join us in reading and discussing Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. book club is free and open to all. inquiries welcome. here is a short, illuminating piece by octavia butler, “a few rules for predicting the future.” and listen to Octavia talk about her speech at the 2001 UN Racism Conference on NPR.
community outreach
supplemental reading for the shala book club: on immunity / may 2020
This Saturday we’ll meet live and online via Zoom to discuss On Immunity by Eula Biss, a succinct nonfiction exploration of issues related to health, illness, medicine, care of the self, and care for one another. If you’d like to join, please sign up in advance on MindBody! These gatherings are free and open to all.
Here is some supplemental reading that may inform our conversation.
“Get Ready for a Vaccine Information War” — The New York Times
“The Coronation” — Charles Eisenstein
A short piece by Eula Biss in the New York Review of Books “Pandemic Journal”
Please reach out with any questions! Hope to see you “there.”
newsletter archive: november 2019
Dear all,
Last month we learned so much from Kate Johnson’s workshops on cultivating a more diverse yoga community. Our aim as a studio is to make the Shala a welcoming and inclusive space for anyone and everyone interested in the practice of yoga.
book club: supplemental reading + listening: the new yorker + the ny times on miriam toews’s “women talking”
read here and here for more on miriam toews, the author of our book club selection women talking. these articles provide useful, detailed context for the novel, and were cited during our discussion on saturday, october 19, at the fort greene studio. you can also listen to this very thorough interview with miriam toews on the “between the covers” podcast.
newsletter archive: october 2019
every month we issue a newsletter chock full of information about what’s happening at the shala. we know it’s easy for these missives to get lost in the inbox shuffle, so we’re building an archive of our letters to the shala community here. here’s the latest.
rocky by adam dougherty
if you’ve visited our union square location in the last month, you’ve had the pleasure of viewing artist and shala student adam dougherty’s intricate, exuberant, and reverent animal portraits. shortly after the show went up, fellow shala students jonathan and alene herman reached out to adam to commission a piece honoring their beloved cockatiel, rocky. jonathan shares rocky’s story here.
black history month: a recommended reading + viewing list
shala teachers share their favorite books, documentaries, and talks on issues of race and ethnicity.
vote for our next book club selection!
follow this link to our book club poll. vote for the book you’d most like to see selected as the shala book club’s next read.
a statement on our commitment to building a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable Shala community.
We are in the process of developing a clear, comprehensive mission statement addressing our commitment to diversity and inclusion at the Shala. It is a work in progress, and we thank our diversity committee—Sasha, Shevy, and Megna—for their help.
Autumn Breathe-Ins
Two back-to-school breathe-ins: September 29 in Fort Greene & October 27 in Union Square.
With Annie Piper, Paul Weinfeld & Leslie Erin Roth.
practice with pride! a community night with ash + dom on friday, june 2
An open-level donation class with Ashley + Domenick
to benefit the True Colors Fund
with music by DJ Lenny Stein
followed by dancing, mingling, snacks + drinks!
Join us in practicing proudly, celebrating diversity + building community.
Come prepared to practice + dance. Please bring a beverage of your choosing.
Friday, June 2
6:30pm
The Shala
Union Square
$25 suggested donation
Sign up here!
international women’s strike + a day without a woman
Wednesday, March 8, marks the International Women’s Strike, which coincides with a Day Without A Woman. These events emphasize the intersectionality of race, gender, and class, and the complex ways in which inequality and injustice are woven through our social, cultural, political, and economic structures and systems.
we partied down for civil liberties
community night, community outreach & beyond
thank you to all who came out for the first in a series of community nights dedicated to building camaraderie and connection! sula and the noise put on an amazing show, and nathan from grownyc schooled us in urban gardening, city farmer’s markets, and progressive waste management. thanks to your generosity, we raised $600 in donations for grownyc.
our next community night is scheduled for Friday, March 3, in Union Square.
in the meantime, here are some solid resources for continued social action and engagement: