Thank you for visiting this page. Stillnessinyoga wants to give a voice to the Myanmar fight for freedom. Our team was moved recently by hearing from our good friend Samadhi Selena. Samadhi Selena has worked for several humanitarian and aid organizations in Myanmar and as you probably heard in the news, the situation is awful. Human rights are being violated by the army. Now the army also occupies some hospitals, so the people from Myanmar can’t go to hospital anymore. Workers are on strike as they don’t want to work under the military rule, so caretakers are giving health care on the streets. They need funds for supplies. Currently all banks are closed, and the people who are striking against this Military coup have lost their income and struggle to buy food and day to day essentials. We want to support their struggle and resistance.

DONATIONS NEEDED
Find below the program we love to offer you. By joining us for our classes from your home, you can at the same time help the people of Myanmar. You can use the donate button, to transfer your donation. You will receive the link to all the classes we offer afterwards. Please help us in spreading this fundraiser, so we can collect as much money as possible to offer to the care takers in Myanmar directly. We hope you will either via us, or by yourself organize yoga classes, meditation on donation base for Myanmar! We can collect all the funding to save admin costs and transfer it just one time.

INTRODUCING SAMADHI SELENA MARR
Samadhi Selena’s passion is being an aid worker for more than 20 years. She has worked in various countries including central America, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Lebanon, southern Africa, and now for 13 years in Myanmar. She has managed various health, water and hygiene projects in remote villages and specialises in women’s empowerment. Alongside this work she also helped support local artists and weavers to preserve the art of making silk from lotus. This is an ancient art for honouring the Buddhist monks. This material is now also being bought by fashion designers. She has lived in Myanmar for over 5 years, and with her experience and connections, she can bring the funding directly to the people through a network of local volunteers, with virtually no administration costs except bank transfer fees.

TRANSFER OF THE MONEY TO MYANMAR
Read below the statement of how the funds will be spent and managed.

PROGRAM 27th of March and is still flowering and growing:

We could not organize this event is without the help of our wonderful friends and fellow teachers. They introduce their classes below:

Another Overington is the co – founder of Stillnessinyoga, and facilitates Meridian-based Yin, Yin Yang, Yogini Vinyasa Teacher Trainings.She will offer today classes in her own unique style.

Anand Nigam teaches at Stillnessninyoga Kriya Yoga, Yoga Philosophy, Mantra and Meditation.

Barbara van Norden – In this hour of Yin & Yang yoga, we will start with half an hour or so of Vinyasa yoga to warm up the body and to bring us to the here and now by focussing on the breath. From there we enter even more into the slowness as we’ll go through the Yin yoga part of this class. Barbara looks forward to welcoming you this special Saturday morning. As this class will be via YouTube, leave a message in the chat if you like!

In the pranayama class taught by Noor Palazzi we will be aware of the four parts of a full breath: the inhalation, the pause after the inhalation, the exahalation and the pause after the exhalation.  We will try to make all four parts equal in length (samavritti pranayama) and work with this in our asana’s.  The practice results in quieting of the mind and finding stillness and peace within ourselves. Noor has been teaching pranayama at the Saswitha School of Yoga & Philosophy in Bilthoven (the Netherlands) for many years. She teaches with joy, precision and passion.

From Diana Eling expect a class with options (if you like) for power and strength, to get open and to let the energy flow through your body.A playful, down to earth class for all levels in a (vinyasa) flow.I hope to see you on zoom! Love Diana

De slow flow yoga les van Marije Heitlager zal zacht zijn voor body en mind. Zachte bewegingen in een vloeiende vorm die voor iedereen te volgen zijn.The slow flow lesson from Marije Heitlager will be soft and gentle for body and mind. Soft movements in a gentle flow accessible for everyone.

