This training contains 12 hours of live content.
Get clear on your role in dismantling systems of oppression and activate your yoga practice for social justice
Start working toward the future you believe in with Race & Equity in Yoga: Disruption As a Practice.
A 12-HOUR ONLINE TRAINING
WITH KELLEY NICOLE PALMER
On-Demand Enrollment - coming soon!
The August 2022 cohort was kelley nicole palmer's final live, online offering of Race & Equity in Yoga, however a self-paced, on-demand offering of this training is in production!
Share your email and we'll let you know when enrollments are open for a self-paced, pre-recorded offering of this training.
You'll also get content from Race & Equity in Yoga course instructor kelley nicole palmer:
- Dharma talk outlining our responsibility right now when it comes to race equity
- Guided meditation for sitting with discomfort: resource yourself for difficult conversations
- Disruption as a practice: 5 opportunities for dismantling systems of oppression
The movement for black lives continues to be an important and central issue.
It is clear. A shift is necessary.
But let’s be real: this isn’t a new problem.
And since the dynamics of society are always replicated in our institutions, every industry from fashion to wellness is reckoning with its issues around race, equity, and social justice.
And since the dynamics of our institutions show up in our relationships, maybe you are finding yourself here, just one person, a yoga teacher, knowing you need to be part of this shift toward a more equitable world, but unsure of how to move forward.
Does any of this sound like where you're at?
I know I need to “do something” about racism, but I am unsure of my responsibilities and what the steps are to do better.
I don’t see color, I see people. I love everyone equally. Why does it always have to be about race?
I’m really afraid of messing up, saying the wrong thing, and getting called out.
I feel ashamed because I haven’t personally addressed racism before this point and I realize I may actively be causing harm.
If we could all just love one another, racism wouldn’t be a problem anymore.
I’m sitting with a lot of confusion about “my place in the yoga community.”
I’m not sure how to best serve my community when it comes to yoga and social justice.
I’m reluctant or afraid to have uncomfortable, difficult conversations about race.
I’m not clear what my “privilege” is or how it’s showing up in my life, so it’s hard to address it.
I want more Black and brown students in my classes (or teachers working at my studio) but I don’t know where to find them or how to make them feel comfortable in my space.
This conversation around race and equity is difficult. It causes a lot of discomfort. It’s personal, to everyone.
If all this sounds familiar, or if it sounds like I’m reading your mind, know that you're in the right place.
Our egos flare up (“I’m not racist!”). Our old, unhelpful patterns show up (avoidance, defensiveness).
Our socialization in this culture keeps us from seeing ourselves clearly when it comes to the difficult topic of systems of oppressions and our place in those systems.
Our brains try to keep us safe by avoiding, getting defensive, or acting confused.
You know that saying stay in your lane? I want to acknowledge that it can seem difficult to move past all our conditioning and fears and even figure out what your lane is.
The good news is: there is a lane for you when it comes to creating a more equitable and just world.
There is much work to be done to create a society where everyone is free. There is work that only you can do with your gifts, your talents, your caring heart, your smart brain, and your busy hands. Finding clarity on your lane and your work in social justice is possible.
We’ve created a space where you can come as you are, have the space to make mistakes, and learn and grow with other folks on this path.
You can shift and expand your perspective. You can step into your power and create change. You can lean fully into a more equitable future in and out of wellness spaces.
This course, Race & Equity in Yoga: Disruption As a Practice, is not simply an intellectual conversation about racism that leaves you even more confused about what to do.
It’s not a list of resources and books to read that leave you even more confused about your lane and how to stay in it.
Race & Equity in Yoga: Disruption As a Practice is a self-study training where you’ll understand systems of oppression, how you fit into these systems, and how you can use your yoga practice to disrupt, dismantle, and make change.
