June 21 marked National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada and, to celebrate and commemorate, lululemon invited its members to an immersive Four Directions Yoga Flow. The event was held in collaboration with the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver.
Nearly 500 people attended the celebration in person, and it was also live-streamed across Canada. The event opened with Indigenous performers who generously shared their songs, stories and knowledge. It was powerful to hear Indigenous voices and drums echo throughout the stadium.
The four instructors, Shayla Stonechild (Red River Métis and Nehiyaw from Muscowpetung First Nation), Quelemia Sparrow (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm), Lydia Williams (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh),
and Natasha Tolkamp (səlilwətaɬ) led participants through the practice. They wove yogic philosophy with Indigenous teachings.
Quelemia Sparrow met the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm performers on stage and shared how cedar trees first came to be. Cedar boughs were then used in the yoga practice to cleanse the space.
The four directions yoga flow was informed by Shayla’s nations teachings, as well as the teachings of the three other host nations. Shayla is a lululemon ambassador and founder of the Matriarch Movement, a podcast and non-profit organization that “partners with organizations to facilitate wellness workshops that focus on Indigenous people reclaiming their voice, body and spirit.”
The four directions represent the sun, earth, air, and water. Each of the four teachers took turns leading the class, rotating around the stage. Before the class, the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh performers sang a song about four animals. They had everyone dance their animal role, be it eagle, wolf, orca, or salmon. One singer joked that we had all come to a lululemon party to act like animals but it was the perfect way to connect out bodies physically to the mythology of the land.
In a stadium where the only synchronized movement you would typically see a crowd this size doing would be the wave, it was impactful to see everyone flowing into downward-facing dog together. Yoga events like this are just one of the benefits offered to lululemon members. —Bronwyn Lewis
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