Hasta La Gadget!

By: Shira Atkins

We polled dedicated yogis and yoga teachers to find out what keeps them sane when the stress comes on.

These days, tools for de-stressing have become posh: we see our co-workers sneaking off into corners to meditate, our kids clutching stress-balls before exams. And despite the fact that we as a society have become aware of the debilitating nature of stress, physically, mentally, and even on a cellular level, we don’t often think about how multi-faceted the process of de-stressing can be. The truth is, there’s no one way to fight it. Stress is different for all of us, and in our moments of deep need we’ll do just about anything. Looking for advice on the best place to start? We asked six experts in the art of staying calm what helps them de-stress in the heat of the moment. Here’s what they said.

Brandi Ryans, massage therapist and yoga teacher based in New York City
Deep breathing, legs up the wall, and sandalwood oil on my neck.

Russell Case, director of the Ashtanga yoga program at Stanford University
Relax your tongue and stare at a point. Immediately without even thinking your next breath will be huge. This creates what’s called pratyhara–the sense that your organs are attached to your mind’s objects–they’re not, and in that breath, they will become disentangled. Craving and aversion will slip away, you will be neither bothered by rain nor light. This is euphoria.

Lily Stroud, yoga teacher based in New York City
Lying on the floor. It’s grounding and you break the cycle of trying to always be doing something. Just stretch and breathe for a moment.

To learn three other strategies on how to de-stress instantly, read the original article on Sonima.com.

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It is the rarest of celestial conjunctions in earthly politics. Within the same ten-day period, under a blazing spotlight, the choices for leadership of the most influential country on the planet have been officially winnowed to two. Simultaneously the choices for leadership of the one global institution that purports to speak collectively for the planet have been winnowed in an unofficial vote in a back room in New York.

What makes the conjunction so rare is that, for the first time, both leadership posts are being vacated at the same time–and a departing American administration is deeply engaged in choosing the next United Nations secretary-general with whom the next United States president will have to work for at least the next four years.

Never before has a U.S. president foisted on his successor a U.N. secretary-general with whom he himself would not have to work. And while you wouldn’t know it from the NATO focus of the parties’ convention rhetoric and platforms, the United Nations is surely the most consequential international organization, with the greatest impact on the largest number of people, on the planet.

By all accounts, Barack Obama wants to bequeath to his successor a new secretary-general strong enough to stand up to any rogue national leader. “It could not be a more important time to choose the best possible leader for this organization on which so much depends and so many depend,” U.S. ambassador Samantha Power told reporters as she went into the U.N. Security Council’s closed-door voting conclave on July 21. “We’re looking for somebody with great leadership skills, great management skills, someone who has a commitment to fairness and accountability and who stays true to the founding principles of the United Nations.”

Power’s predecessors during the 1996 and 2006 secretary-general selections very publicly wanted someone “more of a secretary and less of a general.” For Obama’s team, as the multilateral affairs director at the National Security Council, Joshua Black, emphasized to delegates from the United Nations Association-USA in June, “We want someone who is a leader.”

A leader is what Kofi Annan became, if ultimately to his peril. He found himself on a collision course with president George W. Bush over the U.S. invasion of Iraq, which Annan could only brand “illegal” under the U.N. Charter. As rightist circles in Washington bayed for Annan’s head, Bush sent John Bolton as his envoy to torment Annan for his last two years and to ensure that a successor be incapable of challenging Washington. Ban Ki-moon, the Korean with no U.N. experience whom the Security Council ultimately agreed to nominate in 2006, would prove much more discreet.

As Ban’s time draws to a close, almost as many candidates have presented themselves as competed in this year’s Republican presidential primaries in the United States. Obviously much more attention, passion, and money have been invested in the presidential race, where the power is. With just 193 electors rather than the 135 million, the secretary-general selection process can be more subdued and diplomatically correct.

