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!

We speak the International Language of Clowns!

A couple days ago, we arrived at the Aida Refugee camp to talk to Mariam, the director of the board, and Sarah, a volunteer from Sacramento, about what OTYF can offer the kids for a couple of weeks.  

This is me explaining airplane with partners.  Of course, we are sitting down, but I love this picture because it shows the moment when Mariam and I see each other and understand: we are here to give the kids the space to have fun to express themselves physically.  And we are goofy and we are ready to get goofy with the kids!

And here are some of the results from our first day at Aida camp -- goofiness and love was in full expression!

Amber teaches the older boys partner poses:

Ruthie slides under the down-dog tunnel made by all the kids:

Anastasia and Georgia pose with the "Active Boy" group after a sweaty class of jumping, leaping, kicking soccer balls, handstands, and laughing.

During the first class, a woman from the camp came to me and asked "when does the yoga begin?"  I said, "this IS the yoga!  Balance, laughter, breathing, happiness!"  And then she said "Ah yes!  It is sneaky yoga!"  Yes indeed, teaching kids yoga is a practice in seeing the yoga in everything we do -- tossing a ball, balancing a ball on our feet, sliding around on the floor like a snake, jumping into the air. It looks like a sports camp, but we are practicing yoga.

Amber was concerned because she had no translator.  She knew only Please and Thank you in Arabic when she arrived.  But through an amazingly expressive series of noises (Ha!  Oooooh!  Uh?  Whaaaaa?) she communicated to the kids through what one super-cool teacher from the camp said was the International Language of Clowns!  Amber never stopped.  She dug deep for courage and strength and taught children in her own Clown Language and connected with them so deeply that I wonder if it would have been the same with words.  We left connected, in love, tired, and inspired.  

And we go back for more today!!!

New post from AMBER!

Amber arrived two days ago.  In that time, she has taught two classes in Jerusalem, met her new Palestinian family, eaten out many times, and recovered from a migraine.  Man, she is a trooper!

Here she is busting out her yoga moves in front of the famous Banksy mural in Bethlehem

Here are Amber's thoughts about the last couple of days:

A typical day in someone else’s life has always fascinated me. What is it like to live in a different country?

When I landed in Tel Aviv, and walked out of the airport, I thought to myself this looks like Florida- I don’t know what I expected to see, but I was shocked at how familiar it looked.

During our trip, we are staying with a family that has opened their arms and home to us. Five excited (and sleepy) North American woman are instantly treated like family. In the morning we all eat breakfast together, if one of us is ill they take care of us. Kathleen said it best, “in Palestine it is important to be a good host and in Wisconsin it is equally important to be a good guest.” My past experiences with international travel included resorts where I was isolated from experiencing the true essence of the culture. I am so thankful I can actually learn about this culture in an organic and real way.

Stereotypes and generalizations can be dangerous. That said, Palestinians I have encountered have been kind, inviting and incredibly open to sharing their thoughts and feeling with me. I am constantly reminded of similarities that we all share. I am grateful for this experience. Our hosts are family. Alaa’ila means family in Arabic, I’ve found my alaa’ila here in Palestine. 

We meet WIngs of Hope!

Talk about fate.  We rented rooms in a house, and who should we meet exiting another house in the compound but Ursula, the director at Wings of Hope.  Wings of Hope is a non-profit that offers therapy and education to people affected by trauma.  We visited her, asked her if we could teach some of the children, and she said YES!  Starting Monday, we will be leading yoga classes for children affected by trauma!  We will be flying them, laughing with them, jumping around with them, and bringing them some fun and exercise while they recover from trauma.  Wow, we are very, very, very lucky people.

knocked down, but getting back up!

Hi gang,

Let’s be honest, I have spent the last 24 hours somewhat incapacitated.  In Mexico my ailment would be called Montezuma’s revenge.  Here I call it Jerusalem Belly, or Please Go to the Pharmacy and get Immodium For Me.  Ugh.  I haven’t made much progress today in all things yoga, but man, Kathleen has made raging progress.  Kathleen and the ever productive Nahed saw three apartments for the whole OTYF gang to stay in, rented one, fixed our phone, took a tour of the city by taxi, and came back ready to rock and roll.  I am so lucky to have her here with me; her energy and enthusiasm are pushing me back to health faster than any medicine.  Oh yeah, and the mint tea and giant tray of food the hotel sent up to me when they learned I was sick.  It is good to be back in Palestine.

Tomorrow we return in full-force.  We move into our apartment, wash our clothes, get high-speed internet, and start bringing yoga to the street.  At last, at last, we finish preparations and begin action!

