Posted on: April 20, 2024

Creating Inclusive, Accessible Yoga Spaces: Sharing Yoga Philosophy & Ethics

In this discussion we are talking about how to share yoga philosophy, ethics, mythology, or spirituality in an inclusive, accessible, and respectful way. This is part of a continuing conversation around making our yoga teaching inclusive and accessible for all.

A few areas we’ll touch on include:

  • How to share philosophy without imposing a particular spirituality or belief system
  • How to have discussions about yoga ethics without seeming ‘preachy’ or dogmatic or moralizing.
  • Being considerate of the diversity of students, cultures, beliefs, experiences, and preferences in your class.
  • Offering accessible and inclusive options for students to take yoga practices, philosophy, or ethics home to explore in their own lives.

Watch the discussion clip below, or scroll down to read the discussion notes.

How to Share Inclusive Accessible Yoga Philosophy

As yoga teachers, many of us are keen to share more than asana in our yoga classes, but how do we go about sharing yoga’s history, philosophy, ethics, and spirituality without stepping on others’ beliefs, or coming across like we are moralizing?

How do we add some yoga education within a class when often our students are used to just arriving, moving, breathing, and relaxing, without any discussion of the other limbs of yoga?

How do we share concepts and ideas without creating an environment where people are feeling uncomfortable about having what they might perceive as ‘religious’ instruction.

How you will go about sharing the other limbs of yoga, or discussions about history, mythology, concepts like chakras, nadis, elements, mudras, mantras – this will be unique to each teacher. But there are a few guidelines that we can all consider that can help to make these discussions as inclusive, and accessible, and illuminating as possible.

Strategies and ideas for introducing yoga philosophy:

We’ve talked about this a lot in other discussions, but a few main strategies include:

  • speak openly about how yoga is not just movement, breathwork, and there is also a philosophical or ethical foundation that bring so many benefits on and off the mat. Introduce ideas, ways we might practice that in our modern lives, and invite students to offer their own ideas about how to bring yoga into their unique lives.
  • open discussions with a theme based on a philosophy, ethic, or concept, and then offer some ideas for reflection (they don’t have to answer, just ponder), Have you thought about this before? How might you see that in your practice/life? How might you like to practice that on the mat? Do you think you could benefit from this idea?
  • introduce simple concepts slowly, and don’t be afraid to repeat them, but offer different insights or practical strategies. For example – take 2-3 minutes at the open of class to share one of the Yamas or Niyamas:

“Today our focus will be on one of the Niyamas, or ethics of self-care, called Santosha, which means contentment.

Contentment doesn’t mean things are perfect right now, but that you can practice being at ease with what’s happening now.

You might explore this by finding contentment with how your body or mind has shown up today, you might look to find contentment by exploring how it feels to stretch, rather than how far you can stretch, how your mind is so focused when you are finding your balance, rather than how well you can balance. Even if you have aims for the future, can you be at ease with what is available today?

Can you find a space for ‘contented being’ in relaxation, even if you have lots on your mind or lots to still do today?

  • Share a yoga story or myth or imagery within the context of a pose – Mountain, Fish, Warrior, Easy Sitting, Tree, Crow, these are all poses that we can tell stories about to enhance the practice, invite people’s creativity and imagination, and share that ‘little bit more’ of yoga within the practice.
Consider: how might you find ways to share yoga philosophy, storytelling, or mythology in your classes?

Pay attention to reception:

If you are dipping a toe into sharing some yoga philosophy in your classes, pay attention to how your efforts are being received.

There may be people in your class who are not open to these discussions. Make your discussions invitational, without insisting on engagement or agreement. Acknowledge that they don’t have to be interested.

Be aware that there may be people in your class whose faith requires them to not receive instruction in other faiths. Be clear that you are not teaching about religion, but concepts that can fit within any spiritual framework.

Be aware that students might be coming to class with a challenging history with religion, spirituality, or faith-based groups which make some discussions triggering.

Pay attention to both individuals, and the group as a whole as to how they are receiving your discussions. Are they comfortable, keen, eager to learn more, or are they uncomfortable, restless, waiting for you to finish so they can begin their practice? Gather all the verbal and non-verbal feedback you can to guide your future decisions.

Should future discussions be shorter? Do people need modern examples they can relate to? Do they respond to your personal stories? Do they prefer short ‘theming’ discussions rather than mini-workshop discussions? Do they prefer using tools like Yama and Niyama cards? Be open to all the feedback and let that guide you.

Acknowledge yoga’s roots and speak to how we might bring those concepts into our modern secular life. As an atheist, I like to introduce ideas as ethics, philosophy, mythology, and concepts, rather than using terms like ‘spirituality, which can guide us regardless of our beliefs.

Consider when and in what form you want to include discussions of yoga philosophy. You might offer a class theme, a few suggestions on how they might explore that in class, then make it invitational so that students can take part in that offering or find their own intention or aim for the practice.

Get creative with offering ideas for taking yoga home – whether that be physical practices like asana and breathwork, or non-physical practices like philosophy, ethics, mindfulness, and meditation.

Be aware of assumptions:

One way that we can make philosophy discussion exclusive or inaccessible is to make assumptions about people. I have made this mistake many times before, assuming people are in a particular kind of relationship, assuming people have flexible time and space like I do, assuming people have the same goals and interest in yoga that I do, assuming people have the same beliefs as me.

Step 1 to making philosophy discussions more accessible, and to make your suggestions for taking yoga off the mat useful, is to approach these discussions with an open mind, humility, and with no assumptions or expectations.