As in this year’s U.S. presidential election, women’s groups have very publicly clamored for election of a woman to the secretary-general’s office. But an even more rigid rule reigns in international organization politics, that of regional rotation, ensuring that heads of U.N. organizations would, over the years, come from every region of the world. Regional rotation has been honored at the United Nations since the 1962 selection of U Thant, and this year the East European regional group has staked its claim to providing the U.N.’s chief.

Many are privately skeptical of an East European “turn.” The Cold War rationale for separating Europe into two regions, communist and non-communist, is unpersuasive when most former Soviet dependencies have joined the European Union and NATO. They cling to a separate U.N. group only to avoid competing for seats on U.N. bodies with more electorally appealing western countries. The majority of the twelve announced candidates hail, improbably, from the Balkans, epicenter of Europe’s post-Soviet violent conflicts. Half are women.

The first straw poll was conducted just hours before Donald Trump assured the Republican national convention that “Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo.” The top-ranked candidate, with 12 votes of “encouragement,” was neither a woman nor Eastern European: Antonio Guterres, former socialist prime minister of Portugal and U.N. high commissioner for refugees. (None of the previous U.N. secretaries-general from Europe has been from its southern or “Latin” tier.) In second place, with 11 favorable votes, was Danilo Türk, former U.N. ambassador, secretariat official, and president of Slovenia, raised in communist Yugoslavia.

Tied for third place with nine encouragements each were three Balkan candidates, one of them a woman: Bulgaria’s Irina Bokova, currently the head of the U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); Vuk Jeremić, past General Assembly president and former Serbian foreign minister; and vowel-challenged Srgjan Kerim, Macedonia’s former U.N. ambassador and foreign minister.

This year’s U.N. process seems set, like the U.S. presidential contest, to upend traditional assumptions about U.N. politics. The East Europeans’ insistence on the top post may end up torpedoing the rule of regional rotation altogether. The more transparent process seems unlikely to engage broader public participation or create a groundswell for a woman. With the selection due well before the U.S. election, Barack Obama–widely considered the most pro-U.N. president of the past half-century–can lock in a legacy through global leadership lasting into at least two U.S. administrations.

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This year’s Democratic National Convention is unprecedented for many reasons and among them is the fact that it’s been powered by a bevy of remarkable black women.

Chief among them are three women who occupy the top positions of the DNC: Donna Brazile, Leah Daughtry and Marcia Fudge, who serve as the interim chair, CEO and the chair of the convention, respectively.

Through their sound leadership, these women, along with the help of many others, have crafted an unforgettable convention that has broken boundaries, set records and made history. The DNC has featured almost as many people of color in its first day as there were present at the entire week-long Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. To be precise, eleven of 24 speakers who addressed the nation on the opening night of the DNC were people of color, many of whom spoke to their experiences as a minority and praised Hillary Clinton for her commitment to address their concerns.

The world should know the names of these women, which is why we have rounded up and given the backgrounds of a few of the notable black women who have made an impact at the DNC. 

Donna Brazile, interim chair of the DNC

Brazile, a veteran Democratic strategist, commentator and former vice chair of the DNC, recently took over her new role following the resignation of former party chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz on Sunday. Schultz left her position after internal emails from the DNC were leaked just days before the start of the convention that questioned the integrity of her role and those of others, as well.

Brazile immediately stepped up to the plate and issued an apology on the party’s behalf that reassured the public of the DNC’s commitment to justice and peace.

“We are embarking on a convention today that ― thanks to the great efforts of Secretary Clinton, her team, Senator Sanders, his team and the entire Democratic Party ― will show a forward-thinking and optimistic vision for America, as compared to the dark and pessimistic vision that the GOP presented last week in Cleveland,” Brazile said on Monday. “Our focus is on electing Hillary Clinton, Tim Kaine and Democrats across the country, thanks to a Democratic Party that is strong, unified, and poised for victory in November.”

