Howard Zinn
One of my heroes died two days ago, the great historian Howard Zinn. He wrote the seminal book "A People's History of the United States" where he took the radical position of re-telling history from the point of view of the oppressed. So right off the bat, on the very first page of this rich tome, you see the "discovery" of the New World told from a very different point of view.
Being someone who was born and raised in Puerto Rico, I recall being told that Cristobal Colón was a brave, kind, and courageous man who discovered our island. I recalled seeing an illustration in one of my old history books of Natives welcoming Colón and his men, whilst everyone seems happy and placid. There's just this little glitch- there are no Natives anymore (Tainos was the actual name of the Arawak indians from PR) because they were massacred. So when you open Zinn's book entitled: "A People's History of the United States: 1492 to the present" the very first page quotes a passage from Colon's diary in which he writes about planning to kidnap 50 Arawak men, women and children.
They kind of forgot to tell us that.
And forgot to tell us about the suffragettes, and the slaves and the poor...
And so it goes...
When I read Zinn's book more than 10 years ago I remembered feeling shocked, sad, enraged. How come I didn't know this? I wondered. And as often happens when you are faced with a truth you didn't know, at first it makes you miserable and then slowly gratitude rears its head for learning what you just learned; gratitude for how your life now has expanded with this new knowledge.
Howard Zinn's own personal history was rich and inspiring; he was a World War II bombadier who later became an anti-war protester. He was a white male who taught at an all Black, female college, Spelman. Alice Walker who studied with him famously referred to him as the best teacher she ever had. He was an activist and a much sought after lecturer; in fact he died while traveling, continuing to inspire people to learn their history, to empower themselves with knowledge; to transform their lives by opening up their minds and their hearts.
In a similar way yoga for me has been like reading Zinn's books. Yoga at first unsettles you- for instance, I never new how tight I was until I started practicing yoga; I didn't know how busy my mind was until I started to meditate; I didn't know how much rage and sadness I had until I went inside. And as it often happens, if you stick with something long enough, with a quality of humility and devotion the boons start to arrive; the tightness opened. The rage held a deep well of grief which through time continues to lessen. A community of friends now fills my life. I walk around with a true knowledge that no matter how dark things might get, I will be all right.
In a way yoga teaches us our true history- who we really are. Our deepest nature, sat chit ananda; being conscious bliss.
And we are never the same again.
And we want others to be empowered with this knowledge as well.
And we become yoga teachers and travel, lecture, teach because we want others to learn their true history, of who they really are.
Today is the first day of Black Dog Yoga's Teacher Training. I am so honored to have been asked to be of the teachers leading it.
I cannot wait to take the seat of the teacher, and as clearly as possible, with humility, share the history of yoga.
Thank you Howard Zinn!
Namaste.
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