The Kula Community Speaks Back: Positive Spaces Initiative Turns One!

Over 200 people added their voices and feedback to the ever growing conversation about how to make Kula a more accessible and accountable yoga studio. The thoughtful, reflective and compassionate feedback will help the Kula community as we move through this process and challenge ourselves to grow. We hope that sharing some of your responses will deepen the perspectives and understanding of how the initiative is growing with people’s practices at the studio. (You can find out more about our positivespace initiaves here.)

What students of brown girls yoga are saying

What students of queer yoga are saying

What Kula students are saying

What teachers of brown girls yoga are saying

What teachers of queer yoga are saying

Ideas and visions for future growth (The Space; Classes and Teaching Strategies; Training and Education)

What students of brown girls yoga are saying

Why did you first attend brown girls yoga?

“I first attended brown girls yoga because I wanted to experience a space to move into the sacred, have movement and a space where I didn’t feel like I would stick out and be able to move at my own pace. As someone who is fat looking at yoga spaces that did not reflect my body in many ways and did not appear to be moving from a spiritual place led me not to want to practice yoga in those spaces.”

“I decided to try yoga because I was diagnosed with diabetes and several people had suggested that yoga would be a good way to help manage it. I chose brown girls yoga because I wanted to be in a woman positive, queer positive, brown girl positive, size positive space.”

“I like practicing yoga around black people and other people of colour because they don’t look at you with racist eyes.”

“I wanted to attend yoga in an anti-racist space with instructors who recognize the pain of learning our own cultural traditions from appropriative white folks in a capitalist setting.”

Did you continue to attend? Why or why not?

“Brown girls yoga means to me more than just a yoga class, but a really special ritual that helps me feel grounded with a sense of community, ancestral magic and radical care, which makes practicing yoga feel like an important part of collective efforts towards affirmation and accountability.”

“I attend brown girls yoga when I can, being a sex worker, self-care is huge for me.”

What students of queer yoga are saying

Why did you first attend queer yoga?

“I wanted to meet other queer people and be in a queer positive space.”

“Queer people face their own unique challenges in life, and for me at least, yoga is really central to maintaining my spiritual and emotional health.”

“The instructors give me the courage to be nonconformist and accept my own performance of my gender and sexual orientation in that moment.”

“To be in a queer space that is not based around partying/drinking.”

“While the poses and class I knew would be regular and couldn’t be especially queer, there was something about practicing with a group of people who identify as queer that created a sense of solidarity and allowed me to open up more during class.”

What Kula students are saying

How do you feel about the positive spaces initiative?

“The initiative has encouraged me to reflect on my own biases and comfort zones, and how they influence my own attitudes and behaviours.”

“As a queer, trans, disabled person I appreciate the initiatives. I’d like to see more awareness and emphasis on disability, as that’s where I’ve encountered the most barriers and least awareness- basically not to judge physical conditions or make assumptions about what “the body” can or should do.”

“For me it removes the implicit white, gendered and heterosexist qualities of other studios (intentional or not) that may contribute to some of the less helpful guru-worshipping (implicitly male and heterosexual) that can be a part of the yoga world.”

“I LOVE the consent cards- that is a beautiful offering. I know youth who now travel from Rexdale to join brown girls yoga- pretty amazing and awesome!”

“I am a fat woman and it is the positive spaces initiative that brought me to Kula. I have not for one minute felt self-conscious in your space, though it is hard to say why. There are still a LOT of skinny girls running around! Perhaps it is yoga itself that makes me feel confident and strong and unafraid to be seen in spandex.”

What teachers of brown girl yoga are saying

How did you get involved with teaching brown girls yoga/queer yoga?

“I returned to Toronto from my teacher training in California and I wanted to bring yoga back to womyn of colour. In my journey through yoga, I found myself often being alone or one of few in yoga studios, trainings and retreats. Whenever I was invited to teach yoga with community organizations across the city, my classes were huge and filled with womyn from so many diverse backgrounds, ages and abilities. They all expressed to me how inaccessible the classes were in terms of price, the yoga wear or the adjustments that were offered. I found that Brown Girls classes were already happening and were led by Anne-Marie Hood. She was shifting her focus with yoga and offered that I begin teaching the classes. They have gone through many spaces and many transformations and have found a good home here at Kula with Jamilah's wisdom and courage and Christi-an's vision and support.” Kim Crosby