Let’s look at a few examples:

Question: Are your assuming students home lives, families, relationships the same as yours?

When offering ideas to bring the practice of yoga home or out into their lives, consider how people’s lives might differ from yours.

Do your students have the physical space, free time, resources, or opportunities to practice yoga at home?

Do your students have dependents like kids or aging parents that don’t allow as much free, uninterrupted time to practice the way you do? Do you have ideas for integrating practice into a busy life?

Notice if you are offering ideas or references that only apply to folks with a lot of disposable income, free space and time, and access to resources. This can really exclude people who don’t have access to the same resources or opportunities, including time.

For example, offering suggestions to get up early to meditate or do a practice, having a dedicated space for yoga at home, having space to grow some veggies at home, having uninterrupted time to practice, being able to practice yoga daily, all of these can exclude folks who don’t have these opportunities.

And if we talk about yoga being something that has to be done daily, or in this specific way, in order to be beneficial, that can make people feel like, well if I can’t do it this one ‘right’ way, I guess I won’t do it at all.

Consider: Can you think ways to encourage students to take yoga off the studio mat and into their everyday life that could be more accessible and inclusive?

Question: Is the ‘yogic lifestyle’ you are promoting accessible to all?

Let’s be clear, there is no one ‘yogic lifestyle’, and making recommendations in areas like diet and nutrition are not within our scope of practice as yoga teachers. But, if you are planning to talk about things like vegetarianism/veganism in relation to ethics like Ahimsa/Non-Harming, be aware that this is not inclusive of people who have various medical or health needs, religious or spiritual practices, family or community traditions, or preferences that are not aligned with vegetarianism/veganism.

Consider the social and community context for making suggestions that might contribute to students feeling excluded or ‘unyogic’ because they don’t choose the same practices that others might.

Consider: Can you think of other ways to speak about making conscious choices in our lifestyle that don’t insist on one ‘yogic’ way of living?

Question: Do your students have ready access to spaces you are promoting?

I often speak about taking time in nature, and lately I’ve realized that this isn’t useful to everyone. Being from a rural community nature is just outside my door and free to access. I often have to check myself and remember that not everyone has ready access to wild spaces (although I wish they did!)

If you want to speak to taking time to be inspired by nature, perhaps offer ideas about finding parks, botanical gardens, recreational spaces, or widening your view of ‘inspiring spaces’ to include spending time in art spaces, or spiritual spaces (church, mosque, temple, lodge, etc.), or community gathering spaces, taking architecture walks, listening to nature sounds while relaxing or working, or bringing natural elements into their movement or meditation practices.

Finally, a few ideas for reflection:

Consider:

Honoring the ancient roots of yoga – speak to the philosophies and ethics like the Yamas and Niyamas and invite students to explore how these fit within their own belief system or ethical framework.

Acknowledging that participants may be coming to yoga with their own belief system, and they aren’t required to take on a new belief system in order to practice.

Understanding that they many students won’t have a desire to learn about spirituality through the lens of yoga, but they may wish to learn about some ways to bring yoga practice into their everyday life.

Respecting the boundaries of students, employers, and organizations.
If your classes will include areas of spiritual practice or discussion, inform students prior to registration so that they can make an informed decision.

Reconsider:

Insisting on students chanting, using mantras, mudras, visualizations, or engaging in any practices that might be in conflict with their belief system. If you plan to use these practices in your class, include them in your class information so people can make informed choices about attending. When teaching these practices, invite students to join in, or sit with their own intention/practices/prayer.

Appropriating the culture or religion of others if it’s not your culture or your faith. I cringe at how I’ve done this in the past, perhaps in an effort to belong, or to experiment with embracing the full extent of yoga, but my efforts were uninformed and clumsy. I have learned a lot since those days.

To be clear, learning about or practicing yoga is not cultural appropriation. However, using symbols, deities, or cultural objects as fashionable ‘accessories’ could be seen as cultural appropriation or a lack of respect for what others believe is sacred. Approach these subjects with humility, stay open to learning, and understand that figures, language, objects, and concepts in yoga are sacred for many people, and should be explored with respect.

What classes are suitable for spiritual, philosophical, or metaphysical discussions, and which aren’t. Often, you’ll find that corporate classes, institutions (schools, daycare, aged care, public services) are not the place for these practices/discussions. Have a dialog with program coordinators about what is and isn’t appropriate in these spaces.

What might we joyfully share about yoga philosophy that is accessible and inclusive?

What might you introduce to your classes?

You might speak about the 8 limbs of yoga. Educating students about how yoga is not just movement or exercise, it’s also got a philosophy and system of ethics that we can all benefit from, regardless of our background.

You might speak about the roots of yoga being grounded in a quest for self-knowledge, freedom from the busyness of the mind, connection to something more than ourselves, finding contentment in the moment, serving our collective humanity – all things that we can learn from and find value in.

You might tell students that yoga can meet them where they are at – exploring movement, breathwork, meditation, and, when/if they would like to learn more, perhaps starting to expand their learning with philosophy, ethics, and yogic spirituality.

Thanks for reading or watching this far – this was a big discussion!

I look forward to hearing your ideas, strategies, experiences, and insights into how you share inclusive, accessible, and inspiring yoga philosophy and spirituality in your classes.

Heather Agnew, ERYT-500, lead trainer

Want to learn more about sharing yoga philosophy in your classes?

Study with us! The online courses Yoga Philosophy Professional Development or Theming & Sequencing for Yoga have lots of ideas to share.

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