Barefoot Thanksgiving

I’m something of a Thanksgiving Grinch. Certainly, I’ve enjoyed many delicious and wonderful Thanksgiving meals with friends and family over the years. But the prevailing images I associate with the holiday are of tables laden with boring white foods – the dry turkey, mashed potatoes, mushy buns, and bread stuffing – punctuated only by the bright orange of too sweet sweetpotatoes and vivid red of runny cranberry sauces. In a way, the image in my mind’s eye of Thanksgiving meals is a reflection of the bland food years of my childhood, the days before Whole Foods, arugula, and exotic olive oils.

(I should note, before I get myself into trouble, that my mother managed to cook delicious meals in spite of the paucity of flavors and colors at the local supermarkets of the sixties and seventies.)

These days, people add things like ginger or Jack Daniels to their sweetpotatoes, instead of marshmallows. The whole meal has been transformed into something far more delicious than in the past, at least to my taste.

Still, as an expat in Nairobi, I was perfectly happy to give the whole holiday a pass this year. Britt was scheduled to be out of the country on a business trip. Our boys were each set to do Thanksgiving with friends and relatives in the States. It’s a regular workday, of course, here in Kenya. And our social calendar has been pretty full of dinners and parties of late.

But then, an opportunity came up that promised to be both meaningful and unconventional.

I’ve written previously about discovering the Africa Yoga Project and its Shine Center, in spite of being a total yoga newbie. Now, I find myself rather hooked, as Britt has been for years. It’s not so much the yoga itself. It’s the energy and positive spirit of the Shine Center. As soon as you walk in the door, you are greeted warmly. The atmosphere, like the classes, is young and a little bit rowdy. You are allowed to grunt and complain when your legs or abs are burning. Even the teachers do. It’s not just a place to work out. It’s really a community.

Which is why when I heard they were planning a Thanksgiving celebration at the Shine Center for the Project’s staff and families, I asked if I could help out. And that’s how I found myself cooking a turkey for the first time in my life – usually that’s Britt’s job.

I started by going to our local food shop to order the thing in advance. When I asked how much it would cost, the shopkeeper answered, “Don’t worry, I’ll give you a good price.” With that, what could I do? I ordered 3 kilos of orange-fleshed sweetpotatoes to go with it.

I struggled with our convection oven, smoked up the whole house, and showed up an hour later than anticipated at the Shine Center. But the turkey came out just fine. And though I missed the pre-meal yoga extravaganza, I was there in plenty of time for the feast itself.

As for the meal. There was lots of turkey. There was ugali (the standard Kenyan staple made of cornmeal) and rice, along with various greens and salads. There were different forms of potato, including more than 100 potato latkes, made by the founder and leader of the Africa Yoga Project, Paige, in honor of Hanukkah.  There were sodas, and bananas.

And while many of our friends posted beautiful photos of their exquisitely set Thanksgiving tables back in the States, we sat on the floor and ate on our laps.

We were barefoot. We were thankful. It was great.

Here’s a link to the Africa Yoga Project. http://www.africayogaproject.org/

Here’s a link to the story I submitted to NPR’s invitation on stories about expat Thanksgivings. http://www.npr.org/blogs/theprotojournalist/2013/11/28/247164653/project-xpat-thank-you-for-posting

Here’s a link to more of my photos of our barefoot Thanksgiving: https://plus.google.com/photos/113659574597169024424/albums/5951576870216555521   

Yoga Bear

Photo: Africa Yoga Project

I exercise daily. Really. I run, I row, and I ellipticate on our various exercise machines. I take the dog on long walks in Karura Forest.

But none of these activities have spared me the aching of muscles you’d hardly know existed, one day after a 2-hour power yoga session. 

Britt is the yoga fanatic in our family. He’s been doing it for years, and has gone from a man who couldn’t touch his toes to one who bends in all directions, regardless of whether he’s right side up or not. For years, he’s been hounding me to join him. But I’ve held off. I find yoga intimidating, especially as a beginner surrounded by serious yogaphiles.

On the other hand, it does seem like a sport I should be doing. Though I can’t do the splits in three directions as I once did, I’m reasonably flexible. And everyone says it’s great for aging bodies. All that core strength and breathing and flexing.

What finally convinced me to give it a try was Paige Elenson and her Africa Yoga Project. Britt discovered this group and introduced me to Paige about a year ago, and he has been hooked ever since. For him the attraction is partly the workout of an intense power yoga session – but more importantly, it’s the energy, community, and spirit of the place.

 

Photo: Africa Yoga Project

Saturday morning at the Africa Yoga Project is an amazing experience. The 2+-hour class occupies 1 ½ newly renovated floors of Diamond Plaza in the Parklands neighborhood of Nairobi. The Saturday class is free (though you can volunteer a donation) and packs two levels of workout rooms. Most of the crowd is young and Kenyan. But it’s also probably one of the most diverse spots in Nairobi. There are school kids from the slums and tall blonds from the development world. There are acrobats and dancers, people who’ve done yoga for years, and a small smattering of beginners, like me. We even had a few musicians accompanying our sweaty moves.

For people like Britt and I, yoga is another way to work out, and to try to keep the mind and body in reasonably good condition.

But for most of the people at the Africa Yoga Project it’s much more. It’s about taking care and control of their bodies – and about transforming their lives.

Many of the people in the Saturday morning class, including the teachers and assistants, are from the slums of Nairobi or other impoverished areas. Their stories are heartbreaking and hard. They’ve been sold for food, affected by HIV/AIDS, and subjects of other cruel realities. For these young people –  some still school age and others heading families of their own – yoga has become a way for them to find a positive place and take control of their futures. It’s become about inner strength and resolve. And it’s become about being surrounded by a community of caring people. The place where the Saturday classes are held is called the Shine Center. It’s an apt name.

While the Shine Center offers classes other days of the week, too, most of the Africa Yoga Project’s work takes place in far more destitute places. Paige and her gang have trained and employed more than 70 yoga teachers, who offer 300 free classes every week. They go into slums and schools and orphanages. They also raise money to help with food, housing, health care, and other needs. They reach thousands of people.

If you ask US-born Paige about the genesis of the Africa Yoga Project, she’ll tell you it all started with a handstand. On safari in Kenya with her family, she came across some Maasai acrobats practicing their routine for a show at one of the safari lodges. She got out of her vehicle and joined them, launching a friendship and connections that would change her life. Seven years later, she’s married to a Kenyan, mother of a little girl, and the driving force behind a movement.

The type of yoga they practice at the Africa Yoga Project is called power yoga. It’s a great workout, but more importantly, it’s a remarkable way to inspire and empower.

You can learn more about the Africa Yoga Project at the website: http://www.africayogaproject.org/

 And in the news:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/mar/25/yoga-kenya-jobs-enlightenment

http://www.npr.org/2013/04/12/177004536/yoga-project-changes-lives-in-nairobis-slums

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/31/yoga-in-africa/?_r=0

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/20/world/africa/savannah-to-slums-kenya-yoga/

Hope. Photo: Africa Yoga Project

Paige and partners. Photo: Africa Yoga Project