“i first attended brown girls yoga taught by Kim when i managed a community dub theatre space w/ D'bi Young - immediately i was struck by Kim's teaching and this especially nuanced feeling of self care for black women within yoga. growing up in Vancouver i attended a hindu temple for years and often felt left out or racialized then we would to Trinidad for the summers and stay in ashrams where all the yoga teachers were blond women from California (often mispronouncing sanskrit, cue my mother cringing)- i couldn't understand how i felt excluded and they were accepted as teachers. the opportunity to teach brown girls yoga at Kula is the culmination of many circles in my life - now grown up, i identify as a woman of color in a way that feels connected and empowered. as i grew in my yoga practice, through teacher training and then teaching, i felt challenged by norms in broader yoga culture that replicated the hierarchies i grew up with and immediately recalled how brown girls yoga spoke directly to that, through that for me, giving me an ownership or acknowledgement or entitlement that many yogis never question in relationship to their practice - that is not my path as a teacher or a student. my identity is a part of my life (and vice versa) and my life is a part of my yoga (and vice versa.)” Jamilah Malika

What have been the highlights of holding the space?

“Having the space filled with a lot of beautiful Brown faces. Having people tell me or write to us and tell us that this is the only yoga class they have gone to and felt comfortable, affirmed and supported. People appreciating having their instructor acknowledge how hard womyn of colour work. We are often in a lot of care based positions, nurses, nannies, the service industry and front-line work and to lead a class with acknowledgement of the difficulty we have in surrendering, in trusting, in finding peace, in negotiating racism has been really transformative.” Kim Crosby

“there is an unreal feeling when we leave, i think on some level we can hardly believe there was such a class as brown girls yoga. at times students share that they wouldn't have come to yoga under any other terms. often the class runs just as any other yoga class would but the simple invitation to people who self identify as of color and are gendered or misgendered as female permits students to relax in a way they might not in a class where they were the sole person of color or where the teacher was not a person of color. other notable moments are all the conversations we've had with folks who feel that the addition of brown girls yoga and queer yoga to the kula schedule infringed on their comfort when practising with us - each conversation is unique, specific and important to integrate as we continue in to discuss anti-oppression and privilege in the context of yoga.” Jamilah Malika

 Have there been any challenges or struggles?

“It has been hard to have a lot of criticism about the space especially when everyone agrees that womyn of colour are not present in most studios yoga classes. Ultimately these classes create more access to populations of people who are not currently in the space. It should bring up questions about who is there and why. And hopefully it encourages and inspires others to think about how they can make other classes more accessible and inviting for racialized folks, queer, trans and folks of different abilities.” Kim Crosby

“oh of course! some students find the names or the mere invitation disconcerting, however, my feeling is always - yoga can be uncomfortable in so many ways, 'can i be ok with how someone else finds yoga challenging, why/how does that relate to my practice?' these are questions we can sit with before reacting, sometimes i wonder why on earth folks have forums about what qualifies as yoga, if it is political, that our opinions are less relevant that we think - if someone doesn't like the name brown girls yoga, that's cool, you can still find an array of classes you may enjoy and then wonder, "can both/all things be true? can people practice down the hall under an agreement of how they identify and i practice down the other hall under an agreement of hot yoga and that be all ok?" yep, i think it's awesome that both can happen, that we can hold both, that there is space for both.” Jamilah Malika

What teachers of queer yoga are saying

How did you get involved with teaching queer yoga?

