“It is not our differences that divide us, it is our inability to recognise, accept and celebrate those differences.” – Audre Lorde
This is a great quote I recently come across from my Accessible Yoga teacher training instructor and author, Jivana Heyman’s newsletter.
All my Yoga teacher trainings shifted my consciousness and led me to become who I am today. I learned the things I have never thought before or completely new to me. That sometimes leads me to confusion and discomfort. But I changed the way I perceive the world around me and I became more compassionate and mindful human being.
Recently I completed conscious marketing course through Accessible Yoga School. The main instructor was an equity-inclusion facilitator in yoga space. She offered training and consulting on gender equity, trans inclusion, queer competency, and justice-focused marketing practices.
It was a great training but at the same time it was difficult training because there were a lot of things that were unfamiliar and new to me, and it took a time to digest all the information. Besides learning about marketing, I learned new gender term and the importance to notify our pronoun and location(land acknowledgment) where we live when we introduced ourselves. The instructor strongly encouraged us to introduce our pronouns in our class, as it prevents others from making assumptions. I think this is a wonderful and a great way to respect people’s gender identity and create more safe and welcome space for the people of all genders.
Now I try to tell my pronoun as much as possible in my class if the students are especially new to me. I also become more conscious about using gendered language in my class too such as “if you are a man or a woman”, or “this is a good pose or difficult pose for a man or woman”. Clear, concise and mindful speech is crucial as a teacher. This is not only limited to gendered language, but also wording for alignment cues as well. I don’t like to use “fullest expression of the pose”, instead I use “classic or traditional pose”.
This is also core of Yoga practice; Yoga means “union” and it confirms that yoga is for everyone regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, physical limitation, economic status, cultural background or age. It is my reason why I am drawn into Yoga and I never looked back!
As a yoga teacher, I am responsible to practice ahimsa(non-violence). This means creating safer and inclusive environments for all the students. Teaching yoga through the foundation of ahimsa is not easy and lifelong practice. I am still learning, processing and possibly making mistake. But I will embrace my imperfection and humanity, and continue to share this beautiful ancient practice with my community.
My schedule is changed for July. I am taking a break from Wednesday class due to Summer break schedule of my daughter. Please find the July weekly schedule below or check the offering section on this website. I hope to see you on the mat soon!
Photo by Katie-Rainbow on Unsplash (post cover)
Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash (below)
