Avoid spiritual bypassing.

Spiritual bypassing is to sidestep dealing with pain, strong feelings, trauma, etc. It can be helpful when we are not ready to confront difficult emotions in our lives. However, it is commonly used to avoid acknowledging privilege because doing so is inherently messy, painful, and requires continued awareness.

As a first-generation Indian-American woman, I’ve had periods of my childhood where I suppressed my identity in order to blend in. Being the daughter of immigrants is beautiful and complex, and even though I grew up in the most diverse county in the U.S., my sister and I were often the only Indian people in school and were called many of the offensive Indian stereotypes you can imagine. However, that doesn’t mean my experience is the same as that of every person of color. South Asians have privileges in Western societies that Black folx often do not. Even though the concept of ‘model minority’ is a harmful myth made to separate Black and Asian communities, it still has allowed me and families like mine to be perceived differently through Western culture. Yes, my family and myself have experienced racism - and still do. But to say all people of color have the same experiences would be to conflate and erase what Black communities have been enduring for centuries in the U.S To fuse them together is to bypass and thus invalidate the intergenerational trauma that lives on in our society.

In this piece, we’ll discuss how the failure to acknowledge one’s privilege and power can show up in wellness spaces. Sidestepping privilege with the excuse 'I do yoga’ (and therefore one should be ‘beyond’ all of these negative emotions) is actively harming communities of color.

– Melissa

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TAKE ACTION

Take a deeper look at the wellness brands and yoga teachers you follow and the language they use to promote their products, classes and retreats to you. Do you notice bypassing language or behavior?
Follow vital work being done by leaders in the yoga and social justice space, take their courses, buy their books, and pay them for their time. Remember, people are not resources. When you reference a person as a resource, you are saying that their sole purpose is for your (and predominately white people’s) consumption. Books, podcasts, publications, emails - these are resources.

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By Melissa Shah (she/her)

What is spiritual bypassing?

Yoga has often been co-opted in the West as a feel-good practice where you are supposed to ‘empty your mind’ and achieve calm every time you practice. I’d argue that the actual function of yoga is to direct the mind, connect with your inner knowing, and to develop discernment and clarity. When yoga is practiced in its sincere form, it can bring up a lot of discomfort. There is a difference between having the appearance of processing something difficult and actually processing it. One of my teachers distinguishes this as acting out of patterning versus authenticity. Though on an individual level no one can truly know this distinction except you, the consequences of spiritual bypassing harm others. A common example is when someone shares something difficult they are dealing with and you immediately respond with “love and light” style advice rather than actively listening and holding space for their experience (Instagram).

How does it show up in wellness?

Spiritual bypassing in wellness is deeply embedded in societal conditioning. It’s most easily identified as constantly chasing the 'feeling good’ or, in other words, always chasing the light without sitting in the shadows. Sitting with what is can be incredibly uncomfortable and is therefore not as ‘marketable’ and ‘palatable’ for widespread consumption.

“Good vibes only,” repressing the full spectrum of emotions, being overly compassionate, and anger avoidance are a few examples prevalent in wellness spaces and in individuals who are deeply seeking relief from their past pain. Think of how many times you’ve been in a yoga class or scrolled your social feeds and heard students and/or teachers share how we are all the same or to ‘love and all is coming.’ In part, these are beautiful sentiments. But what do they actually mean in the context of the current state of our communities? In the context of hundreds of years of oppression against Black folx? Against Indigeous folx?

Privilege is being able to step in and out of these contexts at your leisure, without any difference in how you are treated or any difference in how you are able to move through society. Spiritual bypassing shows up so often in wellness that I feel it actually has warped into what is ‘normal.’ It is ANYTHING but that.

JP Gratrix (Instagram), a South Asian yoga teacher and author, distinguishes loving kindness and toxic positivity. She shares that cultivating compassion and loving kindness for yourself and those around you is not the same as only leaving room for positivity, particularly in the face of discomfort.

