Suzanne Jones is a professional yoga instructor concerned
by the disparity in access to yoga practice as a powerful tool for
empowerment and recovery. YogaHOPE
was created to facilitate access to yoga and meditation education
specifically for women experiencing debilitating life transitions – those
establishing independence from domestic violence, self-sufficiency from
homelessness, recovery from drug addiction, or rehabilitation after mental
illness. Sue recently wrote an article about empathy and yoga titled,
Exercise Your Empathy.
She writes, "...when I was in the darkest time of my life
and planning my one shot at doing something right (ie. removing myself
from the world via swallowing a butt load of pain killers) I happened to
stumble into a yoga class. And as I learned how to really breathe and
concentrated on how to move my body in class and pay attention to how my
body was feeling inside, I activated these brain regions. I exercised my
empathy...
Because without empathy, we begin to stop being kind to ourselves. And
when that happens, we begin to withdraw from others and the cycle of
insidious self-destruction begins. Our brains are social organs and in
isolation they begin to suffer."
Sub Conference:
Yoga &
Empathy
(Video
Transcriptions: If you would like to take empathic action
and create a transcription of this video, check
the volunteers page. The transcriptions will make it easier for
other viewers to quickly see the content of this video.)