Brazile’s statement exemplifies great leadership in a moment that had potential to breed even more turmoil and scandal. Despite protests from Sanders’ supporters who interrupted some speeches, Brazile’s actions, as well as those of other convention leaders like Fudge, helped to quell some tensions and pave way for peace and order.

Marcia Fudge, chair of the DNC

“We’re all Democrats and we need to act like it,” Congresswoman Fudge said at the beginning of the convention on Monday. “I know there are many of you in this room who don’t know me… I intend to be fair, I want to hear the varying opinions here. I’m going to be respectful of you, and I want you to be respectful of me.”

Fudge’s political history is remarkable in its own right. She currently serves as the U.S. Representative for Ohio’s 11th congressional district, which is a position she has held since 2008. Prior to that, she was not only the first woman but also the first African-American to be elected mayor of a Warrensville Heights, Ohio ― a town known as the “Friendly City.” She held that position for eight years prior to her election into congress. In 2012, Fudge was unanimously elected as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and has relentlessly fought for equal rights for all Americans.

“Marcia Fudge is an exceptional leader,” said Chairman Emanuel Cleaver at the time of her election in 2012. “As we welcome the most diverse Congress in our nation’s history, I am confident that Rep. Fudge and the executive board will lead the CBC in the great spirit of our legacy as the ‘Conscience of the Congress.’ I also know she will do her best to ensure the CBC continues it vital role in moving this great country forward.”

Leah Daughtry, CEO of the DNC

Rev. Leah Daughtry also recognizes the importance of striving for equity and inclusivity in her role as the chief executive officer of the DNC. She also held the position during the 2008 convention, which makes her the only person in the history of the Democratic party to serve as CEO of the convention twice.

Daughtry’s leadership, however, extends far beyond her current role. She has long held senior positions at the U.S. Department of Labor during Bill Clinton’s presidency and is also the president and CEO of her own company called On These Things LLC. Daughtry, is also a devout Christian and her faith guides much of her work. 

“My Christian upbringing was greatly influenced by my experience as an African-American girl in a world that didn’t fully accept me,” Daughtry wrote on her website. “I grew up acutely aware of inequalities and injustices ― from racism and sexism to poverty and inequitable wealth distribution to just the ways we were treated by police officers and school teachers.”

These experiences have helped to shape Daughtry as a nationally recognized pastor, political strategist and organizer. In an interview with NBC BLK, she promised to make this year’s convention “the most diverse and the most forward-looking convention that we’ve had in recent history,” which seems to be a promise she has kept.

Michelle Obama, First Lady

Among the prominent people who spoke, it was first lady Michelle Obama’s speech on Tuesday night that was the real standout. Obama’s address, which was widely celebrated, was by far one of the most brilliant speeches ever delivered on the convention stage. Her delivery, both honest and remarkably powerful, spoke to the experiences of parenthood, leadership and race and how the three intersect in her world as the nation’s first black FLOTUS.

“I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves. And I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent black young women, playing with their dogs on the White House lawn,” she said in a powerfully honest and riveting statement.

As the most powerful black woman in the nation, Obama’s speech held special meaning to black women everywhere who look up to her excellence and wisdom. Her empowering calls for change and celebration of womanhood was a moment that was praised by people across the country who connected with her message and celebrated all that she stands for.

Mothers of the Movement

A similar, and stronger, sense of strength was exhibited by the Mothers of the Movement on Tuesday night. Seven black women, who are the mothers of the men, women, boys and girls who have died in police encounters, stood onstage to demand an end to gun violence and share their support for Clinton, whom they said they trust to help bring about change in this vital effort.

“I lived in fear that my son would die like this,” said Lucia McBath, the mother of Jordan Davis who was fatally shot at a gas station in Florida in 2012 by a white man who grew angry over the teenager’s loud music. “I warned him that, because he was a young black man, he would meet people who didn’t value him or his life. That is a conversation that no parent should have with their child. Hillary Clinton isn’t afraid to say that Black Lives Matter. She isn’t afraid to sit at a table with grieving mothers.”