Here are examples of how spiritual bypassing sneaks into common phrases and interactions in wellness:

Saying 'love and only love will bring us together.' Love for our fellow neighbors is vital to our progress as a community, but excluding anything other than positivity isn’t being in a state of yoga. Understanding brings us together too.
‘We are all one’, ‘we are all human’, or ‘stop creating division!’ Acknowledging our differences and listening to the stories of those who are left out of wellness spaces comes first (Instagram). True unity comes when we can acknowledge how we play a role in perpetuating disparities.
Asking your BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) friends to acknowledge that you're doing the work to be a good ally. Also, wanting them to offer you gratitude for the work you should already be doing to better understand their experiences.
Using the central philosophy in yoga that ‘separateness is an illusion’ as a reason to reject the existence of BIPOC-only wellness spaces.
Using yoga terminology to bypass difficult conversations that challenge you and therefore invalidate the experience of the person approaching you.

What does it mean in relation to race?

Spiritual bypassing minimizes the experiences of marginalized folx. Neglecting to understand how generations of racism and brutality have affected Black communities and other communities of color is against the first ethical value of yoga, Ahimsa (non-harming). Practicing ahimsa is more than holding space for someone’s experience. It is holding space for your biases and internalized racism, too. Holding many things at once is not the easy path but the necessary one for collective liberation.

Invalidating painful experiences of racism is also an act of erasure (Facebook). It can cause BIPOC folx to feel that they need to continue to bury their own experiences and emotional responses in order to make room for the dominant culture. This can show up as BIPOC experiencing “freeze response” in response to racist actions, and when met with “Well I’m not THAT kind of white person. You should have felt comfortable sharing your experience with me.” This bypassing centers the white person’s importance rather than harm caused to BIPOC folx.

When yoga teachers fail to acknowledge current events that are affecting communities that are also underrepresented in wellness spaces, it harms students of color that are seeking spaces to feel seen and heard (Mic). It also prevents white students from learning the unmistakable intersectionality of yoga and social action.

When you are practicing spiritual bypassing, you are deceiving yourself into thinking you have attained a ‘higher state’ of being than you actually have. This harms everyone as it is a misuse of yoga. As you deepen your yoga practice, you don't become “above” this world. You become more of this world. You see more clearly the injustices in the world you live in and better understand your role and purpose in taking action.

Key Takeaways

Spiritual bypassing is avoiding dealing with strong and difficult emotions, pain, and/or trauma. It is often used in the wellness industry to avoid acknowledging privilege and the harm white-centered spaces cause to BIPOC communities.
It is harmful because by bypassing the history of racism in the U.S., white communities turn a blind eye to their complicity in racism and cultural appropriation in wellness spaces.
Spiritual bypassing actually limits one’s spiritual growth and the ability to develop clarity and discernment - the actual purposes of yoga.

1/11/2021 | Honor our grief.

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Nicole Cardoza 5/6/21 Nicole Cardoza 5/6/21

Preserve Palo Santo and white sage.

The wellness industry in the U.S. is rooted in the concept of self-care. But, when we look beyond our own wellbeing, it’s clear how detrimental this approach can be to other communities. One popularized practice is the act of smudging, an Indigenous spiritual ritual to cleanse the soul and space around it (Huffpost). Many people use Palo Santo or white sage, which are medicinal, ceremonial, and sacred plants. As smudging moves its way into the mainstream, the demand for Palo Santo and white sage grows – negatively impacting the Indigenous communities from where the practice originates.

Happy Thursday, and welcome back to the Anti-Racism Daily. The wellness industry is rife with cultural appropriation. Today, Isiah shares his insights on the appropriation of Indigenous practices, and how it relates to a long history of colonization and whitewashing.

This newsletter is possible because of our gracious supporters! Consider giving $7/month on our website or Patreon. Or you can give one-time on our website or PayPal. You can also support us by joining our curated digital community. Thank you to all those that support!

