Impact statement from Abe Dejene, our Spring 2019 Yoga Teacher Training scholarship recipient.
As a Black man growing up in Roxbury, Yoga was neither appealing or accessible to me. I remember walking into my first Yoga class in Boston and looking around the room and realizing that neither the teacher nor the practitioners looked anything like me. I am used to being a minority in Boston, but no place was more evident to me than inside that Yoga studio. So for years I never did Yoga again until my spiritual journey took me to Southeast Asia and I stumbled upon a yoga studio that was on the same street as the hostel I was staying in. While practicing among a diverse group of individuals, I no longer felt out of place and that gave me the confidence to keep coming back and over time, I simply fell in love with it and decided this was a path that I wanted to pursue.
So when I saw the opportunity to apply for a teaching scholarship through YDI, I immediately took that opportunity and I was fortunate enough to receive a full scholarship for Yoga teacher training at JP Centre Yoga. The YDI scholarship broke down the financial barrier that had prevented me in the past from becoming a Yoga teacher. Through my six months of teacher training at JP Centre Yoga, I gained a tremendous amount of insight into the study of Yoga. Daniel max, owner of JP Centre Yoga, created a safe and nurturing space for me and others to learn and practice Yoga. The teaching not only focused on the physical aspect of Yoga, but it covered all eight limbs of Yoga and the history of Yoga which allowed us to further deepen our understanding and practice. Even beyond the practice of Yoga, we had sincere discussions of what it means to be a Yoga teacher and cultural appropriation of Yoga in the Western part of the world.
The training overall gave me the foundational skills necessary to properly sequence a class for all levels, as well as the ability to hold a safe space for anyone seeking to practice Yoga. This training helped me find my voice and how to properly use it in a room full of diverse practitioners. While knowing there is so much more I need to learn and understand about Yoga, I felt confident that I walked away from this teacher training with the tools necessary to properly and safely conduct a yoga class. Thanks to YDI, there are so many more black and hispanic teachers creating a safe space for Yoga Practitioners
Our 2018 Scholarship Recipient, Milay Lemos on her yoga teacher training
As a vehicle for self-knowledge, insight, and both personal and interpersonal transformation
the practice of yoga is one of the most powerful tools I know. My roots in yoga practice date
back 15 years when I visited a yoga studio for the first time and experienced a deep shift in my
relationship to breath and somatic awareness. Ever since, my yoga practice has evolved in
ways that have supported the development of an increasingly more direct, non-conceptual
knowledge of mind-body, both on and off the mat. Through the years, I have also come to
understand yoga practice as a powerful space for building community and forging alliances
among folks with marginalized identities and histories of systemic oppression.
After learning about the opportunity presented by YDI for a yoga teacher training scholarship, I
felt energized about increasing access to yoga practice in communities of color, particularly,
within the scope of mental health care. In my work as a counselor in a community health center
setting, serving primarily immigrants and refugees of color impacted by chronic trauma, I see
substantial need for interventions that bridge the gap between mind and body, mental and
physio-spiritual health. Understanding that emotional disturbances and psychophysiological
stress, especially as relates to trauma, are not always amenable to change through talk-based
interventions, I believe the field of mental health stands to gain a great deal by incorporating
yoga with traditional treatment modalities. It remains my motivation and hope to contribute to
this integration.
With the invaluable support of YDI, I completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training at JP Centre
Yoga. It was a transformative experience that challenged my conceived limitations and
expanded my capacity to hold space for self and other, share in authenticity, and stand in
presence, even through moments of fear. I was struck by the depth of community we were able
to build throughout the training, which marked one of the most important aspects of my
experience. Rigorous both physically and intellectually, revelatory and healing in practice and
spirit, the JPCY training served as a critical and indispensable foundation to my ongoing
development as a practitioner, and more recently teacher, of yoga practice and philosophy.
I am excited to be empowered with yoga’s long-standing tradition of healing in this moment in
time, marked by both great need and emergent opportunities to creatively and collaboratively
catalyze change. As such, I hope to contribute to personal and collective empowerment,
healing, and growth through this expanded vision of mental health work within historically
marginalized communities.
As a Black man growing up in Roxbury, Yoga was neither appealing or accessible to me. I remember walking into my first Yoga class in Boston and looking around the room and realizing that neither the teacher nor the practitioners looked anything like me. I am used to being a minority in Boston, but no place was more evident to me than inside that Yoga studio. So for years I never did Yoga again until my spiritual journey took me to Southeast Asia and I stumbled upon a yoga studio that was on the same street as the hostel I was staying in. While practicing among a diverse group of individuals, I no longer felt out of place and that gave me the confidence to keep coming back and over time, I simply fell in love with it and decided this was a path that I wanted to pursue.