As a participant in this course you will:
- Awaken to how racism and systems of oppression show up in our yoga communities so that you can shift your perspective and work toward change
- Gain a clear understanding about how you participate and uphold systems of oppression and specific steps to undo and prevent harm
- Feel empowered to shift how you show up in wellness spaces as an activist or advocate
- Gain tools for sitting with discomfort and having difficult conversations
- Become more sure about calling others into action alongside you
- Learn sustainable study tools around the history of racism, privilege, and power dynamics in (and out of) wellness spaces
- Receive a rich resource list for further education and action
"I'd recommend kelley nicole palmer's training to a friend because she speaks the truth and holds space for processing. She provides theoretical frameworks that connect to our everyday lives in ways that make action steps clear and doable. And these aren't "easy" action steps like read a book, but deep action steps like, Divest from those things that support harm. And kelley nicole provides the guidance to identify what that means. "
Lacey Davidson
Course Participant
"Thank you for empowering me to change. To be a better human. For empowering me to expect more of myself and others. Thank you for sharing a truth with me that is difficult to face. I’m a better person having taken this course, but I have just scratched the surface. I have things to undo I never knew about and new ideas and perspectives to explore. It’s necessary to be aware. I think that is what your course did for me. It helped me find a new part of my awareness and I keep changing because of it. Thank you for that gift kelley nicole."
Mary
Course Participant
Hi, I'm kelley nicole palmer (she/her).
I’m a queer Black cis woman who grew up in the American south. As such, I have been educated from a young age (both by knowledge and lived experience) about the history of systems of oppression in this country.
My first yoga teacher was a Black woman who taught me privately. I invited my mother to join me and she loved practicing yoga in this intimate setting. But when we went to a yoga studio she didn't feel comfortable or welcome. I knew this feeling well.
I also had never stepped into a white-led wellness space and felt it was a space that was for me or invited me in. I began teaching yoga because I saw that it wasn’t just me and my mom. Black people didn’t feel comfortable or welcomed in wellness or yoga spaces, which were mostly set up and cultivated by white women who often didn’t see the very real barriers to belonging and liberation they had created.
The longer I teach, the more I see this: spaces that exclude or discourage Black and brown folks from practicing. And anyone with a critical eye can see that most yoga studios do not market yoga to Black people. But the truth of this practice is that yoga is for everyone.
Wellness is our birthright. This course and my work exists because my goal is liberation.
In working with white-identified and white-presenting people, it is clear to me that talking about racism (especially self-study when it comes to this topic) is not an easy conversation. Most white folks don’t have tools to move forward with courage when it comes to this topic. This means that folks who want to make change get stuck. Rather than take action to make their yoga spaces a better place for all, folks are just left with discomfort or indifference and nothing changes.
That’s why I created Race & Equity in Yoga: Disruption as a Practice.
This course is different. This is not an intellectual conversation about racism.
This is a self-study training for growth and transformation where you will:
- Clearly see how systems of oppression shows up in our society, our wellness spaces, and our own hearts and minds
- Understand how you benefit from and uphold these systems of oppression
- Know your role in dismantling systems of oppression and making change with anti-racist work
- Understand how to use your yoga practice to help create more social justice
- Walk away with clear action steps forward to join in the work of collective liberation in yoga
- Be empowered to take action
I have seen the power of this work transform people from being stuck, scared, and guilty into being powerful advocates and warriors for change.
This course will show you the exact steps to move from a place of fear into a place of powerful clarity and action around social justice and yoga.
Race & Equity in Yoga: Disruption as a Practice is a 4-part online training
Lesson 1: Community Creation
We will focus on building a collaborative community including:
- Introductions of the facilitator and participants
- Building community agreements
- Seated Movement
- Guided Meditation
- Tools to lean into discomfort
- Guided Writing Exercises
Lesson 2: Systems of Oppression Within Yoga Communities
We will focus on deepening our understanding of systems of oppression including:
- Building understanding of key terms
- Examining how this manifests on our work/communities
- Examining our personal histories on this system
- Group discussions of our collective experience
- Identifying our privilege and access
- Seated Movement
- Guided meditation
- Self Study Invitations
Lesson 3: Understanding Our Responsibility
We will focus on understanding our responsibility to shift culture including:
- Examining strategies for dismantling systems of oppression
- Identifying our individual practices to lean into activism
- Deepening our individual connections to liberation practices
- Investigating our part on upholding systems of oppression
- Questioning our held beliefs and practices
- Guided Meditation
- Self Study Questions
- Group Discussion
Lesson 4: Sustainable Solutions
We will focus on cultivating sustainable tools to move us forward including:
- Setting individual and collective intentions
- Cultivating tools to continue our self study
- Creating language shifts for our spaces and lives
- Resource sharing
- Question and Answer for final review
- Guided Meditation
- Seated Movement
- Self Study Reflection
- Group Discussion
Race & Equity in Yoga: Disruption as a Practice is perfect for you if you’re...
