002. Dismantling white supremacy & redistributing power in yoga spaces

In Episode 2, Amber Karnes interviews Kelley Palmer, writer, yoga teacher, wellness advocate, and community organizer. In this episode:

Kelley introduces herself, talks about how she came to yoga, and explains why social justice has been part of her practice from the beginning
How Kelley began teaching yoga and how that was informed by the way anti-blackness shows up in wellness
How yoga spaces often mirror the harm that exists in society for folks with marginalized identities
The responsibility of studio owners when it comes to social justice and dismantling white supremacy, fatphobia, ableism, homophobia, etc.
How we miss the barriers that prevent marginalized folks feeling welcome in a space (especially when that yoga space feels like a “safe space” to some of us)
How the conditioning of whiteness keeps us stuck from taking action toward justice
Practical ways that folks can redistribute resources or power within our yoga spaces
Taking the transactional nature out of our relationships
Ways to notice (and dismantle) gatekeeping practices in your yoga spaces
Shifting our mindset from a lens of individualism and fear to a focus on the collective and community care
Kelley’s upcoming course: Race & Equity in Yoga: Disruption As a Practice will be a space for self-inquiry and unpacking our responsibilities toward race equity, yoga, social justice, and more

Today’s inquiry
Each week we’ll leave you with a powerful question. We encourage you to sit in inquiry with this question, write about it, discuss it with another community member on this path. Today, Kelley poses a 2-part question:
When you think about working toward equity, justice, and liberation, what are you willing to release? What are the obstacles you perceive to releasing those things?
Connect with kelley:

kelley nicole palmer: Website | Instagram