Love, Ruthie

Failure and doom fortold, a guardian angel, and knowing I am not alone

Hi everyone.  Kathleen and I have made out way to Bethlehem, ready to plan and teach after some eye-opening time in Jerusalem.   We are spending tonight doing logistical planning and calming down after Jerusalem.  The thing about Jerusalem  that you don’t know until you get there is that it is intense.  Intense day and night.  Intense all week long.  Intense just walking down the street.  Intense in almost every personal interaction.  We are resting  and organizing to be ready to take OTYF to a new level here in Bethlehem!

Those of you who read the last blog post know we attended an Ashtanga workshop by Gilad Harouvi at Zman Yoga in Jerusalem – as Merav, the co-owner of Zman Yoga said, Mark Zuckerberg deserves a prize for connecting us.  When Merav found out about OTYF, she suggested doing a donation class!  Wonderful news!  So more connections have been made, more yogis are supportive of the idea of bringing yoga where it is needed in the world, to whoever needs it.  Right on, Zman Yoga!

Last night we decided to sit and relax on the patio of our guest house.  It looked peaceful and happy.  A group of people had gathered to talk and drink wine together and they asked us to join them.    The talk turned to what I was doing in Jerusalem.  I explained OTYF’s mission (to take yoga wherever it is needed), and outlined my plans.   I am not going to go into what was said in response to my words, but it was said with great fear and anger.   I will listen to people, but I won’t listen to someone tell me how I will fail miserably and why it isn’t worth the trouble to be of service.  It is terrifying, first of all, to assume other people’s fears.  I am lying if I say that they didn’t scare me.  I have been dealing with their voices in my head since yesterday and even writing about what they said scared me half way back on the airplane to Canada.  I kept repeating my motto: If someone says you can't do something, say WATCH ME.  But I needed to have someone else whisper it in my ear.  And it happened.

I had a guardian angel last night.  A tall blonde Dutch woman interrupted the conversation by saying “I don’t have any interest in joining this conversation, but I want to tell you,” and here she looked deep into my eyes, steadily, and with great love and kindness “that I have lived and worked in the West Bank for 5 years and it is NOTHING like they are saying it is.”  She squeezed my hand and walked away.   I felt calm, reassured, and okay.  Things were going to be okay.

Another salvation was the inspiring group of people at the Palestinian and Israeli music, art, struggle and rave on Sunday night.  These amazing people came together to create a space for co-creation: I danced with Palestinians and Israelis and people from all over the world to DAM, the original Palestinian hip hop group, founded in 1998 and inspired by Tupac Shakur; an awesome East Jerusalem/Old City hip hop group; and a mind-blowing reggae group who made me and Kathleen dance around like the 39 year old former Oregon hippie ladies that we were.

More important than the fun, though, was the inspiration and hope that the people at the party gave us.  This event was packed with people from all over, and they created art and music and dance and a crazy good time together.  I am so thankful to have been a part of the event, to see that co-creation is possible, and many people are working for it.  I know I am not alone in working to create a world where we can do yoga together, dance to incredible music together, connect and love without fear.  If I can add yoga to the mix, then I have done my part. And I will, because if I can, I must.

Getting lost, eating falafel, doing yoga

So here we are in Jerusalem.  Kathleen arrived two days ago, and we have been planning and working non-stop.  Kathleen has been a trooper -- the jet lag is ferocious, but she has been present and working hard.  I have never met someone as relentless as she is with her camera.  Is there a picture to be taken?  She takes it.  I am so glad she is here with me.  

For instance, she perfectly captured our first night together in Jerusalem: falafel in East Jerusalem!

I admit that the giant vat of boiling oil right next to the very busy sidewalk frightened me a little, and I said a silent prayer of thanksgiving for OSHA laws in the US, and for whatever organization prevents sidewalk boiling oil in Canada.

Kathleen got an amazing first Jerusalem experience on Shabbat!  She had no reason not to snap photos on Shabbat since she is Catholic, so she captured some amazing images of Erev Shabbat.

We spent a long time at the Damascus gate, sharing a bench with a group of older Palestinian women who smoked cigarettes and laughed, quite possibly at our goofiness.  Their great energy gave us the oomph to make our way back to the hotel via the Damascus Gate.

East Jerusalem souk was very busy, full of people from everywhere.  We walked home along the Via Dolorosa.