Nicole

TAKE ACTION

Instead of buying sage and Palo Santo from large corporations, buy them from Indigenous-owned wellness companies like Sister Sage and Whispering Winds Shop.
Learn more about how sage is used in Chumash healing practices (Chumash people have stewarded the land now known as Southern California).
Follow Indigenous creators like @notoriouscree, @dineaesthetics, and @tiamiscihk, who continue to use their platforms to educate people about different Indigenous cultures and issues.
Consider: How do your wellness practices honor – not appropriate – their ancestral lineage?

GET EDUCATED

By Isiah Magsino (he/him)

While the practice of smudging began with Native ceremonies and traditions passed down from generation to generation, companies are now using the practice as a way to spread ideas of yoga and wellness (Beauty Independent). Back in 2018, fragrance brand, Pinrose pulled back their “Starter Witch Kit” from Sephora after receiving backlash from activists about the appropriation of Indigenous medicinal practice in commerce (Refinery 29). Urban Outfitters sold smudge sticks and marketed the product on social media with the caption “cleansing your Insta of negativity” (fashionista). These instances of major retailers profiting off of smudging perfectly demonstrate the definition of cultural appropriation. And, while some Indigenous people believe that selling smudging products is fine, they’re still concerned about whether mainstream consumption will erase its significance (Huffpost).

“We are in a battle of keeping the sacred sacred,” says Ahsaki Chacherie, the founder of the Ah-Shi Beauty. “And it hurts because it’s not being used for its true purpose.” Chacherie isn’t the only Indigenous person to think so. Palo Santo originates from Indigenous peoples in Central and South America. Translating to “Holy Stick” in Spanish, shamans used Palo Santo to offer grounded and clearing energy (Mitú). Native shamans used Palo Santo to aid the dying on their spiritual journeys to the afterlife (Yoga Journal). Some Indigenous people believe that this wood should be given to you only by a shaman to ensure it’s being used appropriately (Refinery 29).

White sage is native to the Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico. It was used by Indigenous communities native to those lands to cleanse, purify and ward off negative energy. Many Indigenous groups performed thoughtful rituals, which have been all but abandoned in its modern-day use. The ceremonial burning of white sage begins when participants ask an elder’s guidance to properly gather the plant. This ensures the harvest is sustainable, never taking more than necessary. These plants are not merely used as tools; they’re considered respected relatives that deserve gratitude and intention (Beauty Independent).

The demand for white sage and Palo Santo also contributes to a growing environmental issue. As beauty and wellness brands continue to gentrify the practice, these endangered plants are being overharvested (Beauty Independent). According to the United Plant Savers Medicinal Plant Conservation, there are less than 250 mature Palo Santo trees (Bulnesia sarmientoi, a species that grows in Paraguay, Argentina, and Bolivia) in the wild (Triluna Wellness). There are even instances of illegal harvesting of white sage (Daily Bulletin). While Indigenous companies harvest Palo Santo and white sage sustainably, consumers rely heavily on larger chains for the plant. Regulation for proper harvesting is proven difficult (Yoga Journal).

Often, the colonization and devastation of Native communities are considered part of the past. But these issues persist to modern-day (Beauty Independent). Indigenous people and their cultures continue to be exploited and ravaged for the sake of capitalism and “progression” in society while Westerners commodify sacred traditions for self-indulgence (Forage and Sustain). When White settlers first came to North America, they banned Native Americans from practicing their spiritual traditions, including using ceremonial white sage (Forage and Sustain). To commercialize a sacred ritual, then running the source to near extinction, and finally not using it for its true purpose is predation at the highest level. For wellness enthusiasts, answer this: Is your wellness worth the expense of Native practices and traditions?

Key Takeaways

Palo Santo and white sage are used by Native communities all over the Americas for ceremonial, spiritual, and medicinal purposes. They’ve served as grounding rituals throughout time.

As the wellness industry continues to push its use, the two sacred plants have become endangered as the demand is causing overharvesting.
Wellness brands often market Palo Santo and white sage in the wrong way. Each plant has specific uses and origins. Not just to “cleanse the bad vibes.”
Native Americans were prohibited from performing many ceremonial rituals when white colonizers first arrived.