Other mothers joined McBath onstage to share their heartbreaking experiences in losing their loved ones to such horrific circumstances, including Geneva Reed-Veal, the mother of Sandra Bland; Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner; Lezley McSpadden, the mother of Michael Brown; Cleopatra Pendleton-Cowley, the mother of Hadiya Pendleton; Annette Nance-Holt, mother of Blair Holt; Wanda Johnson, the mother Oscar Grant; and Maria Hamilton, the mother of Dontre Hamilton.

The crowd erupted into a standing ovation following their heartfelt speeches. It was a memorable moment that prompted an outpouring of support from people in the audience, and millions more online, who mourn the deaths of their children and praise the strength these mothers exemplify.

Felicia Sanders and Polly Sheppard, survivors of Charleston church massacre

Many other influential black women, like Alicia Keys and Angela Bassett also made impassioned calls for peace on the DNC stage. Felicia Sanders and Polly Sheppard, two black women who survived the mass shooting at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, South Carolina, also delivered powerful pleas for racial unity. 

Ultimately, the purpose of the convention is not only to nominate and confirm the party’s candidate for president, which Clinton was honored with on Tuesday night, but to also aim to unify the party. Daughtry, Brazile, Fudge, along with the countless black women Clinton has employed through her campaign, have been relentlessly committed to this mission and have powerfully used their platforms to amplify the experiences of all women of color.

This year’s DNC is helping to prove that. 

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Over the last two weeks we introduced ten storytellers from the Muslim Writers Collective. You got to know them; now we want you to get to know us (the editors), and why we care about this initiative.

* * *

My name is Gina. I work in an emergency room in Connecticut. The Muslim Writers Collective became important to me when a man named Jim Webb opened up to me about his life in rural Kentucky.

Jim grew up driven to give the Appalachian workers in his hometown better health treatments. He made it to medical school, something no one in his family had done. This failed to impress his more urban and urbane professors. They were sure people with his accent from Appalachia were stupid, products of a desolate, backwards society. Jim tried his best to talk like them and not mention home.

He made it to graduation, then persisted through a rigorous training program in yet another city where he was a stranger to everyone. Finally, almost ten years later, Jim got his license and was able to return home.

Eager to see his old friends, now with wives and kids, Jim waited for a warm embrace in his doctor’s office. But when they heard him talking about diseases and medicines without an accent, they told him he had gotten uppity. He had abandoned his roots, hanging that fancy diploma in his office, making more money and acting better than everyone else.

Jim was never accepted by the medical establishment. But by wanting to be a part of that elite, he lost acceptance from the town he came from. I imagined my Muslim South Asian friends behind him in an airport security line, and wondered whether they would be too caught up in his beer belly, crew neck haircut, and thick Kentucky accent to see their emigrant, cross-cultural common ground.

Certainly, the Muslim Writers Collective enriches Muslim identity in America and that matters to me. But more importantly, I work on it because it teaches us to unsheath identity politics. Right now both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are drawing boundaries around which Americans have been wronged. This is bogus, and it is more important than ever to rub shoulders with people different from us to remember that. The Jadeed Voices Initiative matters to me because it brings intimate understanding between two real people who would never meet: our authors and you.

* * *

My name is Zara.  I’m a writer and an educator. I believe in the Muslim Writers Collective because I understand the power of storytelling.

I grew up in a small town in the Midwest, and as a child, I didn’t come across many people who resembled my appearance, or shared my culture and traditions. Because of this lack of diversity, I got used to being the only “Indian kid” at school. While this distinction helped set me apart, it also came with its drawbacks.

