- Don’t bring yoga to at risk youth without doing
your homework (and don’t use the term “at risk” youth—it’s deficit
language that locates the problem within the individual rather than
with social political, and economic systems). Setting up a yoga class
for “at risk” youth of color may seem like a great way to do good
work, but white people risk reinforcing a culture of white privilege/white
supremacy, even while sharing vales of love and respect.3 If
we try to “help” people let go of anger that is truly righteous, for
example, without understanding the depth of it, without realizing
the pain it holds, and the history it speaks, we risk punishing people
for their truth—which our privilege blinds us to. Hardly a Buddhist
moment.
- Don’t do this work alone. Take responsibility to educate
yourself but don’t expect others who are targets of oppression to
educate you. Rather than ask them to help you, ask them what
you can do to support them. If you can do it, do it!
- Have
fun! This is challenging work. If we take it (and ourselves)
too seriously, we will undoubtedly burn out. Being committed
to undoing oppression doesn’t mean you can’t seek contentment. It means your contentment is in part connected to undoing oppression!
We can’t refuse or give up our privilege. We can, however,
choose how we are who we are. We can choose to be honest, transparent,
accountable and committed to dismantling oppression. Yoga and
meditation are amazing tools to do this work. They help us cultivate
an inner compassionate witness. Being a compassionate witness
with the tools and means to act according to values around human rights
and social justice is at the root of anti-oppression work. Yoga
and meditation can enrich our work, our lives, our relationships,
and our selves. It is up to us where and how we want to grow. I hope we choose to grow towards a liberation that includes an understanding
of power and privilege and moves us towards social change that includes
each and every one of us.
3 The term “at risk” can
be undermining and offensive. It is not people who are “at risk,”
but institutions, and systems that create environments that perpetuate
modes of surviving that from the outside get labeled ‘at risk”.
