Out of all the yoga classes I've taught so far, this was one of the most meaningful, and I want to tell you why.
Dyke Marches have been an important part of Lesbian history for the past 30 years.
So when Butch Yoga got invited by the Seattle Dyke Alliance to teach a yoga class for the 30th anniversary of the Seattle Dyke March, it was a dream come true!
I love a good origin story, so here's a little more background about how Dyke Marches got started, and why they still matter.
On April 25, 1993, almost one million LGBTQ+ people gathered in Washington, D.C. for the third March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Equal Rights and Liberation (Smith). Their demands included a comprehensive LGBTQ+ civil rights bill, funding for AIDS research, universal healthcare, and the inclusion of LGBTQ+ history and issues in school curricula, among other things, such as abortion rights and anti-racism (Platform of the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation). Despite the progress won by the activists of previous decades, all of these issues remain pressing concerns today.
The evening before this March, a group called the Lesbian Avengers organized another march, the first ever Dyke March. “Dyke Marches” are Pride celebrations that center around lesbians and other LGBTQ+ people who identify as dykes. While “dyke” was considered a slur, it has largely been reclaimed by the community choosing to embrace the subversive connotations of the word, although some people still prefer not to use it. An estimated 20,000 people attended that first Dyke March in Washington.
While Dyke Marches are a celebration and a fun Pride Month activity, they are also always grounded in an activist mindset. Lesbian Avengers co-founder Maxine Wolfe, in an interview with Elise Dixon, said, “I always tell people when I train them for the Dyke March— you know, marshal training— your job is to make people feel safe and have a good time so they want to come back again. Because we want people to be activists. The more they feel that they’re a part of this, the more they’re going to do it elsewhere in their lives”
-The NYC Dyke March and Origins of Dyke Marches Around the World by Olivia Wood
Source: Lesbian Avengers, Carrie Moyer?, “First Annual Dyke Pride March,” Lesbian Herstory Archives Exhibition Collections , accessed September 4, 2024, https://lhaexhibits.omeka.net/items/show/455.
Since that first Dyke March in Washington D.C. in 1993, Dyke Marches have been organized in cities across the US, and around the world!
Dyke Marches have become important spaces for thousands of us to come together for Lesbian rights and visibility.
Great question!
Maybe at first it doesn't seem like yoga and Dyke Marches have anything to do with each other, but yoga can be a powerful force to support us to be more present and ready for action.
“Without inner change there can be no outer change.
Without collective change, no change matters.”
-Rev. angel Kyodo williams, Black lesbian Zen priest, activist, author, and teacher
Yoga isn't just stretching.
Yoga is a way of supporting you to become more of who you are.
As we turn our focus outward to publicly demonstrate about who we are, we balance that with bringing inner focus to who we are.
As we work for collective change that allows us to be freer in the world, we work for personal change that allows us to be freer in ourselves.
But talking about inner focus and personal change can seem kind of vague.
Let's get into some of the specifics of why doing yoga at a Dyke March is a good idea.
Yoga isn't just stretching, but stretching your body is part of it! By moving our muscles in intentional ways, we help to relax, strengthen, and energize our bodies. That's important when you're going to be doing a lot of walking!
Yoga helps you feel less stress and anxiety with deep breathing and mindfulness. A lot of emotions can come up during a Dyke March, and yoga can help you feel more grounded.
Yoga helps you to clear your mind when you have a zillion thoughts buzzing around in your brain. By practicing being mindful as we connect with our bodies, we prepare our minds to focus when it's time to take action.
Dyke Marches are community events, and doing yoga together can help to build more of a sense of connection. When we move together, each person has their own unique expression of the movement even as we all share in the experience together. That's a beautiful metaphor for how every individual who makes up a Dyke March has their own unique expression of Dyke Power, while sharing in the larger experience of the Dyke community.
Doing things in ways that feels right for you means moving your body in ways that feel good and giving yourself space to rest, breathe, or just be without any judgment or pressure to be different.
When we practice giving ourselves this freedom in yoga, it supports us to feel more free in all of the other areas of our lives, and to create more freedom for others.
In the words of Leslie Feinberg: "I do not believe that our sexuality, gender expression and bodies can be liberated without making a ferocious mobilization against imperialist war and racism an integral part of our struggle."
Yoga helps us to remember how we are all connected, and to feel more empowered in our bodies and minds so that we can take action for the liberation of all.
You don't have to wait until the next Dyke March to take a class with Butch Yoga.
Maybe you haven't wanted to go to yoga classes because they can feel extra feminine (which is fine for people who like that vibe), but in Butch Yoga Community Classes you can be yourself, without worrying about being misgendered.
Butch Yoga hosts free group classes online where we have fun doing simple movements that are accessible for beginners to yoga, so you feel more flexible, more relaxed. and more connected to what it feels like to be in your body.
All yoga class photos by Kelly @poetinastorm. Thanks Kelly!