12/17/2020 | Respect Hawaii’s sacred land.

11/24/2020 | Stop violence against Native women.

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Nicole Cardoza 1/11/21 Nicole Cardoza 1/11/21

Honor our grief.

But, in all of this, I am missing accountability. I am missing an acknowledgment of the accumulation of harm that we’ve experienced – not just last week, but over the past four years. It makes me angry. It makes me weary. And it does nothing to address the deep and profound grief I’ve been experiencing for the past year – one that I believe many of us are harboring.

Happy Monday and welcome back to the Anti-Racism Daily! I needed to create more space for grief in my life this weekend, and dedicated some space in today's newsletter, too. I hope you find resources that can help you on your journey. We'll be holding space for processing grief over on our digital community all this week.

Our work is made possible by our paid subscribers. You can financially contribute by making a one-time gift on our website or PayPal or subscribe for $7/month on Patreon. Thank you all for your support!

Nicole

TAKE ACTION

Invest in healing for marginalized communities. Make a donation to organizations like The Loveland Foundation, BEAM, and BACII.
Listen to conversations on grief. We recommend the Finding Refuge Podcast by Michelle Cassandra Johnson.
Consider: What does it look like to center your grief this week? The grief of your community? Your co-workers? Does your organization offer culturally sensitive healing resources?

GET EDUCATED

By Nicole Cardoza (she/her)

The insurrection at the Capitol last week seemed to finally spur people into action. Tech companies kick Trump off their platforms (TechCrunch). Democratic Congresspeople organize for impeachment (NBC News). The FBI tweets for help to arrest insurrectionists. And Republican leaders resign, admonish the actions of the President while calling for “unity” (Buzzfeed News).

Honoring grief is quite different than acting out against our grievances, which has been the crux of our political environment. White grievance politics, put simply, is when politics play to the perceived loss of white entitlement in a diversifying nation. When power is considered a zero-sum game – and the white community historically holds power – any progress made by marginalized communities is perceived “at the loss” of white power. The fight to preserve white supremacy is justified through white grievance politics. We’ve watched this unfold throughout history, but Trump and the Republican party clearly wielded it to rally those disgruntled with the Obama administration (NYTimes). I recommend reading “Black Protest / White Grievance: On the Problem of White Political Imaginations Not Shaped by Loss” by Juliet Hooker to learn more (available for paid download here or watch Professor Hooker share more in a one-hour lecture for free).

The political imagination of white citizens has been shaped not by the experience of loss but rather by different forms of white supremacy and that this results in a distorted form of racial political math that sees black gains as white losses, and not simply losses but defeats. As a result, in moments when white privilege is in crisis because white dominance is threatened, many white citizens not only are unable or unwilling to recognize black suffering; they mobilize a sense of white victimhood in response.

Juliet Hooker, Professor of Political Science at Brown University, in Black Protest / White Grievance: On the Problem of White Political Imaginations Not Shaped by Loss

Other interesting articles on the subject: James Kimmel, Jr. analyzes “the brain on grievance” (Politico), and Jeet Heer unpacks the difference between grief and grievance by juxtaposing how Biden and Trump address the nation (The Nation).

All citizens need to have the capacity to cope with loss, to “confront the paradox that they have been promised sovereignty and rarely feel it” (South Atlantic Quarterly). But in this nation, white supremacists are encouraged, even invited, to commit acts of violence and insurrection, while communities of color are killed and incarcerated for far less. Black leaders are asked to be more “civil” and “empathetic” to white communities, but white leaders are granted the pass to fight for power through racial oppression (South Atlantic Quarterly). This has been reinforced throughout America’s history, a familiar narrative even if foreign to our generation. The insurrection at the Capitol was centered not just as “their duty, but also as their right,” Daniel Black writes for CNN. One insurrectionist stated it themselves: “This is not America. They’re shooting at us. They’re supposed to shoot BLM, but they’re shooting the patriots” (The Nation).

