizenship- it was amazing to be surrounded by ladies who’s goal was the same as mine: to build community. Rock on. 

Note from Ruthie

Hey guys,

We sent this email out last week to all the OTYF donors, but Kathleen said we should share it with you all!  Please donate if you can -- we are using each dollar to get us from class to class and meeting to meeting and get us tuna salad sandwiches.  (rally.org/olivetreeyogafoundation)

Hi Olive Tree Yoga Foundation Supporters!

We have been in the Middle East for a week.  In that time, we have made some amazing connections and met new yogis and activists who have become OTYF supporters as well!

In our work, we have been reminded that the Middle East runs on Middle East time. Nothing happens right away, at least until you have had several cups of tea and some dates, and we have had to remind ourselves that we have to show up, be present, be visible, be persistent, be kind, be patient, and then things start to happen.  And man, oh man, have they happened!  

After a week on the ground, we are now scheduled to teach large groups of children at Wings of Hope in Bethlehem, a non-profit therapy and education center for people affected by trauma.  There are a lot of kids who are affected by trauma, and we get to offer them an oasis of fun and connection.  

We have a big meeting in the Aida refugee camp on Saturday morning to arrange our classes with the children there.  When Kathleen went to Aida this week, she trailed a huge group of children behind her wherever she went, excited to see her and hang out with her!  I can only imagine what is going to happen when we get the whole OTYF crew of Kathleen, Amber, Georgia, Anastasia and Zanna and the children Aida together to do yoga!  

I will be teaching classes with a local teacher, Nahed Bandak, and getting to know the local group of yogis in Bethlehem even better.  Monday morning, I get to co-teach a class that she describes as "Yoga in Skirts" for elderly women.  I can't wait!

We are also taking our OTYF awesomeness back into Israel regularly.  The OTYF teachers teach about 4 classes a week at Jerusalem Flow Power, and to get there, we walk to the Bethlehem checkpoint, (and crossing through that can take forever!), catch a taxi to the studio, teach, taxi back to the checkpoint, walk back through, walk home.  We are dedicated to continuing to connect to amazing people inside of Israel, many of whom are doing peace work.  

We are headed to Even Yehuda to teach a workshop on Monday, which requires us to walk to the checkpoint, take a taxi to a car rental, rent a car, drive up to Even Yehuda, teach until 10 pm, drive back to Jerusalem, drop the car off, taxi to the checkpoint, walk home.  

Next Friday, we not only teach two classes at Jerusalem flow power, but we are leading a workshop on Alignment and Power Flow at Zman Yoga in Jerusalem!  We took a workshop with them, and the owners Merav and Zohar offered to do a fundraiser for us!  We are so lucky.  

We are even leading a workshop at Bala Yoga outside of Tel Aviv!  Our lives are full, rewarding, and full of connections.

I include all the travel details so you can see what our day-to-day lives are like (and maybe get a glimpse of the day to day life of the Palestinians we are living with), and how we spend the money you have so generously donated.  On the road, we eat falafel, we drink coffee. we buy bottled water (see my previous post on Jerusalem Belly), and sometimes we stop and grab a shakshouka (you gotta look this one up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakshouka).  We work hard, sweat constantly, support each other through homesickness, fear, and frustration, we lift each other up, laugh a lot, and are reminded over and over again of the greatness of the human spirit.  

Thank you so much for your previous donations.  Your support has gotten us here.  The support of the Israeli yoga community has been overwhelming.  The support and love from the Palestinian yoga and general community has been totally amazing.  We want to keep offering classes in places where we need to drive, we want to offer classes in Hebron, we want to visit Farashe yoga studio (recently featured in the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alaina-sadick/bringing-the-benefits-of-_b_1634643.html) in Ramallah to learn about their teacher training program, and we want to bring some teachers to Bethlehem from Ramallah and Jerusalem to help us craft the specifics of the OTYF teacher training program.  Just imagine the logistical planning it takes to get a teacher from Ramallah, through several checkpoints, through Jerusalem, and through more checkpoints to get here to Bethlehem.  We have to help them make it as easy as possible, so we can make our trainings and connections as powerful as possible.

Any donation you make is going to these projects.  We want to make this summer as powerful as we can, and anything you can send will bring us that much closer to making this project FLY!

Thank you all so much for loving OTYF.  Thank you so much for supporting us on this powerful journey!

Ruthie

We made it!

Hey again, gang!  We totally made it back, and you know why?  We hired a driver at the last minute!  When faced with the reality of navigating strange roads, checkpoints, and rental car regulations, we decided to ask our driver if he would drive us all the way to Even Yehuda.  And he did!  Oh my, such a relief!  Expensive, but what a total relief.

And wow, teaching tonight's workshop at Yogama was AMAZING.  Those yogis are powerful, dedicated, and open people!  If everyone could practice at Yogama, I think our mission would be made so much easier!

Renting a car, driving this car to Yogama in Even Yehuda, and navigating border crossings, part 1

Hey gang!  Just want to report in that we are ALL on our way to Even Yehuda, north of Tel Aviv on the beach to teach at the fantastic YOGAMA studio!  We are super-excited to teach a 1.5 hour class at this studio.  Liat, the owner, graciously welcomed us last year (even though we showed up on the wrong day, sheesh), and has lovingly extending the welcome to us for this year.

Let's be honest: driving in Palestine and Israel seems to be sport of some kind.  This sport involves honking a LOT, using a lot of eye contact and maybe even some yelling, if you are professional.  And (Mom, please don't read this) when you have to make a left turn, especially in Palestine, you simply begin to turn left, in sort of a game of chicken, until the oncoming car stops, usually within inches and with honking and maybe some yelling.

Kathleen has volunteered to drive, and I am taking her up on the offer.  I don't think anyone wants to sit on the passenger side of the vehicle.

Since we are based in Bethlehem, renting a car is tricky.  If we rent a car in Bethlehem, we can't drive it in to Israel.  If we rent an Israeli car, we can't drive it in the Bethlehem.  So we have to go to East Jerusalem, rent a car at a place that seems to be created just for this purpose: driving a rental car that has a GPS around Israel and then into Palestine.

Of course, our plan to return home tonight all depends on whether or not we will be allowed back in to Bethlehem through the checkpoint at 11:30 at night.  Our friends here tell us that we will probably not be kept out of Bethlehem on the way home, but if so, well, worse things have happened, and to them personally.

So off we go, to navigate the complexities of travel in the Holy Land.  Stay tuned!