"Over the years, I have had many conversations with Jamilah (the manager of kula annex), a couple other teachers, some students, and friends about the ways in which my teaching and vision for the studio was unintentionally exclusive and perpetuated phobias and isms that I hoped yoga might interrupt. It was painful to hear feedback that illuminated how my lack of awareness was causing harm to some and making the studio less accessible to others. At the same time, I was encouraged by feedback from queer-identified folks that expressed feeling grateful to see other queer folks practicing in the space and trusting that I was open to being called out on some of the things I didn't see (for example: gendering the body and touching people without consent). Knowing that more queer folks were practicing in the space inspired me to take more responsibility for the kind of space we were cultivating. It is impossible to create an entirely safe space with so many different people practicing at kula but I wanted to create a space where people know that if anything troubling happens that there are allies in our team of teachers and staff. I was also aware that although we have some queer folks practicing at kula, there were still a lot of folks that didn't feel comfortable coming to a space for reasons not limited to but that might include discomfort with the appropriation of yoga, not feeling safe in the changerooms, or feeling welcomed with a body that moves and expresses in ways outside cultural norms. I wanted to create a safer entry point into the studio for more people who wanted to practice but felt significant barriers to coming to the studio. At the time, Jamilah was teaching brown girls yoga in the city. I admired the initiative and thought it would be cool to do something similar for queer folks and to invite the brown girls yoga offering to kula. I also thought it would be a cool way to start a conversation about privilege and oppression in the yoga studio. Ultimately, I do not believe we can separate how we teach (pedagogy) from what we teach (content). Together, I imagined queer yoga and brown girls yoga could be allies to each other. I wanted to teach queer yoga but not on my own (for reasons such as being a little shy and also wanting a broader perspective than my privileged white, thin, pretty and queer experience). So I asked Mo and Elliott, two graduates of the kula annex teacher training to do it with me (note: the three of us identify as queer and Elliott identifies as trans). Obviously, they said, yes! And, so did Jamilah!" Christi-an Slomka

"I had been practicing yoga for 9 years, and often consider taking teacher training. I was hesitant to do so because of my role in cultural appropriation as a descendant of British, Irish, Scottish and French settlers who benefits from white privilege and colonialism. When I started practicing at Kula, I found that there were other people who shared my concerns and who were committed to the power of yoga as a healing practice for those dealing with trauma, oppression and living in the world as it is. I had been involved in political organizing around environmental justice and indigenous sovereignty for many years when I started teacher training, and I was dealing with the impacts in myself and my community of state repression and criminalization around the G20, and sexual assault and violence within the community. Teacher training was a sanctuary in some difficult times, and I hoped that by becoming a teacher I could share this practice with people in my life. I was so excited to be invited to be a part of the queer yoga teaching collective from the beginning." mo woolnough

"Breathing into my genderqueer body has been an expansive, painful, and incredibly rewarding practice I feel honored to share with others. Initially I was drawn to teacher training as a student just who wanted to learn more. So I took out a loan and rocked up to Kula. At best, I had hoped that a trade in the physical arts would allow me an eventual alternative from a desk job. What I got was so much more. I fee indebted to the teachings, philosophies, and physical asana yoga has taught me as a student and a teacher. By the end of my training I came to the complicated realization that I didn't yet feel comfortable creating a career with my certificate. My latest transition saw me morph into exactly the categories I had felt previously excluded from (female, this, passing). I felt stuck in my privilege and didn't want to do more harm than good. Because I recognized the history of yoga, I also felt complicit in the co-modification of a spiritual practice could benefit others. I felt that I had been given the tools, but had questions about how to ethically use them. When Christi-an invited me to join the queer yoga teaching collective with pay-what-you-can class structure, I jumped at the opportunity. A room full of queers breathing, honoring the space for each other while being encouraged to take care of themselves while allowing for room to struggle with the complicated questions about where or practice comes from. What a revelation! I still struggle with my role as a teacher and a student in this practice, but queer yoga gave me an outlet to process those feelings and turn them into mutual support and allyship." Elliott Andre Valentino

What have been the highlights of holding the space? 

"I have had the honour/pleasure of teaching, assisting and practicing in the space. As a shy person I am really nervous about moving into someone else's personal space to make physical adjustments. It has been a gift to learn how to negotiate consent around touching in really transparent ways and then to offer ways for folks to expand their understanding of their body or to help release tension in the body. The consent cards that were created from this space and conversation have received attention from the north american yoga blogosphere. I think this is exciting because a culture that values consent has to be a healthier and safer place to live. Most importantly, I have loved the opportunity to meet other queer folks and to share a practice that has personally helped me to be kinder to myself." Christi-an Slomka

"It has been amazing to see some of the same faces returning to the class and telling us how important this space has become to their spiritual, mental and physical health. I am proud to be part of a space that has felt magical and sacred, and where I have really grown as a teacher and student. Cultivating sober spaces for queer and trans folks to socialize, interact and celebrate our bodies and our struggles is really important to me. Finding different verbal and non-verbal ways to negotiate consent has been a highlight, and I am so happy to be a part of a studio that is expanding the conversation on building cultures of consent through the consent cards." mo woolnough

"All three of us struggle with defining queer yoga, so it seems natural to hold a space for other people to define themselves. I don't think that we can separate ourselves as teachers from our students without recreating the hierarchies that we are hoping to dismantle. In this way, holding the space for has taught me how to practice being a teacher and a student simultaneously. Creating a way for students to give (and take back) their consent to be touched has been an inspiring experience. I use my training to effectively guide students in and out of physical poses safely, but I use the mentorship of the queer teaching collective and student body as my guide to hold space for students to honor what they already know about their own bodies. It has also been a powerful path to walk, living the work." Elliott Andre Valentino
 
Have there been any challenges or struggles?

