Back in 2007 when people used to read me, I wrote a post about the Color of Yoga asking why American Yoga is such a white thang.
Seven years later my friend and yoga teacher Oreste Prada said it was time to change the question about the whiteness of Yoga.
Today I read the perfect response to all of it. One can talk the talk about Diversity in Yoga but ya gotta walk the walk:
“Most sanghas I visit are entirely white, and they ask me, ‘Pannavatti, how do we get more people of color in our sanghas?’ I say, ‘How many black people do you know? How many do you hang out with? How many do you invite over to your house? You can’t just put a shingle outside your center that says Black People Wanted.’” – Pannavati Bhikkhuni
Ven. Pannavati is known for her wit and humor and has received awards for her humanitarian work with “Untouchables” (Dalits) in India and ordaining nuns in Thailand & Cambodia.
I heart Ven. Pannavati. Her work with dalits in my second home in India, Tamil Nadu, inspires me.
She comes from another mileu that is mostly populated by the white middle class: Western Buddhism.
Talk amongst yourselves.
Linda's Yoga Journey 