Last Monday night, I taught my last in-person adaptive yoga class at Courage/Kenny. This class started with me at thirty-one years old, begging them to let me teach a yoga class. I even offered to teach it for free. Twenty-five-plus years later, it ended in a circle of smiling faces, some tears, and an immense amount of gratitude. A good run.
So many faces, so many stories, and so many people to thank. I give thanks to Courage/Kenny for taking a risk on an inspired yoga nut and all the people there who championed our cause. I offer thanks to all the teachers and assistants for all of their volunteer hours, for the headaches, the anguish, and the teamwork that made this possible. But I am most grateful to all the students for their courage, resilience, and willingness to share.
We really accomplished something extraordinary…and we know it.
What happened in those classes is nearly impossible to appreciate without firsthand experience. It was such an incredibly social and metaphysical experiment across all levels of ability. I have never experienced anything like it before and am unlikely to experience anything like it again. Our superpower was our extraordinary togetherness, openness, and willingness to keep showing up. We learned how to support and bring to blossom the inner experience of disability in a way never before achieved. We did so by pioneering a new level of three-dimensional acceptance -- sharable from the body to mind.
All this and more. We innovated a new approach to performing yoga poses and sharing yoga with others. Upon this foundation, MBS trained over a thousand yoga teachers and countless healthcare professionals. We’ve run programs for people living with addictions, chronic pain, domestic abuse, human trafficking, people nearing the end of life, and all of their caregivers. I know that I speak for all MBS teachers, past and present, when I say that none of this would have been possible without the foundation of our Monday night class.
Personally, I can say with certainty, tears, and hope that I could not have sustained all these years without that class. As I traveled into so many places and spaces and spoke to so many different audiences, I needed to come home to touch up, feel, and remember why I did any of it. This in-person Courage/Kenny class was that home.
So please raise an imaginary glass with me and toast the physical end of something incredible!
Peace and even more happiness,
Matthew
