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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 16, 2004)
lfî. CULTURE Healing the damage ending, twisting, stretching and breath ing like you just discovered oxygen. It seems that more and more o f us are walking our downward dogs to yoga Q ueer y o g a classes p ro m o te a w ell body an d mind. class these days. by H elen S ilvis W e know the rewards are supposed to include a kick-ass body and inner peace. But yoga isn’t a gay and lesbian issue...is it? N oth ing much here for queer activists, trannie boys because he believes emotional healing happens ating a safe, affirmative atmosphere, but gay or drag queens. faster when people practice yoga. people don’t know who these teachers are." “W ron g,” says Bart C h u rch , a Portland- “Because yoga connects us to our inner area yoga teacher who has launched selves, it’s an amazingly powerful tool to heal oga student David Birchmeier says www.gayyogaportland.com for the c ity ’s sex the damage caused by homophobia,” Doherty he would never have gone to a ual m inorities com m unity. “T h e re is a huge says. “And for gay men who feel they have to class if he hadn’t known it would need for classes that attend to the special have the perfect body in order to be sexy, it’s a be queer-friendly. “It was important to needs o f the queer com m unity.” way to nurture and accept the bodies wc have.” me, and it made it easy for me to bring Church points out that many gay, lesbian, Som e gay and lesbian teachers prefer not two gay friends along. It just makes for bi and trans people suffer to discuss their sexuali a very friendly, comfortable environ attacks on their sexual ty— saying that it’s ment where you can be yourself.” identity and body irrelevant or that they Birchmeier used to think yoga was image— simply because don’t want to be just for fit, beautiful people. At 50, they stand, move their pigeonholed or to overweight with heart problems and bodies or express them alienate straight stu high blood pressure, he didn’t qualify. selves differently from dents. But Doherty and Now after attending Church’s restora the mainstream. C hu rch are am ong the tive classes, designed for people living “Homophobia has a handful o f Portland with chronic illness, he’s breathing gigantic effect on our yoga teachers who more easily and feeling much better. feelings about our bod believe it’s im portant to “It’s the best thing that ever ies,” he says. “If you are be out and open. T hey happened to me,” he exclaims. queer or you might be hope more teachers will “Aches and pains that I used to —David Birchm eier sign up with the W eb queer or you just have a have are gone. I’m a very conserv different way o f present site and expand the ative person, and I’ve always had ing your gender, you can he abused horribly ch o ice o f classes and spaces. preconceived ideas about yoga, just because o f who you are. S o lots o f people “If someone is living with HIV, they don’t but this has been wonderful.” carry a fear o f being taunted or beaten up that necessarily know who out of all these hundreds of Doherty has raised more than is very real.” yoga teachers has the experience and understand a few eyebrows in Portland’s yoga Joe Doherty, a longtime social worker who ing they need,” Church says. “There are incredi circles by also initiating a Tantric specializes in gay and lesbian relationships, bly loving and compassionate straight teachers form o f yoga for gay men— where recently opened Revolved Heart Yoga studio who have gay students and are really good at cre the first order o f business is for B everyone to strip their clothes off. Nude yoga might be taken for granted in New York, but this is a first for Portland. Doherty says many people mistakenly think the classes are about getting turned on sexu ally. But while Tantric classes do work with sexual energy, they aim to harness that energy toward spiritual growth. “Being naked is liberating,” he asserts. “W e learn to challenge our own body issues— the shame and guilt we are socialized to feel— and reach for a deep er part o f ourselves.” Angel Kelly, who has been looking for a women’s class that explores Tantric yoga, says it’s hard to find queer perspectives in mainstream Tantric books and. workshops. Tantric practitioners seek bliss and enlightenment through sacred sex. Both male and female energy is honored as an aspect of the Divine, but much of the practice has been narrowly heterosexual. “Teachers do bring assumptions to their classes,” Kelly says, “and they can unintentionally be hurtful, make judgments and not be welcoming. So I really think you have to have queer teachers in order for queer people to explore it.” J H Y “I'm a very conservative person, and I've always had preconceived ideas about yoga, but this has been wonderful" Contact R evolved H eart Y oga STUDIO, 1318 N .E . Broadway, at 503-281-9772. For queer yoga class times and locations, visit www.gayyogaportkmd. com . H elen S ilvis is a Portland free-lance writer. it's ME! OREGON POTTERS ASSOCIATION 2 2 nd ANNUAL SHOW AND SALE s CERAM C SHOWCASE WHEEL THROW ING COM PETITION Between leading Portland mayoral candidates. 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