CANADA, December 31, 2015 (Alberni Valley News): Jan Norman recently returned from her third trip to Cuba and her second one as a yoga instructor. Last year she took a group of yoga students from Port Alberni to a retreat in the country while it was under the Communist regime. Despite the lifted embargo, she saw little change as an outsider, and noticed the daily life of locals is still unsettled. Immersed in the culture of yoga herself, Norman considers the government’s decision to include yoga in the country’s healthcare system a benefit, both mentally and physically.
Three years ago, Norman went to Cuba as a student and practiced under the country’s first yoga instructor, Eduardo Pimentel. He travels all over the country to train other instructors but initially was put in prison for his work. “The government was afraid of it at first, but now they endorse it,” Norman said. “It is part of the health system so doctors will recommend patients to him.”
The Cuban government has embraced the practice so much that yoga instructors are one of the few American professions that are allowed to travel on their own in the country. “Once the embargo was lifted, I thought maybe more people from the U.S. would want to come on my retreat,” Norman said. “I looked into it and the rules had not changed. It is still illegal for Americans to travel to Cuba and only journalists and yoga teachers can travel freely. They must see them as a benefit.”