When I first began practicing yoga, most yoga teachers fit a stereotype. I bet I don’t even have to tell you what that stereotype is because you’re probably already picturing that yoga teacher: young, white, thin, North American, and super flexible.
Since that time, I’ve been lucky enough to teach, learn, and practice from teachers of all stripes. I truly believe that diversity in yoga is critical.
Why is that? Because that stereotypical yoga teacher often dissuades people who don’t look like her from coming to the mat.
Yoga is a practice that benefits all people: all shapes, all sizes, and all cultures. Because the practice gives us a toolkit to use in our most human moments to help us shine our most authentic, bravest selves, it’s a practice that speaks to each one of us by making us comfortable in our own skin.
Because of that, I am committed to bringing yoga out of the studio and into the community so that more people can overcome the misconception that yoga is not for them and can discover this practice and it’s profound impact on their bodies and on their minds.
It is with this hope in mind that I open up my Yoga Teacher Training to everybody. The more different sizes, ages, and cultures represented in yoga teachers, the better off this world will be.
It is important that people understand that nailing a handstand is not a pre-requisite to being good at yoga.
What is important is cultivating a connection to breath and movement, learning to slow down and embody an asana, or yoga posture, and embracing your body and Spirit as it is in this moment.
