Solidarity with BLM - Forward Action

To our community,

The year 2020 has turned the world upside down and pushed our individual selves beyond our sleepy luxuries. Mynah School of Yoga has not been exempt to this and the last few months have offered an opportunity for us to dive deep into reflection surrounding inclusivity and equity. Without any hesitation, Mynah stands in solidarity with Black Lives Matters and breaking down systemic racism, addressing the disproportionate amount of violence and murder of Black, Indigenous, People of Colour (BIPOC), the multiple barriers and historical and current systems of oppression BIPOC face. We have been in conversations with experts and BIPOC community members in the last few months to help us unlearn, learn and move forward.

It is abundantly clear that yoga in a North American world is mostly accessible to an upper-middle class demographic and that it is also a white majority in most yoga teacher trainings. Those who are interested in a yoga teacher training are also those who have a regular practice and if there are barriers to accessing a regular practice then Mynah is hindered in breaking barriers. This is why Mynah and Junction 9 (our home studio) have been working together in these conversations and in our action plan.

Both Mynah and Junction 9 have a strong pillar of community as a value. We have always been accepting and encouraging of everybody who walks through the door from all walks of life. We can shout it from all streams of social media and from the roof that all is welcome… but we would be foolish and naive to believe that that is enough. There are obvious steps that we are missing in order for us to truly be inclusive and offer equity for all.

Breaking down the barriers is a long road and one that we are committed to walk.

The barriers we recognize are:

Financial - Plain and simple, it involves a great financial investment to go to yoga and into yoga teacher training.

Time - Tied with finances, free time is afforded only when there is a certain amount of financial freedom. Moreover, the time to bridge the distance in transportation to the studio.

Belonging - To see your colour and culture represented in social media surrounding the studio and teacher training, the staff and the community.

But this is just the very tip of the iceberg and we cannot stop at just offering free classes, scholarships to training, and diversification of our social media and staff. There are huge barriers in the physical sense of the word but also within the emotional realm of individuals.

Below the tip of the iceberg is recognizing and being aware that we have many more complicated issues to address in meeting the base levels of physiological needs, safety, belonging, and esteem to even start a yoga practice. Self-actualization without addressing the foundation is lofty, naive and short sighted of us to assume.

Our forward action plan is to include the tip of the iceberg solutions as well as developing and being actively involved in a mindfulness program that is travels to and is geared towards the community youth in marginalized populations to break barriers and foster a more accessible community. The reason we want to enter into these populations and in this age group is to help combat against emotional barriers that would prevent them from entering any health and wellness industry be it yoga, spin, interval training, bootcamp (both as a student and as a teacher) in their later years of development. These developments are still being made to the program and ultimately, we hope that playing the long game will also help youth that are interested in any form of health and wellness movement that they will have the access, the tools and mentors of the community to guide them.

We understand, that we are wading against a current that has been status quo for decades and that we are committed to learning how to become better allies. The conversation is always open, and encouraged for us to learn more and to do better. We believe we are indeed, better together and stronger together.

On behalf of Mynah,

BSc, E-RYT 500, Founder