I am Ria van Leeuwen, yoga teacher with a passion for QiGong. Join me in bringing some positive energy into this world. Namaste. (www.mamaste.nl)

In this meditation we will focus on strengthening and deepening the natural qualities of the heart. We will use awareness and visualisation to help cultivate kindness and compassion for ourselves and our own humanness as well as our fellow (human) beings. More info on Cecile at www.mindfulpresence.nl

Antoinette van AgoYogA gaat een Yin/Yang les verzorgen om 19 uur met thema mededogen voor jezelf en voor de mensen in Myanmar. Ze gaat een flow geven met hartopeners en geïntegreerde visualisaties en ademhalingstechnieken, gevolgd door yin houdingen voor het toelaten en versterken van de energie van compassie.

Opening our heart for Myanmar
In this meditative Chakra Yoga class asana’s are held longer in a relaxed way, to open and balance the Chakra’s (energy centers). With our intention on sending unconditional love, compassion and freedom, the qualities of the Heart Chakra! All levels welcome.

Indra Bose is an international certified (500 RYT) Hatha yoga teacher. From 2006 she studied Hatha- & Tantra Yoga in India & Thailand for several years. Her Chakra Yoga teachings originate from the traditional Indian and Tibetan Tantric teachings. In 2015 she attended Stillnessinyoga’s first Yin Yoga Teacher training.

THE ACTORS

ELEANOR WILKINSON

Eleanor is a graduate actor based in Suffolk, UK. Since graduating, she has been able to perform Shakespeare in Lockdown with ‘The Show Must Go Online’, Crew of Patches (Bottom) and currently performing as Henry V for Temporal Horizons Theatre. 

VICTORIA GARTNER 

Victoria Gartner is a Swiss-Ukrainian multi award-nominated writer, director and teacher. She founded Will & Co theatre company in 2015, with the wish to make Shakespeare more accessible to all. Her latest project, Bard in the Yard, was born out of the Covid-19 quarantine and was performed in the UK to high acclaim, as reported by de Volkskrant. It is back this year for a new season, both in the UK and in the Netherlands.

ROSANNA TURNER

Rosanna Turner is a recent drama school Graduate who specialises in Shakespeare and writing and performing comedy. Before going to drama school she took her one woman play to the Edinburgh fringe and can’t wait for live theatre to be back! 

KIT MCGUIRE

Kit McGuire is a London-based actor and writer originally from the Bard’s own hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon. They’ve performed in the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival, with Will and Co. in Bard in the Yard, and thanks to 2020 they’ve been inducted in the art of Zoom Shakespearing as well.

LAURA COOPER-JONES

LUKE FARRUGIA

JOANNA NEVIN

PAUL WILLCOCKS

OLIVER LYNDON

Oliver graduated from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in 2019, originally from Cambridge, he now lives in east London and produces his own work for theatre

FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SITUATION IN MYANMAR, THE WAY THE FUNDS WILL BE HANDED OVER AND SPENT

To raise funds to support the people on the ground in Myanmar

Since the military coup in February 1^st 2021, millions of Myanmar civilians have been thrown into chaos, subjected to shootings, violence, and daily campaigns of fear by police/armed forces. Millions of people have elected to take part in peaceful protests to stand up for their human rights and freedom. Over 60 people have been killed by gun shot across the country while peacefully demonstrating on the roads. 20 of those were killed by shots to the head by snipers. 1,939 people have been arrested, charged or sentenced with 1,620 of these still in detention or have outstanding warrants. Those released were only done so with a ransom fee being paid (AAPP Burma as of 9^th March 2021.) Most people detained are youth, and if they are detained with injuries, they are denied medical treatment. There are some protesters and citizens who have disappeared and cannot traced at this point.

Samadhi Selena Marr has worked in Myanmar since 2008 and has lived there for five years out of the last thirteen. She is an aid worker and consultant for various development and humanitarian agencies. See LinkedIn profile here. www.linkedin.com/in/samadhi-marr-b4bb0548. She has a Myanmar ‘family’ and many friends living through this dark time in Myanmar. Samadhi currently lives in Australia.

We would like to raise money to support the people of Myanmar through Samadhi’s friends and colleagues.  Activities will be carried out by Samadhi and her Myanmar team voluntarily. There will be no staff or human resource costs. There is a network of friends, across Myanmar who can deliver cash and goods despite the bank system being closed at present.

