Anyone who practices yoga knows that our entire tradition of yoga, mind-body, and mindfulness practice come from a variety of Asian countries. Personally, I’ve spent years of life getting to know our Asian neighbors through passionate travel together with many of you. Many of our teachers and students are of Asian descent. And yoga’s primary ethical guideline is towards non-violence. And so when Asians throughout this country and the bay area are targeted with violence, it is not only a great source of sadness, but these actions, like all violence, should light a fire under each one of us. Through our actions, the world changes.
Some have asked how to support the Asian community. This collection of resources and ways you can contribute come directly from our teachers. On an interpersonal level, I encourage all of us to extend a warm greeting to anyone when we might have a pattern of “othering” (which, as humans, we do constantly, without even thinking about it). The practice is also about recognizing our fundamental nature in each other. When we look to the challenges ahead, it behooves us to know deep down that together is the only way. How we learn to do that is the work for all of us now.
- Bystander intervention classes to stop AAPI and xenophobic harassment through ihollaback.
- AACI – one of the largest community-based organizations advocating for and serving the marginalized and vulnerable ethnic communities in Santa Clara County. Their mission is to strengthen the hope and resilience of our community members by improving their health and well-being.
- Movement Hub – a centralized platform created to amplify the on-the-ground activism and organizing within Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities across the country.
- Groups and initiatives to support in the fight against Asian Hate (Harpers Bazaar).
- An article on how to intervene if someone is being harassed (AFSC.org).
- Stop AAPI hate – a center dedicated to tracking and responding to incidents of hate, violence, harassment, discrimination, shunning, and child bullying against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.
- AAPI Women Lead and #ImReady Movement – aiming to strengthen the progressive political and social platforms of Asian and Pacific Islander communities in the US through the leadership of self-identified AAPI women and girls. The #ImReady Movement raises visibility around self-identified AAPI women and our experiences with #MeToo, racial discrimination, war, immigration, and more.
- Racial trauma toolkit by the ISPRC Alumni Board for managing symptoms at #racialtraumaisreal, available for download.
- Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning – a New York Times bestseller and National Book Critics Circle award winner by Cathy Park Hong published in 2020.