This conversation is not for grievances but reserved for grief. And I write this specifically for the marginalized communities that have so much more to bear. For all those that have experienced the racism, discrimination, exile, and oppression encouraged by this President over the past four years. For the Jewish community that had to see Neo-Nazi insignia at their nation’s Capitol (Quartz) and grapple with the rise of antisemitism during this presidency (Anti-Racism Daily). Those who have had their religious/ethnic identities unfairly associated with terrorism while white terrorism goes unchecked (Anti-Racism Daily). Those who immigrated here to the U.S. to escape the same political unrest that our nation tries to rebrands as patriotism. For everyone dismissed and diminished for warning that these days were coming, and action was long overdue.

We’re here in a new year, carrying an abundance of old grief. We couldn’t feel the events last week in isolation even if we have had the time to process the events of 2020 fully, and many of us haven’t. And in just the past week alone, the political disaster we’re facing may have drowned out stories on the mismanaged vaccine rollout (USA Today) and the significant increase in deaths related to COVID-19 (CNN). adrienne marie brown referred to this in a tweet last week as “grief debt,” the culmination of all we’ve endured “with no time to come apart and land beyond the loss.” And Marissa Evans poignantly expresses how this grief transcends generations in the Black community, carried through the trauma of enslavement to the lost opportunities of those gone too soon.

We know, too, what the inequities mean for our future. Our pain comes not just from those we've already lost, but from those we stand to lose over time. A specific sadness emerges when you realize that someone may be denied the chance to be their ancestors’ wildest dreams.

Marissa Evans, in The Relentlessness of Black Grief for The Atlantic

But our nation’s response to the events this week also centers white grievance politics, not grief. Leaders call for unity instead of acknowledging the harm. Major media outlets continue to publish pieces to “humanize” insurrectionists. And with news circulating that more attacks are planned for the inauguration, it’s unlikely this narrative will only continue its harmful cycle (Washington Post). If this country will not make space for our healing, it is up to us. We must hold and process our grief tenderly with our community and center collective grief over reductive white grievance politics. Our healing journey may not be linear, but it’s our only path through.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

White grievance politics centers the perceived loss of power and supremacy that white people experience in response to progress for marginalized non-white communities
Our nation has consistently prioritized white grievance over collective grief and loss
We must carve out our own space to process grief as part of a laboratory movement

PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT

Nicole Cardoza 10/28/20 Nicole Cardoza 10/28/20

Unpack the history of social work.

After a summer of protests and uprisings around anti-Blackness in America, many people are looking for solutions to police violence and killings. A popular suggestion is having social workers respond to a crisis instead of police (The Guardian). Because they are unarmed and trained in de-escalation and crisis management, social workers can seem like the perfect solution.

Hi. It's Wednesday. 6 days until the U.S. election. Welcome back to the Anti-Racism Daily, where we send one email each day to dismantle white supremacy. You can support our work by giving one-time or monthly (you can also support via PayPal or Venmo @nicoleacardoza).

Yesterday, the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council effectively reversed a rule that allowed social workers to turn away clients who are LGBTQ or have a disability. Although many in the state are breathing a sigh of relief, it's indicative of a larger narrative of how the social work industry has helped and harmed throughout the years. Today, Deana shares their perspective on where the social work industry can improve and unpacks their racial roots.

Nicole

TAKE ACTION

Follow @SWCARES2, @socialjusticedoula, and @SSWUChicago to learn from social workers that oppose social work oppression.
After reading this article, reflect on the following: How does policing show up in different professions? What media / history informs a narrative that social workers are inherently good? How can we support our own communities *before* a social services intervention is needed?

GET EDUCATED

By Nicole Cardoza (she/her)

In theory, this makes sense, but propping up social workers as the solution to systemic racism ignores the past and present role of social workers as the implementers of racist policies in America (National Association of Social Workers). During my time in a Bachelor of Social Work program, I experienced firsthand how the profession focused on legality over morality. Conversations about reporting hypothetical undocumented immigrants to ICE revealed how many future social workers were willing to turn away those most in need. Beyond that, stereotypes about welfare queens and Black students with no drive to succeed ran rampant in the classroom. Social work students, professors, and practitioners create and perpetuate environments that overlook blatant racism every day.