So when I saw the opportunity to apply for a teaching scholarship through YDI, I immediately took that opportunity and I was fortunate enough to receive a full scholarship for Yoga teacher training at JP Centre Yoga. The YDI scholarship broke down the financial barrier that had prevented me in the past from becoming a Yoga teacher. Through my six months of teacher training at JP Centre Yoga, I gained a tremendous amount of insight into the study of Yoga. Daniel max, owner of JP Centre Yoga, created a safe and nurturing space for me and others to learn and practice Yoga. The teaching not only focused on the physical aspect of Yoga, but it covered all eight limbs of Yoga and the history of Yoga which allowed us to further deepen our understanding and practice. Even beyond the practice of Yoga, we had sincere discussions of what it means to be a Yoga teacher and cultural appropriation of Yoga in the Western part of the world.
The training overall gave me the foundational skills necessary to properly sequence a class for all levels, as well as the ability to hold a safe space for anyone seeking to practice Yoga. This training helped me find my voice and how to properly use it in a room full of diverse practitioners. While knowing there is so much more I need to learn and understand about Yoga, I felt confident that I walked away from this teacher training with the tools necessary to properly and safely conduct a yoga class. Thanks to YDI, there are so many more black and hispanic teachers creating a safe space for Yoga Practitioners
Our 2018 Scholarship Recipient, Milay Lemos on her yoga teacher training
As a vehicle for self-knowledge, insight, and both personal and interpersonal transformation
the practice of yoga is one of the most powerful tools I know. My roots in yoga practice date
back 15 years when I visited a yoga studio for the first time and experienced a deep shift in my
relationship to breath and somatic awareness. Ever since, my yoga practice has evolved in
ways that have supported the development of an increasingly more direct, non-conceptual
knowledge of mind-body, both on and off the mat. Through the years, I have also come to
understand yoga practice as a powerful space for building community and forging alliances
among folks with marginalized identities and histories of systemic oppression.
After learning about the opportunity presented by YDI for a yoga teacher training scholarship, I
felt energized about increasing access to yoga practice in communities of color, particularly,
within the scope of mental health care. In my work as a counselor in a community health center
setting, serving primarily immigrants and refugees of color impacted by chronic trauma, I see
substantial need for interventions that bridge the gap between mind and body, mental and
physio-spiritual health. Understanding that emotional disturbances and psychophysiological
stress, especially as relates to trauma, are not always amenable to change through talk-based
interventions, I believe the field of mental health stands to gain a great deal by incorporating
yoga with traditional treatment modalities. It remains my motivation and hope to contribute to
this integration.
With the invaluable support of YDI, I completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training at JP Centre
Yoga. It was a transformative experience that challenged my conceived limitations and
expanded my capacity to hold space for self and other, share in authenticity, and stand in
presence, even through moments of fear. I was struck by the depth of community we were able
to build throughout the training, which marked one of the most important aspects of my
experience. Rigorous both physically and intellectually, revelatory and healing in practice and
spirit, the JPCY training served as a critical and indispensable foundation to my ongoing
development as a practitioner, and more recently teacher, of yoga practice and philosophy.
I am excited to be empowered with yoga’s long-standing tradition of healing in this moment in
time, marked by both great need and emergent opportunities to creatively and collaboratively
catalyze change. As such, I hope to contribute to personal and collective empowerment,
healing, and growth through this expanded vision of mental health work within historically
marginalized communities.
Thoughts from Shylah Duchicela, Our 2017 Scholarship Recipient
After college I decided to be an AmeriCorps volunteer for a nonprofit based in Boston. As someone who had grown up in Ecuador, moved for my college education and was once again moving to a place where I didn’t know anyone- I realized how beneficial and anchoring my yoga practice was for me. Yoga was simply home. I knew I could find a community that would allow me to feel good, comfortable and supported wherever I would go. Nonetheless, it also made me very aware of the lack of teachers of color and how crucial this is towards continuing to support an inclusive and welcoming environment for people of all ages, backgrounds and social classes. It is an honor to serve as a link for everyone to benefit from this practice.
I had been practicing yoga since I was 15 and strongly believed I was ready to deepen my practice, explore the origins of yoga, my own role as a teacher and bring that back into my community. I am deeply grateful to have been awarded the Yoga Diversity Initiative scholarship in 2017 - I would have not been able to afford it otherwise.
