Women of different religions find common ground in yoga
LONGWOOD — Three dozen women lie on their bellies on the floor at the American Muslim Community Centers, giggling as they struggle to lift their arms and legs and simultaneously clasp hands with each other.
“It’s not always a perfect yoga class,” said teacher Candace Martin, triggering more laughter. “Sometimes there’s turbulence.”
The women are participating in the Interfaith Yoga Project, which Martin founded to create a more peaceful and understanding world through friendships among people of different religions.
“The purpose of this project is to connect you more to your own tradition and at the same time open you up to learning more about other traditions without fear,” Martin said.
The seeds of the project were planted in 2012, when the Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando, where Martin then was
adult program coordinator, and a Muslim women’s group got together for a joint Ramadan service. The next year, the Jewish Community Center opened its door to women of other faiths for a pre-Passover Seder.
“We need to make these alliances in times of peace,” said Martin, who also runs a children’s yoga program.
She enlisted the help of yogis Julia Chinnock, a Unitarian, and Joanmarie Seacord, a Catholic, who take turns teaching the interfaith classes. They alternate among the Muslim center, a Jewish temple, a Unitarian church and Christian churches and hope to take the project to Rollins College in Winter Park next.
Each practice starts with an icebreaker and ends with a healthy snack, which last month included dates, chocolates and oranges to honor Ramadan. The students introduced themselves and worked in pairs to match quotes from Malala Yousafzai, Anne Frank, Mother Teresa and other famous humanitarians to the correct speaker.
Martin, 45, urged the women to take a moment to feel grateful for something that happened during the week.
“Let go of anything that’s weighing on you,” she said. “Just give it to God, or if you don’t subscribe to God, give it to the air.”
Katherine Flores, 13, said the experience taught her that she can learn to do something she didn’t think she could.
“No matter how different you are from other people, you can still come together and form a big group and work together,” said Katherine, who lives in Oviedo and attended with her mom, Monica Flores. “There was no judgment.”
Although the classes are free, participants are asked to donate to a designated Central Florida charity of the month. Beneficiaries have included Catholic Charities Food Pantry; Hope CommUnity Center, which helps immigrants and the working poor; the Zebra Coalition, which provides services to LGBT youths; and the American Muslim Community Centers medical clinic, which opened in January to serve needy and uninsured residents of any faith.
“I think the whole concept is wonderful,” said Teri Robers, 63, of southeast Orange County. “I don’t belong to any particular religious tradition, but just being here with all the sisters is a lovely thing, and I met some nice people.”
Each class also explains the traditions of the faith that’s hosting the practice. In May, the subject was Ramadan, which began May 27. Previous subjects have included Holocaust Remembrance Day and Lent.
Participants last month ranged from an 8-year-old girl to women in their 60s. Only women are invited to classes at the Muslim center out of respect for the culture. But previous classes have variously geared toward families or open to anyone.
Among those taking part was Naima Malik, a member of the interfaith committee at the American Muslim Community Centers. She had never done yoga or visited a synagogue before she joined the group.
“A lot of people are not exposed to people from different religions,” said Malik, 40, whose 17-year-old daughter also attended the practice. “It takes the fear out of it. Everybody is approachable.”
Over the past months, students have learned that different religions have common elements — for instance, treating others with dignity and respect and giving charity.
“I like that it embodies what the spirit of yoga is to me,” said yogi Elena Thompson, 30, of Winter Park. “I like to see the universality of traditions.”
The sisterhood is especially welcome at a time when politics have so divided the country, said Chinnock, 41, who taught an Interfaith Yoga Project class in January that focused on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“It makes me feel like, in a little way, we’re creating an antidote to all that meanness.”