How will the funds be spent?

Update March 23: As you may know the situation in Myanmar is continuing to deteriorate. We have had to review our strategy to send funds to our local Myanmar contacts. It has become more difficult for people to move around and to access goods for distribution. To solve this issue, we have found a wonderful local organisation delivering assistance during this crisis: “Mutual Aid Myanmar”. They are doing what we had planned to do, but with a wider network across the country. They are backed by an established and registered charity in the USA. Mutual Aid Myanmar supports students, civil servants, nurses, and others participating in the civil disobedience movement (CDM). In order to sustain the movement, they provide food, healthcare and housing to these groups. They are distributing through anonymous partners all across the country. The full amount donated goes directly to supporting the people of Myanmar. We will channel all past and future donations through to Mutual Aid Myanmar. You can read more about their current work here: https://www.mutualaidmyanmar.org 

1. Vulnerable families in neighbourhoods across Myanmar

A portion will be sent to friends and colleagues to distribute among vulnerable people in their own neighbourhoods across Yangon and other parts of Myanmar. This will include food, medicine (including prescriptions) and household items such as toiletries and essentials (soap, washing detergent, first aid items etc). Some public servants who have joined the civil disobedience movement (CDM) and are on strike, have been thrown out of their government provided staff quarters.  For these people, shelter options will be provided where possible.

Myanmar is the poorest country in south east Asia.  Now with roads blocked and markets shut down, making a living has become even harder and impossible for some. Prices of essential items and food has sharply increased during this crisis, making survival extremely difficult for many vulnerable and poor people.

2. Families who are undertaking strikes for the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM)

A portion will be given to families undertaking strikes and participating in the civil disobedience movement (CDM). These are public servants (doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers, transports workers, rubbish collectors etc.) who have refused to work under a military dictatorship. They are currently on strike and are not earning salaries. Furthermore, the people of Myanmar have lost their continuous routine work during the COVID lockdowns in 2020. Daily labourers could not earn their wages and many of them stayed on a monthly stipend granted by the civilian government. Since the military coup, their income source has stopped, and they no longer have any rights for this stipend.  These people will receive up to 50% of our total raised funds. This income will serve to help day to day living but also protect them from the unnecessary detention and injuries from going out on the road.

Administration Costs

Administration costs will be minimal. Banking transfer fees and some local transport costs are the only anticipated administration costs. All human resource costs in the Netherlands, Australia and Myanmar will be on a voluntary basis.

All monies raised will be held in an account and sent to Myanmar when banks reopen. Once we have raised the funds, we can pledge it to our contacts in Myanmar and they can access cash to spend the money immediately. There is an anonymous Myanmar company who will loan the money until banks reopen and we can make international transfers.

Transparency

Although this is a grass roots, informal fundraising effort, we take getting the money to the right people seriously. We are also serious about reporting these efforts to you.

Once the money is distributed, we will provide a written report. Where possible we will also provide photos and videos to update you as to how your donations have been spent. Please provide your email for this purpose. Currently Myanmar civil disobedience movement supporters are being arrested and violently targeted. Some have been killed. The safety of our volunteer teams is our first priority and we will not publicly reveal their names or photos. We will take interview video clips with subtitles in both Myanmar and English. For safety reasons the interviewer and distribution team will be kept anonymous.  These interviews clips will not be posted on any social media or website for the safety of both partners but transferred directly to you, our donors, via email for visibility purposes.

Contacts
Yoga workshop questions: Anoshe,Judith: sttillnessinyoga@gmail.com …
Fundraising questions: Samadhi Selena Marr selenamarr@gmail.com

Challenges

Banks

All banks are currently closed in Myanmar. Many banks are striking as a part of the civil disobedience movement to try and hamper the Military’s takeover. It is not clear when they will reopen.

Safety of Myanmar volunteer team

To protect the Myanmar friends and supporters helping to distribute the funds and food, their photos and names should not be published. Samadhi is happy to informally share stories and details of these helpers.