The training was everything I had hoped for and more- I learned about the history of yoga and how to honor this, how to write individualized sequences, how to assess a class and give them poses that will be beneficial, safe and impactful during their practice. I connected to the spirituality that can come with increased awareness of yourself, the ability to discern what propels you forward, what challenges you, your comfort zone and how to continuously try to be a better friend, daughter, human being. Similarly, the opportunity to connect with someone who had gone through the same process a year ago- was helpful beyond words. Vanessa Ly- served as my mentor, friend and as an invaluable source of support and encouragement during this journey. I am extremely grateful for her guidance and help during my teacher training!
Another amazing milestone was to be given a platform to find my own voice and my role as a teacher- to be fully present within my own body. It’s truly a humbling moment and experience to realize that before you can give- you must be fully aware of how you are doing it and what you are showing the world. Finally, sharing this experience with women of all ages and different walks of life but who shared a passion and commitment for teaching was special and something I will always cherish. As I’ve navigated the months after practice- I have realized that this is a life-long commitment, I am grateful and humbled to be able to pay this forward, to collaborate and continue to work to make yoga accessible and affordable for all.
After college I decided to be an AmeriCorps volunteer for a nonprofit based in Boston. As someone who had grown up in Ecuador, moved for my college education and was once again moving to a place where I didn’t know anyone- I realized how beneficial and anchoring my yoga practice was for me. Yoga was simply home. I knew I could find a community that would allow me to feel good, comfortable and supported wherever I would go. Nonetheless, it also made me very aware of the lack of teachers of color and how crucial this is towards continuing to support an inclusive and welcoming environment for people of all ages, backgrounds and social classes. It is an honor to serve as a link for everyone to benefit from this practice.
I had been practicing yoga since I was 15 and strongly believed I was ready to deepen my practice, explore the origins of yoga, my own role as a teacher and bring that back into my community. I am deeply grateful to have been awarded the Yoga Diversity Initiative scholarship in 2017 - I would have not been able to afford it otherwise.
The training was everything I had hoped for and more- I learned about the history of yoga and how to honor this, how to write individualized sequences, how to assess a class and give them poses that will be beneficial, safe and impactful during their practice. I connected to the spirituality that can come with increased awareness of yourself, the ability to discern what propels you forward, what challenges you, your comfort zone and how to continuously try to be a better friend, daughter, human being. Similarly, the opportunity to connect with someone who had gone through the same process a year ago- was helpful beyond words. Vanessa Ly- served as my mentor, friend and as an invaluable source of support and encouragement during this journey. I am extremely grateful for her guidance and help during my teacher training!
Another amazing milestone was to be given a platform to find my own voice and my role as a teacher- to be fully present within my own body. It’s truly a humbling moment and experience to realize that before you can give- you must be fully aware of how you are doing it and what you are showing the world. Finally, sharing this experience with women of all ages and different walks of life but who shared a passion and commitment for teaching was special and something I will always cherish. As I’ve navigated the months after practice- I have realized that this is a life-long commitment, I am grateful and humbled to be able to pay this forward, to collaborate and continue to work to make yoga accessible and affordable for all.
Vanessa Ly (finished her yoga training summer 2016) speaks about the impact of her YDI scholarship:
In 2015 I received a scholarship to attend a training facilitated by Off the Mat Into the World at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY. When I got home from the Off The Mat Training at Omega it was clear to me that I deeply wanted to be certified to teach yoga. Conversations I had with youth I worked with at that time added more fuel to my passion to teach.
I work with youth through an organization started by two inspiring young women of color, called Sisters Unchained. Sisters Unchained is a collective for young women of color with loved ones currently and formerly behind bars. Our program seeks to create a radical and loving space for affirmation, healing, political education, and the realization of our collective power to build up our communities. When I spoke to some of the girls in our program about my great experience at Omega, they told me they thought yoga was for white people. I knew I had to bring the healing power of yoga to the girls in our program in an engaging, culturally responsive way.
I wanted to attend a yoga teacher training but at the time my finances were very limited. The cost of getting the training seemed impossible to me. I remembered a woman from The Haymarket People’s Fund emailing me about a scholarship opportunity the YDI was offering a few months earlier so I applied. My experience with the YDI was amazing! They gave me a full scholarship to train at JP Center Yoga. I learned so much at the training and appreciated the additional mentorship that the YDI offered. I love Chanelle! We built a deep and supportive relationship through our mentorship meetings. She is so positive about everything, which helped a lot when I was second guessing myself.
While I was in my yoga teacher training, Sister’s Unchained went from a non-profit program to an independent organization led by the Young Abolitionists. During my training we completed a successful fundraising cycle and were able to get funding for the next year of programming. I plan to continue teaching yoga to the young women from Sister’s Unchained during the school year. In addition I plan to collaborate with other women of color and offer yoga workshops that are affordable and accessible to everyone.
