Community Through the Lens of Sport and Movement

This video has no sound

 

Good Sport x In Conversation: Manoj Dias & Tjimarri Sanderon-Milera.

Open, raw and real, Good Sport hosted a conversation between lululemon ambassadors Manoj Dias & Tjimarri Sanderon-Milera, sharing experiences and perspectives on community, movement and mindfulness.

Words by Ben Clement, Good Sport.

Tjimarri (TJ) is a proud Aboriginal man, born and raised in Adelaide, from the Narangga and Kokatha language groups. TJ has been a 100m-400m track sprinter since his teens, creating opportunities to compete on the National Circuit and overseas for Australia. Throughout his springing career TJ encountered a multitude of pivotal experiences, good and bad, and is now channeling his learnings toward the new wave of young Aboriginal kids. As an ambassador for lululemon, TJ continues to empower and build community within this younger generation to help them achieve their dreams & striving to break the inequality of education for First Nation people.

Born and raised in the Theravadu Buddhist tradition, Manoj Dias is a speaker, coach and educator. Through mindfulness and meditation, Manoj has helped thousands of people around the world trade mania for pause, so that they may live fearlessly in honour of a happier and more meaningful life. Manoj is the founder of A-SPACE, Australia’s first multidisciplinary meditation studio and Australia’s first lululemon global yoga ambassador, a role he uses to champion more accessible and inclusive wellness experiences for the under privileged and marginalised.

TJ talks to his indigenous culture Manoj talks to his Sri Lankan roots.

Here are some of their words that stuck with us.

"[Over] the last few years, a big focus for me, through meditation and mindfulness, has been exploring ways to take this to people and communities that don’t usually have access to them.”
- TJ

“We’ve [Australia’s Indigenous communities] always done things collectively or as a family when it comes to perspectives on education and health. Traditionally we’ve had our storytelling which is passed down… It’s complex because we have these traditions but we also live in a society not designed for them.”
- TJ

“I think with minority communities, there are so many other priorities, right? Wellness almost falls to the bottom of that.”
- Manoj

“For students in grades 10-12, we encourage them to build up their skills of resilience, leadership, organisation and those essential life skills that will help them succeed.”
- TJ

“It would be great if at some point in our lifetimes that we can see these practises, which i think is like basic skills of how to notice your breath or how to be mindful of your emotions, be brought into our universities and schools, because when i was young, if i knew how to deal with my anger I might have been a very different person in the first portion of my life.”
- Manoj

“We are keeping our [Aboriginal] culture alive through songs, dance and art, this is really important to us. The stories in the art blows your mind; there’s always something to learn. The stories help us navigate this world, this is that wellbeing i guess.”
- TJ

“Community, for me, is a sense of hope and leadership as well, there are times when you are receiving from a community - or giving.”
- TJ

“I genuinely believe, at our core, we are all good people, and given the opportunity, given our ability to calm our mind, each of us would be receptive to helping and to giving. Meditation can really help us to calm our minds to the point that we can feel into our bodies and feel into our hearts”.
- Manoj

“Being part of a meditation community really saved my life at a point that I really needed it.”
- Manoj

 

 

Read the full conversation at: Good Sport

 

This video has no sound