To relax, to sit still, to breathe in the scent of freshly chopped olives, to recognize the sweetness of tender and quiet moments, and to let it be is often far more difficult, and more rare, than colluding in the conspiracies of one’s mind. The mind is an open battlefield; a vast space of restlessness and violent rampages, where a chain of thought can be easily broken, a fragment of a dream can get ruined, and a constellation of memories can drift into an endless void. For Shadan Nassar, founder and CEO of Shadana Yoga — the first yoga and wellness platform in the Arabic language — the mind can also be a space for radically coming to terms with one’s own power to heal, even if external environments and circumstances do not plant the seeds for it. Growing up in Palestine, Nassar had always carried a deep yearning for inner peace and tranquility. It was only after she traveled to Southeast Asia to attend a wellness retreat where she was able to dive into the waters of serenity. With the certitude of a true believer in the power of…
‘She Was Able to Close Her Eyes’: Palestinians Cultivate Inner Peace in a War-Torn Society
July 14, 2023
