I am really excited to be dancing in the 9/11 Tribute “Table of Silence.” It’s a public performance ritual for peace and will be streamed live from Lincoln Center. I hope you will join us in person or online!
 Livestream: Friday, September 11, 2015, beginning at 8:15AM

the new world trade center behind me as I walk to my doctor’s office

Today is a new anniversary for me. With everything I’ve been seeing on my newsfeed about the Katrina 10th anniversary, and being in rehearsals for an important anniversary ritual on September 11, I wanted to share some thoughts. Anniversaries are important. Even anniversaries of trauma. These anniversaries are not celebrations of the trauma, nor assertions that things are now back to normal. Things will never be back to normal. Horrible things happen. Human beings are capable of horrible things. But we are also resilient. We survive, we continue to live and risk and love anyway. We heal. We participate in and even facilitate each other’s healing. I don’t like the adage, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” because it implies that strength comes from near destruction. We are born strong. So it is simpler than that- what doesn’t kill you doesn’t kill you. You keep going. Our bodies naturally tend toward healing. So do our hearts. Remembering the trauma is acknowledging the healing.

On Saturday I remembered how it felt to see my home torn and left to bleed out. I also remembered how it felt to hold a binder full of emails from strangers in Chicago willing to open up their homes to me after I fled there. How it still feels to be in a room full of people who share my hometown and understand its complexity. Today I remember the car accident I had while moving out of New Orleans into New York. It’s slammed into my memory the way that all traumas are. But that trauma was also followed by the kindness of strangers and friends, a new rooting of my life, and healing of my body.

Next Friday I’ll remember the day that devastated my new home, joining with New Yorkers through my art, honoring the lives lost, and praying for peace. Healing can not happen without grief, and grief can not happen without remembering. These anniversaries are about remembering the injury and honoring the healing. When I remember these days, I grieve for what is lost, and I celebrate human resilience.

  
I am now teaching open yoga classes at Ruskin Karate in Borough Park! Tuesdays 8-9:15pm and Sundays 11am-12:15. Your first class is only $10, and the drop in rate thereafter is $15. Discounted monthly rates will be available also. This is a gentle vinyasa flow class suitable for adults of all ages and abilities. I want to offer more classes, so please take a minute and fill out this short survey to let me know what kinds of classes you would like to take, and when. See you on the mat!

Renée Gaubert was born in Brussels, Belgium and grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana with a passion for movement. Renée is a Registered Yoga Teacher through Yoga Alliance, as well as a professional dancer. Renée studied ballet and modern dance at Tulane University while also pursuing a BA in Sociology at Loyola University. After graduating in 2008, Renée focused on practicing social work in Post-Katrina New Orleans for several years as a Disaster Housing Case Manager, Domestic Violence Victim Advocate, and Mental Health Professional before returning to the dance world with an even deeper passion for healing through movement. With over 10 years of teaching experience, Renée seeks to cultivate body awareness and holistic empowerment through yoga and dance.

Take class with Renée