My Acknowledgement

Yoga is a powerful practice in its deceptive simplicity, its intuitiveness, and its ultimate wholeness. It is a gift. I have seen and experienced just a part of what this practice can do - first in my own life and as a yoga teacher and therapist. I am trained in the lineage of Sri Krishnamacharya as taught by his son, T.K.V. Desikachar. I completed my training at Yoga Therapy Toronto under Felicia Pavlovic and Ante Pavlovic. I commit to staying true to the elements of yoga as I have learned them. When I present a practice, whether in a group setting or to an individual, it is with a full commitment to do so as authentically as I can. 

A frequently quoted piece of wisdom from T.K.V. Desikachar is, “Anyone who can breathe, can do yoga.” This is a succinct testament to the power of yoga and its fundamental accessibility to all beings. The great yogis made it their life's work to bring this sacred knowledge to others. I am so very grateful to my teachers and their teachers, for what yoga has brought into my life.  

“Anyone who can breathe, can do yoga.” How do we reconcile this with the fact that the ability to breathe is not, in fact, a given for all? That the fundamental right to be safe, to move freely, to breathe, and to heal is more readily granted to some? While I ardently believe in a person’s ability to bring themselves out of suffering, I recognize that there are also structural forces that influence who has good health and who does not. I aim to hold both these truths. 

Yoga in the West has largely been co-opted by a wellness industry that tells us it is an individual’s responsibility to find health for themselves and that as such, illness is a failure on the personal level. It generally promotes a path of self-improvement for the sake of consumerism that further isolates us from one another. But at the heart of any genuine yoga practice is the recognition of our interconnectedness, of our interbeing. I believe in the power of a yoga practice as a means towards personal freedom while I also recognize that I must teach in a way that also strives for collective liberation. Our yoga, as well as our ahara (diet) and vihara (lifestyle) only serve us if we have the time, resources, and safe spaces in which to practice them. We need a vision of wellness rooted not only in taking care of ourselves but also about demanding change in regards to the cultural and institutional systems that make people unwell. Our yoga practice must take us off our mats and into the world: caring for ourselves and finding peace within ourselves must reorient our gaze outward so that we can better care for others. 

As a young, able-bodied white woman, my path to today has been made possible by a social and economic framework that offers BIPOC individuals less opportunity than it does me. My personal path of finding and bringing yoga into my life, as well as my professional development as a teacher and therapist have both been assisted by conscious and unconscious bias baked into our society.  While itsa (desire) and tapas (discipline) have played a vital role in my achievements, it is not these qualities alone that have gotten me to where I am today. Much of what I once thought I had earned I now realize I was given by a culture that withholds from others. Anything that has been given carries a responsibility with it. And I know that it is my responsibility to address my privilege and unconscious bias on an ongoing basis. Svadhyaya (self-reflection), dharana (meditation), and sangha (community) are the foundations keeping me oriented in the right direction and holding me accountable when I get it wrong.

Yoga is an ancient practice with indigenous roots. It was actively suppressed by British colonizers due to its cultural significance. As a descedent of settlers in Tkaronto I commit to actively working toward decolonizing my own yoga practice and engaging in reconciliation work to address the impacts of genocide on Canada’s Indigenous peoples, whose own cultural practices were also disrupted or lost forever due to colonial interference. The land on which I practice today is the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. Tkaronto is covered by Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit, and the Williams Treaty signed with multiple Mississaugas and Chippewa bands.

I also acknowledge that while necessary, statements like this do not represent the work of reconciliation or anti-racism in and of themselves, but rather that they are one part of the effort required from white practitioners. I recognize that I must look to see who is in the room when I teach and who is notably absent. Private sessions and studio classes are often inaccessibly priced for many. Most of the chronic conditions with which I work as a yoga therapist are over represented in BIPOC communities and yet members of those communities are less likely to be able to afford my services. I commit to regular volunteer work and seeking out employment opportunities for organizations that help provide low-cost or free yoga classes to their members. If you feel your organization could benefit from a therapeutic yoga practice, or if you are curious about private sessions and cost is a barrier to access, please reach out to me directly.

My heartfelt wish is that this practice be of service: for you, for me, for us, for all.

With humility,

Julia Ayearst (she/her)

https://www.whose.land/en/

TRC Calls to Action

A letter to all white yoga teachers by Susanna Barkataki

Skill in Action by Michelle Cassandra Johnson

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

The Trauma of Caste by Thenmozhi Soundararajan

Follow the work of abcdyogi to support and uplift the work of South Asian teachers