Growing up, I was no stranger to racial stereotypes–I was made fun of relentlessly for being brown, for my “curry-scented” skin, for my modest clothing, and my name which no one could pronounce. I pretended like the teasing didn’t bother me. Instead, I laughed off these jabs and tried to “tone down” my Muslim-ness, my South Asian-ness, in the hopes that I would not be further ostracized by my peers. Their lives were such a stark contrast from my own conservative, Muslim-South Asian upbringing that I felt like the only way they could relate to me was if I tried to be more like them. While my efforts to “assimilate” seemed to help, the message I was subconsciously sending to myself was loud and clear: who I was, was not acceptable. It was not until I became an adult when I realized just how damaging–and dangerous–the effects of this racial stereotyping were to not only my community, but also to my own sense of self-worth.

When I moved to the Bay Area, I attended my first MWC open mic. At this event, I listened to performer after performer come up and bravely share their experiences of being Muslim in America. These stories spoke to me. They awakened emotions within me that had long lain dormant and gave voice to the struggles I endured growing up. For the very first time, I realized how empowering it was to hear these stories spoken aloud. Through these articulations of isolation, acceptance, confusion, reflection, fear, hope, pain, and healing, we collectively, are acknowledging our existence. We are creating a mode for survival. We are discovering our niche in the larger mosaic of the American experience, and granting ourselves–and others–the admission to accept us for who we are.

This is the power of storytelling.

And this is the reason I believe in the vision of the Muslim Writers Collective and the Jadeed Voices Initiative.

* * *

My name is Hamdan. I’m a data scientist from Brooklyn.

I grew up hearing a story about my great grandfather. One day, he was sitting on the porch of our haveli in our ancestral village near Sialkot (in what was then British India). He was discussing the weather with one of his younger cousins, Ahmad Din.

“Ahmad Din, look at how overcast the sky is, it looks like it will rain heavily soon,” said my great grandfather. “Yes, Paa Jee” responded Ahmad Din. (Paa Jee is the respectful way of addressing an older brother in Punjabi.) My great grandfather wasn’t satisfied. “Ahmad Din, look at how overcast the sky is, it looks like the sun will come out soon.” “Yes, Paa Jee,” responded Ahmad Din. “You donkey!” said my great grandfather. “How do you say yes to two completely different things?” “Yes, Paa Jee,” responded Ahmad Din.

My mother used to tell this story frequently when I was growing up. Maybe it was her way of shaking me by the shoulders, as if to say “Look! This is how much elders are revered in our tradition.” Maybe she thought we would never learn these lessons in school. Maybe she wanted to preempt our feeling of knowing it all, that arrogance that sneaks in when your parents are immigrants. Maybe she had grown up hearing this story from her father and retelling it made her miss him less.

Today, we are constantly hearing stories told about us. In some stories, we’re the villains. In other stories, we’re on the frontlines of a war most of us want nothing to do with, tasked with “loving freedom and hating terror and helping you win.”

The Jadeed Voices Initiative is our way of centering our authentic stories as expressions of our individuality and our spirit. Our stories involve pain, belonging, identity, laughter, love, and triumph. Our stories are more meaningful and resonate more deeply when we free them of the burden of having to apologize or explain or speak for us all. Our stories are more powerful when we let them be.

Gina Siddiqui, Zara Raheem, and Hamdan Azhar are the editors and visionaries behind Muslim Writers Collective: The Jadeed Voices Initiative.

The Muslim Writers Collective is a grassroots storytelling movement from the Muslim American community. Our monthly open mics, running since 2014, have featured hundreds of first time performers – poets, journalists, comedians, musicians, students and more – who have shared facets of the Muslim consciousness that were hidden until now. Our chapters in New York, the Bay Area, and six other cities have welcomed thousands of attendees to witness these new stories emerge. PRI has called us “an oasis to Muslims in Trump’s America,” and VICE has acclaimed us as “a space for young Muslims to honor their humanity.” For more information, follow the Muslim Writers Collective on Facebook and Twitter.

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What kind of human doesn’t want to have superpowers? I’d literally take any of them—flying, teleportation, invisibility, super strength—shoot, even a useless one like being able to eat anything would be so awesome to have. But there’s a dark side to having superpowers, and it’s mostly because we live in stupid ass real life.

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