A few words about

What We Do

The work

What is Yoga4SocialJustice®?

Yoga4SocialJustice is an organization committed to connecting the mind-body-spirit through engagements of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice principles. The practice of yoga helps to enhance what is necessary for social justice movements –– a commitment to connecting to our identity narratives (race, class, gender, sexuality, religion, family, etc.), a commitment to unlearning perceptions that limit our connections to others, and a commitment to challenging the status quo. Yoga4SocialJustice® uses a nuanced curriculum that satisfies the three aforementioned commitments.

The curriculum utilized allows individuals to engage in diversity and social justice teachings through resources and materials designed to meet the needs of individuals. The curriculum includes a yoga practice of asanas (yoga postures) and social justice content. The goal is to use the practice of yoga –– the union of mind-body-spirit –– as a way to move the needle towards understanding the various arms of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. The work of activists, counselors, educators, higher education stakeholders, youth developers, yogis, etc. must be taken up as an act of building critical consciousness.

Yoga4SocialJustice® Workshops

Yoga4SocialJustice® provides a unique set of workshops intended to support development in the areas of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. The workshops are intended to impact and transform particular stakeholders in a community or organization. (Workshops are not suitable for children younger than 14)

In-person and virtual workshops are created with the goals of the organization in mind, which includes:

60-minute yoga session (The yoga sessions are inclusive of all body types and ability. The time of the session can be modified)
120 minute diversity, equity, and inclusion and social justice workshop (can be modified to a shorter time)

Example Organizations

Schools
Colleges and Universities
Yoga Studios
Non-Profits
Self-created groups (e.g. book clubs)
Private Organizations
Medical Offices
First Responders

Other Offerings Include:

FAQs

Why use yoga or other contemplative practices to teach about diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice?

Yoga4SocialJustice® utilizes contemplative practices, specifically yoga as an entry point to engaging the mind, body, and spirit to inform diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice work. Yoga4SocialJustice™ utilizes the philosophy of yoga, beyond the poses, to support people in developing more intentional routes of change within their communities (advocacy, organizational, etc.).

Yoga Informs:

Mind flexibility
Becoming aware of the present moment
Being in community and movement with others
Response to difficult or tough situation s
Checking in with bodily sensations and find ways to respond accordingly
Our recognition of patterns and habits that have created barriers to change.

Contemplative practices as a whole (meditation, mindfulness, journaling, etc.) informs:

Mind flexibility
Intentionality with responses
Creativity and design of innovative efforts
Recognition of the multiplicity and connections to this life (interconnectedness)
Ability to build an understanding of self/self-awareness.

Yoga is new to me. Social justice work is new to me. This sounds like a great program, but I’m nervous how new this will all seem to me. Will I be able to participate in the Yoga4SocialJustice® workshops?

Yes! These workshops are intended for everyone. The yoga flow is modified to meet people where they are. The social justice content is delivered through a direct, yet compassionate approach that calls people in, rather than calls people out.

Are you insured as a yoga instructor?

Yes!

Do you offer social justice workshops without yoga?

Yes, of course! Dr. Jordan can provide diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice training to meet the needs of your organization without the yoga. Dr. Jordan does stand by the research on self-inquiry and acknowledging issues of oppression, marginalization, dehumanization, etc. live in the body. The yoga practice simply invites participants to become more aware of this.

I would like individual consulting. Do you work with individuals who wish to grow their understanding of social justice and work through their anxieties and fears about “getting it wrong”?

Yes! Coaching is available. It’s important that we learn how to move through our discomforts and resistances individually, so that we feel empowered to do so within a community.