Yoga teachers
A yoga teacher who wants to take your practice beyond poses and postures and use the tools of yoga to create a more just world
Yoga studio owners
A studio owner who wants to go beyond a one-and-done diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative and move toward a sustainable daily practice of dismantling systems of oppression with every business decision you make
Yoga practitioners
A yoga practitioner who is tired of being scared and small with your practice; you’re ready to make bold moves, use your privilege for good, and live your values
And more
Someone who already is doing anti-racist or social justice work but wants additional tools and a supportive learning community
"I'd recommend kelley nicole palmer's training to a friend because kelley nicole is a compassionate teacher and she doesn't hold back. Every question asked, kelley nicole was able to identify with where the person was coming from and answer the question without tiptoeing around or over elaborating or getting off topic. kelley nicole shares a lot from her own experience and is educated about racism, yoga, LGBTQ, and other marginalized communities. kelley nicole held space on zoom amazingly. kelley nicole managed all the breakouts and how kelley nicole kept up with comments, was impressive. What a teacher! I'm grateful to have learned from kelley nicole."
Satya Larrea
Course Participant
"I had no idea what to expect from kelley nicole’s workshop and honestly ended up a bit blind-sided by what a course corrector and director it turned out to be in and for my life!
They say once you see it you don’t have to be it and kelley nicole’s methodology of inquiring into our fear, histories and patterns was so skillful in identifying and bringing to awareness the unconscious obstacles to really fleshing out and putting into concrete action the building blocks of making my known but in many ways hazy and unshaped dreams a living reality.
kelley nicole is such a joy of a facilitator to cultivating ones vision and growth, and the community aspect of the workshop — collectively exploring our passions and tangles — really sealed the deal of it being how I envision creation is intended... Separately but indivisibly together. I regularly call on the energy we created together to support me in whatever next kinda scary but thrilling step into the life I’m consciously cultivating for myself now more than ever thanks to her inspiration."
Jill C.
Course Participant
About Your Instructor
kelley nicole palmer (she/her) is a writer, wellness advocate and community organizer committed to using the tools and philosophies of yoga to cultivate liberation, joy and peace for herself and others. Her connection to the living practice of yoga, a path of mindful wellness and self realization fuels her work, impacts her life and propels her to want to share it with others through her writing, events and guest teaching opportunities. She remains focused on making this healing practice accessible to all, connecting to communities that are normally excluded or ignored in mainstream wellness circles.
Through in person and online offerings, kelley nicole centers her work on making these connections with authentic and sustainable tool building. Her writing, offerings and more about her can be found at www.kelleynicolepalmer.com.
"I'd recommend kelley nicole palmer's training to a friend because kelley nicole cultivated a brave space for us to learn, unlearn, explore and work towards happiness and freedom for all beings. She challenged me to show up and do better, and she shares so much wisdom. I enjoyed her stories, too! "
Garrett Jurss
Course participant
"It was one of the highlights of my yoga teacher training with Maha Vira Yoga 2019. Many of us were changed after that experience. We were forced to have the uncomfortable conversations that some of us try hard to avoid or fail to acknowledge due to our privilege.
It is my belief that EVERY yoga teacher should be required to attend this workshop prior to receiving teaching credentials because the truth is, this work isn’t all 'love and light,' not even in our sacred yoga spaces."
Shaniqua Pervall
Yoga Teacher
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be a certified yoga teacher, or have finished a 200-hour program, to attend this training?
No, there are no prerequisites and anyone can join us!
I really want to do this work but I’m afraid of getting on a live Zoom call and saying the wrong thing in front of a big group.
