Yoga should be accessible to all. This seems obvious, and yet the reality is far from that goal. For 8 years I have assisted, apprenticed, and taught on dozens of teacher trainings. For the last 2 years, I have been running my own. The trainings are my passion: gathering a small group of dedicated students from around the world to dive deeply into the physical and spiritual transformation that is possible through yoga. The connection and healing that happens in those groups is incredible. And yet, those groups are not as diverse as they could be. As they should be, if the yoga world was truly equally accessible to all.

And so, for the 2019 training I am hosting in Bali, I will offer my first official scholarship program. The aim of the scholarship program is to increase equity and representation in the yoga world. Yoga is for everyone, but there are many social and systemic barriers that can prevent marginalized populations from accessing the practice. If we in the yoga community neglect to directly address these barriers, yoga is stripped of its core values of non-harming and compassion, and is reduced to an exclusive and exclusionary fitness routine. Financial accessibility is certainly a major barrier, and this scholarship fund was designed to address that. Therefore, preference will be given to students from marginalized groups (BIPOC, LGBTQ+, etc.) and those who intend to share the practice of yoga with under-served populations.

It was important to me to open this up publicly because we can be so much more effective when we work together. I am happy to give my resources, but my personal resources are limited compared to those of my extended community. I will be contributing directly to the fund, and will be matching all contributions that are given.

Thank you for reading and please let me know if you have any questions!