Written by Aviva Tulasi
The Stonewall riots started in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969 and lasted 6 days. In 1969, police often raided gay bars citing that they didn’t have liquor licenses. Rather than go to the bars during the daytime to cite the management, they would raid the bars in the middle of the night and arrest the patrons.
After years of abuse and being told by society that their way of life was wrong, the patrons of the Stonewall Inn had enough. They did not want to live a life of shame, rather than letting the shame build up and turning into anger, they fought back. LGBTIQA+ individuals wanted basic human rights.
Although riots typically invoke thoughts of violence, the Stonewall Inn Riots weren’t acts of violence; it was a cry for acceptance. The people who joined the Stonewall Riots were angry and tired of being targeted because of their sexual preferences. Objects were thrown, a building was destroyed but no one was critically injured or died. You can read more about the history of Stonewall Riots and look at images of the Stonewall Riots to see the radiance of humanity shining amidst the riots.
This brave act is an example of practicing ahimsa (a = no and himsa = harm). The young LGBTIQA+ people and their supporters were not accepting the shame that society was inflicting on them; they were standing up for LGBTIQA+ rights and showing their pride. They created a movement based on love, respect and understanding.
Ahimsa is the ethical principle of nonviolence. It is more than refraining from physical violence and non-injury against others. It is avoiding harming anything living with thoughts, words and actions. It is approaching all life with compassion. Ahimsa is acting with kindness and making the world a better place.
We can take their actions of organizing a movement of Pride as an example of how to practice ahimsa. The first step in practicing ahimsa is to practice self-care. It starts with identifying our self sabotaging thoughts and emotions that are himsa (harmful and negative thoughts and emotions such as judgement, blame, neglect, shame and anger). When we are aware of our himsa and their sources, we can consciously take a different action, of peaceful and love, until negative thoughts subside naturally. Practing ahimsa, develops the capacity to see the commonality in everyone’s human experience and feel compassion for everyone. We see the oneness in all. Ahimsa is not something that can be mastered in a day or a couple of years; it is a life-long practice. We are practicing ahimsa when we find ourselves doing less harm and having more compassionate thoughts today than we did yesterday. A great resource to learn more about Ahimsa is the book The Ethics of Love by Vimala McClure.
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Aviva Tulasi is a yoga instructor who is currently enrolled in an IYAT certified 800 hour yoga therapy program. Aviva still needs to work privately with individuals to complete her practicum hours. She is offering 4.5 hours for free. You can contact Aviva to schedule your free sessions. If you have any questions, contact yogawithtulasi@gmail.com and Aviva can help.
Soon Dogwood Studio will be switching to a new and improved scheduling platform with a fresh new look! Starting in mid July, you will purchase and sign up for classes, memberships, privates, and events using the new system. The system will also host the new, easier to navigate Video Library. Read more about the change HERE .
For questions, contact info@dogwoodstudioyoga.com and we are here to help.
SAM Sather, founder of Dogwood Studios, is a certified yoga therapist (C-IAYT), individualizes the yoga practice with appropriate modifications for participants’ unique bodies and medical histories with a focus on finding calm and improving health. She offers several live, online class in yoga as private sessions so you can focus on your needs one-on-one.