To fully understand the extent of social workers participation in racist policies and programs, we need to look at the roots of the profession in America. What we think of as “social work” in the United States began with Jane Addams and her fellow wealthy white women providing charity via the Hull House, a home and community space provided for those in need (Jade Addams Papers Project). Despite the success social workers saw in providing housing, education, and social opportunities, there were gaps in what they achieved. For one, Hull House was racially (but not ethnically) segregated from the day doors opened in 1889 into the late 1930s (Jade Addams Papers Project). These social workers also failed to challenge the systems that created poverty and racial inequity. Instead, they focused on systems of charity that did not challenge their own social or financial statuses. As a result, their client’s needs were met but the root of the problems they faced are still plaguing us today.

This was the beginning of social workers partnering with federal, state, and local governments (GovLoop). Whether they are providing social welfare or enforcing social policing, social workers are part of the bureaucracy of government bodies on all levels. Too often, this has manifested in social workers perpetuating policies and actions that are racist and inhumane.

As early into the profession as the 1920s, social workers were involved in restricting the reproductive freedoms of marginalized communities. Even the mother of social work, Jane Addams, embraced eugenics as a policy solution to social problems (Affilia). Social workers and other medical professionals agreed that forced sterilization of Black people, poor people, those without an education, single mothers, and mentally disabled people was good for society. In North Carolina, this practice continued up into 1974, with at least 7,600 victims on the record (MSNBC).

And while social workers are largely responsible for child welfare policies and programs in America, that history is also rooted in racism and violence. In 1958, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a federal agency responsible for administration of Indigenous land (American Resources on the Net), created the Indian Adoption Project to break up Indigenous families. Predominantly white social workers would visit families on reservations and convince parents that it was in their children's best interests to sign away their parental rights (Upstander Project). When parents refused to allow their children to be adopted by white parents in eastern states, the coercion and manipulation began. Social workers showed up unannounced when children were in hospitals or being babysat to remove them without consent (MPR).

"We can't be afraid to use words like genocide," Anita Fineday, a former chief judge at White Earth Tribal Nation, told Indian Country Today. “The endgame [of the removals], the official federal policy, was that the tribes wouldn’t exist” (Indian Country Today).

Even today, the child welfare system is a tool that the government can use to surveil, regulate, and punish poor Black and Brown families. Black children make up nearly 25% of children in foster care (Administration for Children and Families), and Black parents are more likely to have their parental rights terminated than white parents (The Appeal). These statistics do not exist in a vacuum; like many systems in the United States, social work is designed to fail Black and Brown families..

Often, the social work profession is portrayed as completely heroic, progressive, or even effective. This is an example of white saviorism, the idea that white people can “rescue people of color from their own situation” (Medium). The history of this profession is barely touched upon in social work education. The seemingly positive influence of rich, racist white women like Jane Addams is prioritized over the harm they inflicted. Social workers are often used as the tools of racist governments, enacting that racism in their own work.

Luckily, today there are social work collectives that are acknowledging these problems and proposing solutions. Social Service Workers United-Chicago has called out the National Association of Social Workers for their history of racism. In July, SSWU drafted a petition demanding an investment in abolitionist and anti-racist practice, and a divestment from collaborating with racist government agencies like local police and ICE. The petition gained 1,700 individual signatures (Medium).

Social work has value—but it will never be the quick fix to systemic racism, white supremacy, and anti-Blackness that some people want it to be. Luckily, young Black and Brown people with social work degrees, like me, are stepping up to transform the profession. This has come in the form of recognizing Black organizers from history as social workers (Black Social Work History), lending our skills to liberation movements (Doin' The Work), and focusing on community education around the profession (University of Houston). As these actions and movements gain more support, social work could shift into a position of fighting oppression of all forms rather than enabling it.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Texas legislators recently attempted to allow social workers to discriminate against their clients
The social work field was often used to carry out racist agendas by the government
Although social work has value, and efforts are being made to transform the industry, there's more to be done to align its efforts with its image

PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT

Nicole Cardoza 8/5/20 Nicole Cardoza 8/5/20

Avoid spiritual bypassing.

