6 Ways to Create More Inclusive Yoga Spaces
A note: This is not an exhaustive list of ways to cultivate an inclusive culture within yoga and wellness spaces, and these actions aren't just items to check off on a list so you can claim to create an accessible and inclusive community.
This work is lifelong work that involves continued action and reflection. You must consistently reflect on how you are upholding systems of oppression and causing harm and take action to disrupt and dismantle those systems.
Introduce yourself with your pronouns.
If it is safe to do so, consider sharing your name and pronouns with folks in the space. One of my teachers, Tristan Katz, summed up the importance of sharing pronouns in a recent Instagram post when they said:
"The more cisgender folks normalize pronoun considerations and sharing, the more we work together to challenge cis-normativity and create the culture shift trans, nonbinary, and genderqueer individuals desperately need."
Refraining from sharing pronouns further invisibilizes trans* nonbinary individuals who are present and continues to uphold cis-heteronormativity.
Understand your social location.
We all hold various identities that affect how we show up in the world and our proximity to power. This affects our access to resources and ability to be well. For example, I identify as a white, cisgender, non-disabled, college educated, middle class, spiritual, gay man who is an American citizen.
Based on the identities that I embody, I'm afforded a lot of privilege because of my proximity to power. It's easier for me to get what I need to be well.
When we understand our social location, we can be mindful of the various points of privilege and oppression that might exist in a space, which can help us take skillful action and create more liberatory spaces.
Teach beyond asana.
Yoga is a practice of liberation for all beings. Ignoring its roots and solely focusing on asana can cause a lot of harm. Only focusing on asana can exclude so many people from a yoga practice because it perpetuates the myth that you have to be flexible, fit, and non-disabled to practice.
When you only focus on asana, you're participating in the erasure of yoga's roots which furthers the cultural appropriation running rampant in the wellness industry.
Learn how to practice and share the yamas, niyamas, pranayama, meditation practices, and yogic philosophy to honor yoga's roots and include everyone in this beautiful practice.
Share why and how to use props.
If someone doesn't know how to use a prop, they probably won't choose to use it. Instead, they might try to replicate what everyone else is doing, and that might not work for them and their body.
Consistently sharing why and how to use props empowers people to find what feels best for them, which can create ease in their body and mind throughout a yoga practice.
Learning how to use props in yoga gives people agency over their body and empowers them to make decisions for themselves instead of trying to look like everyone else.
Offer tiered pricing.
I've noticed that what excludes a lot of people from yoga and wellness is financial accessibility. Explore offering your classes and workshops with different pricing tiers that allow people to reflect on their circumstances and social location, which I first learned about from Michelle Cassandra Johnson.
Example:
$5 Community Rate (discounted)
$10 Supporter Rate (pays for you)
$15 Advocate Rate (pay it forward to support others as well as yourself)
Invest in learning from people who have different lived experiences than your own.
Your learning doesn't end once you finish your yoga teacher training.
If you want to hold space for the people showing up in your classes, seek out learning opportunities that are led by people with different lived experiences and focus on equity, accessibility, inclusivity and honoring the roots of yoga.