"Our positive space initiatives are a response to a complex systemic problems in our culture that inevitably play out in the yoga community. Ultimately, they are just a small part of interrupting and challenging the current systems of power. Anytime we interrupt power or challenge norms we set ourselves up for critique. I have a lot of fear about being criticized for our initiatives. To stay present, listen, digest, respond with love and repeat is a powerful and challenging practice.

Mo, Elliott and I often ask what is queer yoga? And we never have an answer. How can we define queer yoga when it is difficult to define the word queer. Deep down, I sense that is a good thing but it takes courage and practice to teach from a place of not knowing. I also, know that this weekly offering will not meet everyone needs. To be patient and do what we can in sustainable and accountable ways." Christi-an Slomka

"Sitting with and being aware of the limitations of who we can serve as a teaching collective, and knowing that just because the space is queer does not mean our teaching style is responsive to different abilities and different needs or that we represent the full spectrum and diversity of queer and trans communities in Toronto." mo woolnough

"I have found it important and complicated to "out" myself as trans within the space in order to invite a greater trans presence into the class. It has taken courage to make myself visible within my own communities, and queer yoga is no exception. What the space does allow for, however, is the support to struggle with identity as a lived experience, even when (and perhaps especially when) it brings up feelings of anger, trauma, and suffering." Elliott Andre Valentino

Ideas and visions for future growth

Kula is committed to an accountable and grounded process, not a destination or a vision of perfection. The surveys provided a lot of very concrete ideas for next steps.

Several people mentioned gratefulness for the language of fat positivity, and suggested that a class similar to queer yoga and brown girls yoga would be helpful. We are happy to announce that Yoga for Round Bodies will be added to schedule before the end of the year. 

Others hoped that in addition to the mandatory trainings for staff and teachers, the broader Kula community could be invited to trainings and discussions about anti-oppression, power and privilege in the yoga community. To begin this process, Kim Crosby will be hosting a workshop entitled “Examining Power and Privilege in Yoga” on Friday July 12th at 7:00pm.



Andi MacDonald and Kandace Dragonfly will be hosting a workshop called “Sacred Justice: Yoga and Solidarity” on Sunday July 14th at 12:00pm.

 

Other ideas that came up several times include:

The Space

• Bigger changerooms

• A space that is accessible by elevator or on the ground floor

• Clear information on the website about the physical accessibility of the space and the limitations of the studio

• Classes taught with folding chairs and accompanying modifications

• Classes with spaces reserved next to the wall for people who need that support

Classes and Teaching Strategies

• Classes taught using American Sign Language

• Classes for male-identified folks

• Classes for women-identified folks

• Classes for men of colour

• Classes for older bodies

• Classes for people with addictions

• Classes for people with mental health issues (such as clinical depression, generalized anxiety disorder and schizophrenia)

• Classes for trans people specifically

• Improving collective language and teaching strategies for bodies with different abilities

• Classes taught in different languages

• Prenatal classes

• Classes for youth (pre-teens and teenagers)

Training and Education

• More education about the different traditions and styles that influence Kula, so that students can know why we choose to say Om, say Namaste, ring tinkshas, have statues at the front of the room, sing certain chants, burn sage and palo santo, reference the Yoga Sutras or the Gita.

• Scholarships for Yoga Teacher Training

• A greater diversity in the teaching staff
  

All of these ideas expand the conversation on where Kula could move as we try to make changes with integrity, accountability and an honest self-reflection of what is possible in the moment. 

Several people raised concerns about whether having classes limited to folks who identify in a certain way is more exclusive than inclusive. We hope that hearing and listening to voices from people who value these classes can be a central part of that dialogue. Offering more spaces form the community to engage with the challenging emotions and feelings around anti-oppression, power and privilege is a part of including all Kula community members in this process.