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As a first-generation Indian American woman, I’ve had periods of my childhood where I suppressed my culture to blend in. Being the daughter of immigrants is beautiful and complex, and even though I grew up in the most diverse county in the country, my sister and I were usually the only Indian people in school. We were singled out with many of the offensive Indian stereotypes you can imagine. Being a yoga therapist and having taught within this industry for some time, I see how South Asians are excluded, and white people are praised.

However, South Asians have privileges in that Black folx do not. I was reading about the phrase “to conflate”: taking two events or experiences and fusing them into one. Yes, my family and I have experienced racism living in the U.S. But that does not make it the same experience as what Black communities have endured for centuries in the West. To fuse them together is to bypass and thus invalidate the intergenerational trauma in our society.

Today we’re reviewing how the westernization of yoga encourages spiritual bypassing, which harms communities of color and actually prevents people from practicing the genuine roots of yoga.

Melissa

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TAKE ACTION

Analyze the wellness brands and yoga teachers you follow and the language they use to promote their products, classes, and retreats. Do you notice bypassing language or behavior?

Follow vital work done by leaders in the yoga and social justice space. Take their courses, buy their books, and pay them for their time*. Here are some suggestions >

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By Melissa Shah

What is spiritual bypassing?

Spiritual bypassing, according to Psychology Today, is “using ‘spiritual ideas and practices’ to sidestep personal, emotional ‘unfinished business,’ to shore up a shaky sense of self, or to belittle basic needs, feelings, and developmental tasks.” (Psychology Today). It acts as a deterrent when we are not ready to confront difficult emotions in our lives. However, it is also a common tool used to avoid acknowledging one’s privilege because doing so is inherently messy, painful, and requires continued awareness.

Yoga has been co-opted in the West as a feel-good practice where you are supposed to “empty your mind.” But the actual purpose of yoga is to connect with your inner knowing, develop clarity, and direct the mind. Practicing yoga in its sincere form can bring up a lot of discomfort. There is a difference between having the appearance of processing something difficult and processing it. Truthfully, on an individual level, no one can know this for sure except you. However, it can manifest in ways that harm others. For example, when someone shares a painful experience, and you immediately respond with “love and light” style advice, rather than actively listening and empathizing (more via Rachel Cargle on Instagram).

How does it show up in wellness?

Spiritual bypassing in wellness spaces is rampant, and deeply embedded in societal conditioning. It’s most easily identified as always chasing what “feels good” or, in other words, chasing the light without sitting in the shadow.

“Good vibes only,”’ repressing the full spectrum of emotions, being overly compassionate, and anger avoidance are a few examples prevalent in wellness spaces. Think of how many times you’ve been in a yoga class or scrolled your social feeds, hearing students or teachers share how we are all the same, or to ‘love and all is coming.’ Objectively, these are beautiful sentiments, right? But what do they mean in the context of the current state of our communities? In the context of hundreds of years of oppression against Black folx?

Privilege is the ability to step in and out of this content at leisure, without any difference in how your capacity to move through society. Spiritual bypassing shows up so often in wellness that I feel it has warped into normalcy. It is ANYTHING but that.

Here are some examples of spiritual bypassing in common phrases and interactions to avoid.