Yesterday was yoga day.  Gilad Harouvi taught an Ashtanga workshop at Zman yoga, we had signed up a long time ago, but we almost didn't make it.  We almost overslept.  Kathleen almost succumbed to jet lag.  We got thoroughly lost.  We saw an elderly woman fall and hurt herself, and we had to figure out how to call Israeli 911 (101, as it turns out), and then we had to enlist an Israeli woman who was willing to talk on the phone on Shabbat to talk to the hospital, and we almost gave up when we realized there was no working ATM on Shabbat so we didn't have the money to pay for the workshop!  But we soldiered on.

Thank goodness we did, because we met the hilarious and inspiring Gilad Harouvi.  

Please note that I will soon be teaching a workshop on Yoga of the Jedis, thanks to Gilad's frequent Star Wars references.  How is mula bandha related to Luke Skywalker mastering the force on Dagobah? You will just have to wait until I get back to learn.  Trust me when I tell you that the relationship between the two just transformed my practice.

I am so grateful for the connection to Zman Yoga and its owner Merav and Gilad!  Kathleen and I are sore, happy and inspired today!  Onward to Bethlehem and more yoga!

Meet Guest Blogger Karen Zivan!

Karen Zivan is the amazing Israel coordinator for OTYF.  She and I are soul sisters, bonded by laughter, long car rides, sweaty yoga classes, and beautiful Shabbat dinners. Her family adopted me last year, and no matter where I go in the world, they live with me in my heart.


You can read her wonderful blog posts about her life in Israel with her beautiful family at http://zivansinisrael.blogspot.co.il/

Here is what she had to say about our powerful post-yoga dinner and meeting last night:


Taking no sides...
by Karen Zivan
Finally Ruthie arrived, which is funny because her plane landed an hour early and she was forced to wait for me.
I was so anxious to see her, as I never really got to wish her a Mazal Tov on getting married, but personally for me, our Olive Tree work takes me quickly to a place of purpose....I help Ruthie navigate the roads, but honestly she is my human GPS, emphasis on HUMAN. She finds people and situations, not on any map, I like to think that together we create and find our own new terrain, Manifest Destiny in The Middle East....Thelma and Louise Israeli style.
Last night was no exception, as we gathered in Chaya Bracha's Power Flow Yoga studio in Jerusalem, for Ruthie's class.  We met a woman studying Judaism, Anthropology and Women's Peace dialogue as it relates to Jewish and Palestinian woman.  Could this be me with a spunky curly haircut and a confidence level that has no height limit?  Nope, this is Rachel Feldman, a woman who we are sure will be initiating change and peaceful communication in this world.  A woman full of hope and spirit to make the world a better place.
 After class, together with Rachelle Tratt, a friend from last years post yoga class schmooze and brainstorm sessions at Aroma on Emek, we went to Derech Hebron, (how fitting....the. Road to Hebron....signifying of course all of our desires to be on that road of peace our Fathers and Mothers laid out for us) wine and salad and conversation which I hope would make anyone proud....non stop discussion of ideas on how to help people come to the simple realization that we are humans living in this world, and better to do it peacefully....final conclusion of the evening, peaceful dialogue is powerful and can be delivered powerfully by women...not only by using peaceful verbal communications, but to include what brings everyone together- movement of bodies to the grace of the message.  Yoga is an excellent example of that power.
We clicked glasses and said LChaim with conviction,  I am sure there was no exception in our group of mixed backgrounds, experiences and ages....LChaim, means life, and how much better to live life with peaceful thoughts.
Thank you again Ruthie for being here and being my HUMAN GPS, I remain in the clouds even before I leave  to teach yoga to Jewish youth in America...my message is stronger and clearer....no matter what side of the world, or the fence, or the road to peace,  peaceful communication-combining  verbal dialogue  and the tender release of the physical body  increases the power to change.
I salute Olive Tree and may we all live to have the blessing of seeing Olive Tress growing everywhere in the Middle East.

Let the adventure BEGIN! -- by Ruthie

I (Ruthie) am headed off to the airport to begin this summer's teaching adventure!  As the trip progresses, you will see more blog posts from the other teachers and ambassadors.  We will let you know each time who is writing and where we are!  Stay tuned -- awesomeness awaits!

How a free massage saved my life and why YOU need to know about OTYF, by Amber Thompson, OTYF teacher and ambassador!

This summer I am embarking on a journey to share my voice and gifts with Israelis and Palestinians with Olive Tree Yoga Foundation. This is my story of how I joined the amazing troop of ladies traveling to the Middle East, summer 2012.  

