Week 1: Welcome & Orientation
Session Theme: Program Introduction and Orientation
Major Take Aways
What is Yoga?
To yoke or to link (Ashby, p.14)
The linking of the self in the present with sources of life itself to attain alignment.
Used for maturity and expansion of self-awareness through spiritual evolution.
What is Sankofa?
An Akan word meaning “to retrieve.”
The philosophy of looking back to look forward
For us to know where we are going, we must first understand where we came from
Key Words
Introspection: the examination or observation of one's own mental and emotional processes (Google Definitions)
Mindfulness: the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something
a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique (Google Definitions)
Mental Health: a state of well-being in which the individual realizes their abilities, can cope with everyday stresses of life, can work productively and fruitful, and can contribute to their community. (Mental Health First Aid Training)
Mental Wellness: positive mental health also allows the individual to realize their potential, cope with stress effectively, bounce back from life challenges and be active, and be a productive member of their community (Mental Health First Aid Training)
Anti-Black Racism: Anti-Black Racism is the cognition of the history of slavery and colonialism experienced by Black people in the Canadian context. ABR is not simply a recognition but takes up the historical resistance and ongoing struggle of Black people. The struggles of ABR as we know them today are mainly formulated around education, housing, policing, surveillance, and disproportionality in child welfare. They must now be expanded to resist the onslaught of dispossession of persons whose Blackness intersects with psychiatrized labels, discourses, indignities and ultimately, violence. (Dr. AkuaBenjamin)
Bibliography::
Ashby, M. (1995). Egyptian Yoga The Philosophy of Enlightenment
(M, Ashby, Vol 1)
Enniss, N. Belfon, K. (2020). The Impact of Anti-Black Racism on Children and Youth in Canada.
About The Sankofa Bird (2022). Southern Illinois University. Retrieved October 13, 2022, from https://cola.siu.edu/africanastudies/about-us/sankofa.php
