Women of color have long been underrepresented in wellness. For far too long, many people have associated yoga and meditation with white Lululemon-clad juice enthusiasts. But new innovators in the wellness world are trying to tap into a whole new diverse audience by seeking inclusivity.
Stacey Johnson and Jasmine Johnson, cofounders of Black Zen, a free online meditation guide and weekly podcast, modify their content to incorporate their audience’s daily struggles.
Britteny Floyd-Mayo, also known as Trap Yoga Bae, introduces newcomers to yoga by transforming it into a party atmosphere. Based in San Francisco, the events draw crowds in the hundreds.
South Los Angeles’s Green Tree Yoga is one of several organizations spreading health and wellness disciplines to underserved and underrepresented sectors.
In Miami, Rina Jakubowicz established a bilingual yoga teacher training course for Hispanic women, which has since been accredited by Yoga Alliance. Amazingly, despite a large Hispanic population, there were barely any yoga classes in the city taught by Spanish speakers. Her first students included a cleaning and cooking crew that worked at her yoga studio employer. “It’s empowering,” says Jakubowicz. “Now they can go out and teach.”
Hopefully, as these business concepts gain popularity, more will appear on the rainbow horizon.
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