 

2010 simply put, was 'not my year'. I had the bare necessities to survive, but I was essentially disconnected from everything. All the cliches: ended a long-term relationship, gained 30 lbs, was in debt, couldn't afford a place to live, I was sleeping in a friend's basement. Then I lost my job and that was it. I sunk so low that I wouldn't even tell my close friends or family because I was too embarrassed. Deep in a depression, I thought very seriously about ending my life. I was so disconnected from my family that I couldn't even turn to them. I went to the one place where I always felt part of something, Ruthie's yoga class. Ruthie is one of those people that truly is lit from within. The type of person who accepts you as you are, but also nudges you to grow. That perfect blend of encouraging and nurturing. She was my only light that day.  I drove to class, rolled out my yoga mat, and continued felling sorry for myself. She guided the entire room through a beautiful yoga sequence, she talked often of possibility and opportunities. Her words landed with me. Perhaps I too could have opportunities?  That day was a special day at Bliss Flow (the studio where she teaches) and to celebrate, one lucky yogi in the class got a free massage. I won. Ruthie read my name and I started to cry, I turned to the class and told them, "I lost my job this week", six words that started to transform me because they were the truth.

 

Ruthie grabbed my hand and said, "this is just the beginning, what is it that you've always wanted to do but were too afraid?", and I replied, "I need to be a yoga teacher", she said, "yes, that is what you will do".  By speaking my truth,  it allowed someone to believe in me. She has a spirit of sparking people. I was symbolically 'on fire'. I took the plunge and took the training, I started following my heart instead of worrying about everything. Before I even finished my first training I was hired. Things were unfolding in the most organic and natural way.  I felt joy again. I felt at peace and yes, I became an awesome yoga teacher.

 

Ruthie has continued to be an inspiration and mentor. When she started OTYF, I knew I had to lend my voice and pay forward the gifts her teaching gave me. I basically told her I was coming along to the Middle East. OTYF and  Ruthie showed me there is always opportunity, even in your darkest hour you can claim and create your life. For me, it started with a massage, a message and a light (Ruthie).

 

OTYF is a small non-profit, your contribution goes a long way. Please follow our journey as we bring unity, strength, and possibility to Israelis and Palestinians through the practice of yoga. Can yoga change lives? It definetly changed mine.

 

-Amber Thompson Yoga Extraordinaire

Meet Anastasia, an OTYF teacher and ambassador!  Anastasia has been to Baptiste Level 2, is a powerful teacher and motivator, and calls on us all to stay present and dedicated.  Anastasia has also been to Israel and Palestine before, and has been a big part of encouraging the other teachers to come this year.  Thank you, Anastasia!

Anastasia writes:

I started yoga at a weird time in my life. Or at least, it seemed like that to me. After having swum competitively for almost six years, I was damaged goods. I had too many injuries to continue swimming and was looking for an activity that would keep me somewhat fit and would not damage me any further.

I came to yoga closing my mind off to my body to ignore the pain from my injuries. I had also just transferred from one university to another. So mentally I was in a place of serious unease and I came to yoga closing myself off from others.

I have worked through the pain and the injuries. I have even started to heal those injuries and work through scar tissue. It has been amazing how my body has transformed in yoga and how that goal of being “somewhat fit” has been surpassed.

But the most thrilling, prominent and impacting change yoga has brought me has come from how I relate to other people. I am no longer closed off. I no longer let my weird high school days disturb me. I no longer fear interactions. I came to see that life doesn’t happen when you’re sitting on the sidelines. Life happens when you’re out and about in the world, doing things with other people, talking with those around you and engaging with your world.

The process by which I came to all these revolutionary ways of being and acting is a whole long saga, one with which I am not going to bore you. But even as I sit here typing this short post, I am getting antsy and restless thinking out how I want to be out THERE in the world and not in HERE at my desk by myself typing. For this reason (and millions more) I am going to Israel and Palestine with the wonderful Ruthie Goldman Van Wijk and the Olive Tree Yoga Foundation. Part of my purpose here in this life is to be out there with people, engaging them and connecting with them. I aspire to be that person who hears and sees others so that others may be reassured that they have made a connection with someone. Any connection, no matter how brief, is worth cherishing. I feel weird doing these things, but this is a weird I genuinely love.

In the midst of conflict and controversy, human connections are more often than not ignored. And because yoga is the medium by which I opened myself up again, yoga is the medium by which I will be connecting with those people whose lives have been forever changed by the conflict in the Middle East. As Dr. Seuss once said, “A person is a person, no matter how small.” I am aiming to see those small people.