This is not a space where folks will be putting you on the spot and asking you to have all the answers. This is a space for facilitated dialogue. Discomfort within this practice is where we learn and grow. This course is an invitation into an uncomfortable conversation that will be facilitated in a way to keep you out of shame and guilt and put you into a space of curiosity, learning, and expansion.
This is a space to engage with other people who realize a shift is necessary. If you feel isolated in this type of work or are tired of getting cussed out by your friends for “problematic behavior,” this is your space.
Is this course only for white people?
This course is for everyone. We are all living under the influence of systems of oppression. Our intersecting identities mean our power and privilege present in different ways depending on our environments. Also present is the internalized oppression that must be unpacked and released if we want to truly release the grip white supremacy has on our communities and yoga spaces.
Is this training all online? How does it work?
Yes this training is 100% online. Here's how it works:
- One week prior to the first live session you'll get access to your student portal, with all of the details you need to get prepared for the training, including your schedule, live session Zoom link and some introductory videos.
- All live training sessions will be offered through Zoom, a videoconferencing application. You can watch and interact on your phone, tablet, or computer.
- All sessions will be live-captioned and available for replay after the session, with access for a whole year.
- Once you have watched all the content, you will self-certify with an assessment that you've completed the course requirements. Then you'll receive a PDF certificate stating that you completed the course.
What if I can't attend the live sessions? Can I still take the course?
Yes, all sessions will be recorded and uploaded to your student portal within 24-48 hours of the live session.
We highly encourage you to attend live, as you will get more out of the interactive parts of this course. But you can participate via the recordings if that works best for you.
Are there any prerequisites for this course?
There are no prerequisites to join except the willingness to stay open to new information and resilient to change.
Do I need special equipment or software for the training?
You will get the most out of the training if you attend via Zoom on a desktop computer with a webcam and microphone. However, you are welcome to watch and participate on your phone, tablet, or other internet-connected device. Appearing on video or speaking on the mic is not required at all.
We recommend installing the Zoom application on your device to get the full functionality.
Your student portal is web based and can be accessed through any internet browser.
How long do I have access to the training materials?
You have access to the student portal for 1 year past the start date of the live portion of the training (August 9, 2022) to access the content and recordings of the live sessions.
Can I share the videos, or other resources with other teachers who aren't in the course?
The course materials are for your personal use. We ask that you don't share them with anyone who hasn't enrolled in the course. Our instructors often share wonderful free resources with overlapping information, and we encourage you to share those widely.
Can I earn continuing education credit or contact hour CEUs for this training?
Yes. This training is worth 12 contact hour CEUs. Eligible yoga teachers will earn CEUs through Yoga Alliance. Upon completion of the course requirements, you will receive a downloadable certificate you can submit for credit.
Are scholarships available for the training?
If our sliding scale pricing still isn't accessible to you, we do have a limited number of partial scholarships available. Please fill out this scholarship application to apply.
Are payment plans available?
Yes, you may split your tuition into 3 monthly payments. Each pricing tier has this payment plan available. Payments come out monthly based on the date of your initial purchase. For example, if you sign up on July 20, your two remaining payments will be charged on August 20 and September 20.
What if I need a refund?
Our refund policy for this course is as follows:
- Request for cancellation of enrollment from the course one week or more prior to the course commencement date, will receive a full refund / cancellation of any pending payment plan charges.
- Request for cancellation of enrollment from the course within one week of the course commencement date will receive a 50% refund of the total course fee.
- No refunds will be granted once the course live Zoom sessions have commenced.
What if I need help?
Your success in this course is our #1 priority. If you need help at any time you can contact us and we'll be in touch!
You know a shift is necessary. Be part of the change.
We are seeing a rise in awareness that a shift is necessary. People are awakening. Big change only happens through individual actions that lead to a collective shift. You can be part of the solution.
This course is an opportunity for you to learn a new way of showing up in all your relationships, including your relationship to yourself, your teaching, your students, your yoga community, and your world.
This new way of showing up honors our individual and collective humanity and it also honors the roots of the yoga practice. We each have a responsibility to set down patterns and ways of being that cause harm.
Why keep waiting when you know it’s time to shift? If you feel called to this work of collective liberation, join me.
