The IMIYA Board is committed to undoing whiteness and recognizes that this is work white people must do. Iyengar Yoga in the U.S. is mostly practiced and taught by white people, so in order to make Iyengar yoga welcoming to all, white people must study up and learn how to be antiracist.
Want to add a resource to the list? Contact us and we’ll add it.
Books
I invite you to look for copies of these books at your local library—many titles will be available for free in paper, ebook, or audiobook formats—your local independent book store, or a Black owned bookstore, rather than the online mega-retailer that shall not be named.
Sage (Secretary on the Board)
How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation by angel Kyodo williams
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper
Skill in Action: Radicalizing Your Yoga Practice to Create a Just World by Michelle Cassandra Johnson
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective edited by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide by Carol Anderson
Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out by Ruth King
Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
Podcasts
Seeing White by Scene on Radio
Nice White Parents by Serial (on inequality in US education)
Films
13th by Ava DuVernay
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (from the book)
The Hate U Give (from the novel)
Web-based resources
Ahimsa in Action: Iyengar Yoga and Social Justice: a blog that asks if yoga practice can be a strategic tool to help create a more just, equitable society
Still in Sirsasana: Essays on yoga, ableism, and race by CIYT Hong Gwi-Seok (Peggy)
Iyengar Yoga Detroit Collective: blog on Iyengar yoga and healing justice
Tada Hozumi’s website Selfish Activist on cultural somatics and healing
Showing Up For Racial Justice: an activist organization with a great educational archive on their website
Agreements for Multicultural Interactions: Guidelines for conversation and collaboration from the East Bay Meditation Center
Dismantling Racism: extensive resources to help dismantle racism within organizations. See especially the packet on White Supremacy Culture
Centre for Community Organizations
Free Racialized Trauma 5-Day eCourse on Resmaa Menakem’s website
Anti-Racism Daily: daily newsletters and resources to dismantle white supremacy by Nicole Cardoza