Don’t say, “love and only love will bring us together.” This phrase is not only a misuse of the notion that loving kindness for our fellow neighbors is vital to our progress as a community, but it also minimizes its power. Excluding anything other than positivity isn’t being in a state of yoga.
Avoid using phrases like “We are all one,” “we are all human,” or “stop creating division!” Acknowledging our differences and listening to the stories of those left out of wellness spaces comes first (Yoga is Dead on Instagram). True unity comes when we can recognize how we play a role in disparities perpetuating themselves.
Avoid asking your BIPOC friends to acknowledge that you're doing the work to be a good ally. Don’t look for validation or gratitude for the work you should do to understand their experiences better.
Don’t use yoga terminology to bypass difficult conversations that challenge you and therefore invalidate the person’s experience approaching you.
- Suppose a BIPOC student expresses that they felt unsafe in a yoga studio because the white teacher was using harmful or culturally appropriated language. In that case, a bypassing response is “the teacher probably had good intentions. Give the teacher the benefit of the doubt. Isn't that what yoga's all about?”
- Don’t use the definition of yoga (to yoke, join or unite) to bypass discussing your privilege or how you have contributed to leaving target audiences out of wellness spaces.
- Examples: Recently, a teacher with a sizeable social media following co-opted yoga philosophy language to bypass the impact of COVID-19 and how it has highlighted existing racial and health disparities in our country and the world (Instagram).

What does it mean concerning race?

Spiritual bypassing minimizes the experiences of targeted audiences. Generations of racism and brutality and its impact on communities of color are against yoga’s first ethical value: non-harming (Yoga International). Invalidating painful experiences of racism, like this white yoga teacher did just days after the murder of George Floyd, is an act of erasure (Facebook). It can cause BIPOC folx to feel that they need to bury their own experiences and emotional responses to make room for dominant culture.

As Mic says in a recent article on this topic, “spiritual bypassing" is the ‘all lives matter’ of the yoga world” (Mic). When yoga teachers fail to acknowledge current events affecting underrepresented communities in wellness spaces, it harms students of color seeking areas to feel seen and heard. It also prevents white students from learning the unmistakable intersectionality of yoga and social action.

Practicing spiritual bypassing is a misuse of yoga that harms everyone. As you deepen your yoga practice, you don't ascend from this world. You become more of this world. And you can more clearly see the injustices in the world you live in, and better understand your role in taking action. Michelle C. Johnson, author of Skill In Action, offers insights on how to get started.

Read examples from other BIPOC practitioners on the harm of spiritual bypassing (all quotes via Today).

“Yoga is literally the opposite of escapism; it’s a trauma-informed practice. What yoga tells you is to be present, to work through the emotional discomfort. So if you're buying into a studio culture that only makes you feel good, that only tells you you're OK, even when you're not feeling well, you're not actually gaining the real long-term benefit of yoga.”

Tejal Patel, co-founder of Yoga is Dead Podcast and founder of Tejal Yoga

“With all of these shootings, police brutality, when you're telling me to clear my mind, I can’t do that. I feel like that's not taken into consideration when I've been in white yoga and meditation spaces. And then it’s just… bam bam bam do this pose, do that pose. There’s no real connection or acknowledgment.”

Sevon Blake, a Black 29-year-old baker in Queens, New York

“We would all love to be positive all the time, but when your positivity comes as a response to real trauma or pain that people are having, then you're trying to use your positivity to erase instead of empower.”

Morgan Fykes, a Washington D.C based yoga teacher

*Remember, people are not resources. Refrain from sharing a BIPOC yoga teacher’s name as ‘hey they will be a great resource for you.’ When you reference a person as a resource, you say that their sole purpose is for your consumption. Books, podcasts, publications, emails - these are resources.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Spiritual bypassing is avoiding dealing with intense and difficult emotions, pain, and trauma. It is often used in the wellness industry to avoid acknowledging privilege, and the harm white-centered spaces cause to BIPOC communities.
It is harmful because when we bypass the history of racism in our country and how it impacts communities of color, we allow ourselves to remain complicit in how it affects the wellness industry and broader society.
Spiritual bypassing limits one’s spiritual growth and capacity for clarity and discernment – yoga’s real purpose.

7/13/2020 | Respect the roots of Black hair.

7/10/2020 | Understand the role of cancel culture.

7/9/2020 | Acknowledge the harm of microaggressions.

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Honor our grief.

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Unpack the history of social work.

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Avoid spiritual bypassing.

TAKE ACTION

GET EDUCATED

KEY TAKEAWAYS

RELATED ISSUES

PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT