Bram Levinson

This Is War

I have often spoken to students about how modern-day western culture has not lived through wartime in the same way our grandparents and great-grandparents did. Wars have, and are being waged globally, of course, but our day-to-day comfort and stability has never been drastically compromised. The Iraq war, the fight against the Taliban, ISIS… these are the conflicts that come to mind when we think about wars waged in our lifetime that affect the global consciousness. But there is a war that has actually hit much closer to home regardless of where we call home, one that rarely makes the headlines because the crimes to its victims, by and large, go unreported and, in some cases, get immediately dismissed, swept under the rug. This war is the war against women.

Non Nobis Solum

We’re three weeks away from the 5th Annual Montréal Yoga Mala, one that is slated to be the most successful in terms of attendance, and, potentially, money raised (this year all funds are donated to Santropol Roulant). Dawn Mauricio originally started the initiative five years ago, and I joined her as an organizer last year. The growth in the response from the yoga community, even in the last two years, has been huge. The 2010 Mala attracted 46 yogis and yoginis, who joined us in Parc Jeanne Mance along with the nine different yoga teachers we had enlisted from nine different yoga studios around Montréal for a celebratory 108 sun salutations. Each teacher taught 12 salutations in their own style, and by the end of the event, after all the prize-drawing, post-yoga eating, and mingling, we had raised over $7500 for that year’s charity, Le Garde Manger Pour Tous. In terms of pre-registration, this year has almost double the amount of people, with more expected to join us at the event!