Why Slow & Low practices are exactly the right practices for BIPOC & LGBTQ+ folks

I grew up hearing the refrain “you must work twice as hard to get half as far” from my Black parents. As such, I’ve always been driven to get as much as I deserve rather than just half. And for a long time, that determination showed up on my yoga mat, too.

Each time I walked into a studio where I was the only Black practitioner, it signaled another place I needed to be exceptional, a necessity I’ve experienced in every academic and professional setting I’ve known.

Not surprisingly, I created goals around achieving poses. Reaching the most challenging expression of every posture, perfecting alignment, and bending myself around my body became integral parts of my practice. I hadn’t realized that I’d gotten caught up with not only doing my best but being the best until I experienced what I call “slow and low practices.”

My self-awareness began with yin yoga’s slowed-down practice of seated and reclined holds. In yin, there are no perfect shapes and no achievement. There is only deep listening, contemplation, and surrender.

This presented me with an opportunity to break rules that had been ingrained into me. Here, I was able to let go of alignment and aesthetics. Any pressure to perform dissipated during long-held shapes that encouraged rounding, softening, and receiving. Yin gave me an opportunity to listen to my body, feel sensations, and observe what my body was doing. During these moments of stillness, I continued to have revelations that related to how I hold myself to a standard that has no reward upon meeting it. Something about who I am was very different when I practiced yin yoga.

Yin was my introduction to a different side of yoga and of myself.

Continue reading my penned thoughts on 3 intentional practices at Yoga Journal.