Teaching yoga in Hebron, Palestine: Yoga is a lot more than the physical practice most people think of. Yoga includes mental and spiritual practices which are meant to calm the mind and prepare us for meditation. Yoga unites our mind and our body with the spiritual realm, bringing peace to our soul. In Hebron most people think of yoga as meditation, the spiritual practice where we sit in stillness and allow or mind to find peace, but in order to meditate, one must work the body first. Yoga is all of this and much more, teaching in Hebron has been an amazing experience which has benefited the many women who have participated in our classes.

The yoga classes have been a collaboration between myself, a volunteer with 200hr teacher certification and a local gym, Future gym in the Ras Aljura area of Hebron. The classes are free and at this time open to whoever wants to participate. We have also had the help of a local volunteer who assists with interpretation to Arabic during the classes. The class is offered twice a week, during the time when the gym is open for women and somewhere from 15 to 30 women of all ages and backgrounds participate.

In Palestine gyms are normally not co-ed, they have opening hours for women and separate ones for men. Future gym opens during the days, from 10:00 to 16:00 for women and the rest of the time, before and after this, for men. At this time they offer extensive equipment for training, including weights and machines as treadmills and bicycles. They also have group classes like Zumba and Spinning. Yoga has only been offered once before, but for a short time with a visiting teacher. Most students have no experience with it, which made many curious and very interested in participating.   

The classes I have offered are a style of yoga called Vinyasa, here the idea is to flow or transition between postures creating sequences of movement while focusing on our inhales and exhales. Breath is primal in yoga, every movement stems from our breath and is controlled from our core. Yoga requires an advanced development of core (or stomach) muscles which control our movements and aid in strength and balance. Some of the exercises can be difficult and strenuous, but in the end provide a complete workout for the body and mind, which also increases flexibility (inside and out).

The hardest part of yoga and what has been a challenge for some of the students is the slow pace. Some people think that effective exercise has to be fast, but yoga works slow and controlled. It also can be challenging to stand still, to relax and focus on one’s breath. For people who feel stressed on their daily life, standing still can sometimes seem useless. But finding peace in one’s mind and body is the start to finding peace outside.  

The students who have attended yoga at Future gym continuously over the last month have experienced its benefits; they are slowly becoming stronger and more flexible. In addition, most of these women are able to relax and find peace within themselves, a beautiful result of” This Article was written by our Volunteer Adria from the USA