The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.
— Khalil Gibran
A week ago, I completed the last hours of my advanced yoga teacher training. I can’t believe it’s all over. 300 hours of advanced teaching methodology focused on social justice and collective care. 300 hours of unlearning, unveiling, imagining, and rediscovering.
A lot has changed in me since June when I first started this journey with Radical Darshan. I expanded my understanding of what yoga is. I explored the less-traveled paths towards awareness. I learned how to have skillful conversations around racism, discrimination, inequity, and inclusion. I got closer to grief—not just my own but the grief of others, too.
I’m so proud of this achievement. I’d been searching for an advanced yoga teacher training for a long time before Radical Darshan came into existence, and I’m so glad that I waited.
In the summer of 2020, an Instagram account @yttpshadowwork started publishing anonymous stories of sexual misconduct, racial discrimination, whitewashing, and other abuses of power at the studio where I completed my initial yoga teacher training. I was in my early 20s when I enrolled in Yoga To The People's 200-hour YTT and I was drawn to the studio because it was young, fun, and diverse. The studio's ethos didn't glorify teachers—you never knew who was teaching beforehand—and classes were donation-based, meaning anyone could just show up and practice.
From the outside, the community checked a lot of boxes. Yet, still, there was a dark underbelly to the space, where students and teachers were chronically taken advantage of, abused, and mistreated.
That's the thing about box-checking. It doesn't tell the whole picture. If you're asking the same questions around how many people are this versus that—if you're only looking at the surface—you won't see what's real.
My time at Yoga To The People was largely unmarked by any serious abuse, although I look back on some experiences and wish that I had known better—wish that I had had the discernment to understand the things that didn't feel right and the courage to confront them.
Radical Darshan gave me that power. This course broke down structures and didn't ask me to build their own structure. They gave me the tools to imagine and rebuild something new. Something that's not been done before and that includes all people.
This work extends beyond yoga—beyond teaching at various studios and moving on our mats for 60 minutes together. This work is about living in community and honoring the intersectional diversity of each and every one of us. It's about unconditional care for each other and leveraging that love to stand up for what's right. It's about having the framework and training to have difficult conversations, hold boundaries, and move away from box-checking.
Jonelle Lewis, Stacie CC Graham, Leila Sadeghee, and Kallie Schut—to study under these four fierce, infinitely wise, and unwavering teachers has been an honor that I can’t translate into words. I am so grateful to them as well as to my fellow students, to whom I am eternally bound.
Thank you thank you thank you 💛✨
✨ yoga etc. is my newsletter on yoga, social justice, collective wellbeing, and healing. Every week, I share a piece of me—a weekly dose of mindfulness—hoping it resonates. The best way to support my work is by sharing this newsletter with those you think might find a piece of them. ✨
Yoga of movement ✨
My class schedule for this week is below.
Sunday 27th February ✨ Sunday Soul ✨ an invitation to slow down, rest, and restore through movement, yin, breathwork, and meditation (book)
Please try to sign up at least 3 hours before the start of class, and if you can't make it in real-time, you'll get access to the recording.
I'm also available for private and corporate classes, and I offer complimentary private classes to nonprofit and not-for-profit organizations. Reply to this email if you're interested!
Yoga of action ✨
I'm tithing a portion of my income from my online yoga classes to organizations working towards justice, equity, diversity, and intersectionality. Every month, I'll pick a new organization and highlight it below. If these organizations call to you, please consider contributing (no matter how small).
My February donation will go to kindredpacket, a non-profit organization and movement driving positive change for East and Southeast Asian communities through the reclamation of heritage and identity.
It's tradition to exchange red packets as a symbol of good luck on Lunar New Year, and kindredpacket is extending this ritual by organizing two weeks of gathering and gift-giving to raise funds for three different charities. This Lunar New Year campaign strives to encourage meaningful exchange among ESEA communities and beyond, facilitate the cultural appreciation of Lunar New Year, elevate and amplify ESEA voices, works, businesses, charities, and bridge privilege gaps through fundraising.
You can support by:
Joining one of the Lunar New Year events
Supporting the ESEA traders & businesses involved
Offer a donation to the kindredpacket 2022 fundraiser
Learn more about the nominated charities and grassroots movements
Share and amplify kindredpacket's work
Have a suggested organization? Leave a comment to share.
Yoga of words ✨
Grab a pen, grab your journal. Have a seat somewhere comfortable. Close your eyes, take a breath in, and let it go. Your weekly writing prompt is below.
A writing prompt by Michelle C. Johnson: We come from love. We are love. May we love ourselves into who we want to be. What is your vision of love for us as a collective?
Feel free to share what you've written by clicking the link below. But, of course, you’re also welcome to keep this practice as just yours.
Other musings ✨
The tragedy of Kanye West (The Atlantic)
This is what brands think love is (The Unpublishable)
Help the National Black Doll Museum reopen (LaunchGood)
How TV can be a healing tool in relational trauma recovery work (Annie Wright)
“These were the hardest interviews I’ve ever done, hands down. I was the grief counselor." A haunting new documentary about Anthony Bourdain (The New Yorker)
The triggering reemergence of Tumblr: "In the space of less than a year since I had created my Tumblr, there it was: the seemingly inevitable fall to pro-eating disorder content, thinly veiled under the guise of ♡pale soft grunge♡ aesthetic blogs. (Refinery29)
On repeat: 4bit by Golden Repair (Spotify)
I'm here for you—for class, advice, or anything you need or would like to share. Always a phone call/text/DM/reply button away.
LBC ✨
P.S. If you like this newsletter, please share it with your friends! And if someone sent you this newsletter, you can subscribe below!