Jonelle Lewis on What's Next for Black Lives Matter?

Last summer, I saw many people, spaces, and brands in the yoga and wellness community posting black squares in connection with the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. In contrast, many people also didn't mention this and instead of responding to people or showing allies who were having a dialogue about anti-racism, they remained silent and took no action - as if nothing had happened.

It's been a year and the question I have now is: Where is everyone on their anti-racism journey? Are the people who posted the black squares still doing the anti-racism work? Did the people who were quiet even bother with it? Has the thought leadership on racism continued?

As a Black woman, many of my experiences while practicing, training, and teaching have been affected by racism and anti-Blackness. My existence in yoga and wellness spaces was always in question. What was happening in the dominant culture was playing out in spaces where I wanted to connect, heal and liberate and guide people through their practice. In an industry where phrases like “we are one,” “good vibes only,” and “love and light” are constantly referenced. At the same time, so many other black and brown people have had an experience that is often unacknowledged, ignored, denied, or belittled for bringing it up.

It must be recognized that many of us have come to practice yoga through the gate of asana, which is a very physical and personal experience. We begin to navigate through postures on our mats, using our breath and all of our experiences and identities. It is very individual focused, but in reality yoga is a social justice practice. The practice creates expansion so we can begin to address larger societal problems.

For those who want to do the work of anti-racism but may not know how to start or how to proceed, I would like to offer three points to do this work effectively:

How to work towards ending racism

Each of us has a role to play in dismantling this system of oppression. It is the responsibility of all of us to end racism. It’s not just up to Black people 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 of racism or learn about it through others. We all have opportunities to participate in the system, and it is important to remember that systemic racism affects everyone in the world - it is embedded in our society. We must use the practice of self-study to identify the spaces in our lives in which we participate so that we can begin to dismantle. We will all have different jobs to do and participate in that work from different social locations and privileges. Something to remember is that this work will be hard, unpleasant and messy. We will make mistakes. That doesn't mean we're not ready. It simply means that we are human.

How to be responsible for racist behavior in your everyday life

Once we take responsibility and commit to being anti-racist, we must be held accountable for our commitments. There must be a feedback mechanism for our intentions and their impact. We need to put systems in place that recognize when damage is occurring and have ways to repair the damage. It's not enough to post a black square on social media, make statements about your commitments and then fail to show a way to fulfill them. If you made commitments, did you keep them? If not, why not? Accountability starts with you and is not a one-time thing. Through accountability, results and changes in culture are possible.

How to connect with the BIPOC community and support anti-racism

The work of anti-racism or dismantling racism must be done in the community. Yes, many of us started doing asana with our mats, and it was a deeply personal experience. Many of us will have started doing our anti-racism work in the same way. on your own. However, the practice of yoga offers more than just personal liberation; it offers collective liberation. Through our personal accountability, we challenge the community to hold us accountable for our commitments. Through community we are affirmed, supported and witnessed. We believe this work should not and never should be done alone. We are supported when we do something wrong, when things get difficult and chaotic.

Through our personal work in collaboration with our community, we can be the change we want to see. It's not easy, and we do it anyway because racism hurts and oppresses everyone. it keeps us all from living to our fullness.

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