Jonelle Lewis about what's next for Black Lives Matter?

Last summer I saw many people, rooms and brands in the yoga and wellness community who posted black squares in connection with the murder of George Floyd and the Black Live Matter Movement. In contrast, many people did not mention this and instead of reacting or showing allies who led a dialogue about anti -racism, they were silent and took no measures - as if nothing had taken place.

It was a year ago and the question I have now is: Where are everyone on their trip against racism? Do the people who have posted the black squares still make the anti-racism work? Did the people who were quiet have dealt with it at all? Has the thought on the subject of racism stopped?

As a black woman, many of my experiences during practice, training and teaching were affected by racism and anti-blackness. My existence in yoga and wellness rooms was always in question. What happened in the dominant culture took place in rooms where I connect, heal and free and wanted to lead people through their practice. In an industry in which there are constant reference to sentences such as "We are one", "only good mood" and "love and light". At the same time, so many other black and brown people had an experience that is often not recognized, ignored, denied, or they are reduced because they brought them up.

It must be recognized that many of us have come to practice yoga through the Asana goal, which is a very physical and personal experience. We start navigating on our mats to navigate with our breath and all our experiences and identities. It is very individual, but in reality yoga is a practice of social justice. Practice creates expansion so that we can begin to deal with major social problems.

For those who want to do the work of anti -racism, but maybe don't know how to start or how to continue, I would like to offer three points to do this work effectively:

how to work towards the end of racism

Each of us has a role in reducing this oppression system. It is the responsibility of all of us to end racism. It is not only due to the blacks to do the work to end racism. that's impossible. This process will also take time and we can only hope that we can end racism in our lives. Each of us no longer has to say whether we have a personal experience with racism or learn through others. We all have opportunities to participate in the system, and it is important to remember that everyone in the world is shaped by systemic racism - it is anchored in our society. We have to use the practice of self -study to identify the rooms in our lives in which we participate so that we can start. We will have all different tasks to do and participate in this work in different social places and privileges. Something you should remember is that this work will be hard, uncomfortable and chaotic. We will make mistakes. That doesn't mean we are not ready. It just means that we are humans.

how one is responsible for racist behavior in your everyday life

As soon as we take responsibility and commit to being an anti -racist, we must be held accountable for our obligations. There must be a feedback mechanism for our intentions and its effects. We have to set up systems that recognize when damage occurs and have ways to fix the damage. It is not enough to publish a black square on social media, to make statements about your obligations and then not show any way to fulfill it. If you have received obligations, have you complied with them? If not, why not? Compulsory accountability begins with you and is not a one -off thing. Results and changes in culture are possible through accountability.

how to combine with the bipoc community and support anti-racism

The work of anti -racism or the reduction of racism must be done in the community. Yes, many of us started making Asana with their mats, and it was a deeply personal experience. Many of us will have started to do their anti-racism work in the same way. On your own. However, the practice of yoga does not only offer personal liberation; It offers collective liberation. Thanks to our personal responsibility, we ask the community to hold ourselves for our obligations. We are confirmed, supported and attested by the community. We believe that this work should not be done alone and should never be. We are supported if we do something wrong when it becomes difficult and chaotic.

Through our personal work in cooperation with our community, we can be the change that we want to see. It's not easy and we still do it because racism all hurt and suppresses. It keeps us all from living in our abundance.

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