01/29/2026
Closed tomorrow: a small act of solidarity
➡️ I have been feeling despondent and devastated, hopeless and helpless. I know our nervous systems are not built to watch public executions by masked government agents while we drink our morning coffee, and I know it’s normal for this to affect each of us, deeply.
At the same time, I also know that I am not directly impacted by ICE and this brutal crackdown. Many people are suffering so much more than I am, and are so much more scared than I am.
I recognize that this is a pivotal time.
These events have similar energy as other status quo disruptions I have lived through. I feel like I did after Columbine, after 9/11, with that knowing in my bones that this has changed the fabric of society forever, that we will never be quite the same.
I wrestled with the decision to close tomorrow in solidarity with the general strike. Frankly, it’s inconvenient. Also, we were just closed for the snowstorm. What if I annoy people? And then the hopelessness: what will it really help anyway?
And until last night I figured we would not participate.
But something kept gnawing at me: the teachings I share regularly, that were passed down to me by my teachers, and by my teachers’ teachers: ‘every act makes an impact. Indeed, every breath can create an opening.’
I have been teaching that these past few weeks because it does anchor me in a glimmer of hope within the despondency. It reminds me that movements of change are made up of millions of small acts, countless individuals taking a deeper breath and reorienting towards a collective vision.
Closing the studio is a small act. It’s a bummer for those who will miss their regular class, and I apologize. But I hope it makes a small impact, a tiny stitch in this fabric of humanity that we are all sewing together, as we collectively try to bend this arc of history towards justice.
All of our staff are being paid for their scheduled work tomorrow.
Continued in comments ⬇️