Melissa Alexis, our second scholarship recipient, completed her teacher training fall 2015:
My desire to become a yoga teacher rose up in me many years ago shortly after beginning to practice yoga in 2002. In every class I took, I wanted to go up to the instructor and ask about their own path to teaching and share my own urge to deepen my study. I am so grateful that I was able to finally see my way onto this path through the Yoga Diversity Initiative (YDI) scholarship and the JP Centre Yoga Teacher Training.
The training was exactly the kind of foundational training I was seeking. Rooted in the exploration of all eight limbs of yoga, and not just asana, the teachers, Daniel Max and Magi Pierce, provided a strong container giving space and guidance for deep self-study along with the study of the impact of teaching yoga on others through the decision to take the seat of teacher. Though I have been teaching another form of movement, dance, for over 20 years, it was an opportunity to visit being a teacher with a beginner’s mind and in a very different movement context. I found that I had a different relationship with my presence and my voice and had to learn how to offer guidance with the same level of confidence and energy I do in my dance teaching.
My greatest takeaway is the ability to build sequences for different types of classes with the same anatomical approach. After this training, my greatest challenge is continuing as strong a practice as during the training - continuing to refine the ways I provide myself with that container - and offering that container for others to practice. I am taking on the challenge that my soul began seeking about 13 years ago by teaching right where I am - in my home, at my job, in my dance classes, and soon in community classes. Introducing the practice of yoga to others, especially some who like me, are looking for someone who has lived culturally similar experiences and knows the texture of some of my suffering, is an incredible honor.
YDI's first scholarship recipient, who completed her teacher training summer 2015, shares her thoughts:
I have always been drawn to yoga teacher training with the hopes of deepening my own practice and exploring my inner teacher, but was never able to find a program that I could afford. I inquired at various yoga studios, asking if scholarships or work-study opportunities were provided but kept hearing no’s, until now.
I would not have the access to learn about and teach yoga had I not been granted the Yoga Diversity Initiative scholarship. My training was transformative; I connected deeply to the philosophical roots of yoga and its origins. Learning to write sequences that are practical yet spiritual has equipped me with a blueprint for teaching. This is the most tangible tool I've been granted. It has taught me that with enough practice and preparation, I can truly conquer my fear of teaching and achieve my goal of developing a disciplined yoga practice.
Since I began practicing yoga I've always sought the guidance of teachers of color. My most profound experience with the yoga teacher training program has been finding my voice as a leader and becoming one of those teachers myself. I was challenged to be present in my body and to trust my own direction. The spiritual growth I gained in this alone is beyond measure.
I am amazed that I am already teaching, paying it forward by providing open space and wellness to people in my community. I would have never imagined that barely one year after I reached out to JP Center Yoga, I would be studying in the very studio I'd dreamed of, benefiting from the exact opportunity I had hoped for. As a Latina woman it is a huge honor to represent my culture in the world of yoga and to be able to guide other people of color in the healing benefits of this spiritual practice.
In 2015 I received a scholarship to attend a training facilitated by Off the Mat Into the World at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY. When I got home from the Off The Mat Training at Omega it was clear to me that I deeply wanted to be certified to teach yoga. Conversations I had with youth I worked with at that time added more fuel to my passion to teach.
I work with youth through an organization started by two inspiring young women of color, called Sisters Unchained. Sisters Unchained is a collective for young women of color with loved ones currently and formerly behind bars. Our program seeks to create a radical and loving space for affirmation, healing, political education, and the realization of our collective power to build up our communities. When I spoke to some of the girls in our program about my great experience at Omega, they told me they thought yoga was for white people. I knew I had to bring the healing power of yoga to the girls in our program in an engaging, culturally responsive way.
I wanted to attend a yoga teacher training but at the time my finances were very limited. The cost of getting the training seemed impossible to me. I remembered a woman from The Haymarket People’s Fund emailing me about a scholarship opportunity the YDI was offering a few months earlier so I applied. My experience with the YDI was amazing! They gave me a full scholarship to train at JP Center Yoga. I learned so much at the training and appreciated the additional mentorship that the YDI offered. I love Chanelle! We built a deep and supportive relationship through our mentorship meetings. She is so positive about everything, which helped a lot when I was second guessing myself.
While I was in my yoga teacher training, Sister’s Unchained went from a non-profit program to an independent organization led by the Young Abolitionists. During my training we completed a successful fundraising cycle and were able to get funding for the next year of programming. I plan to continue teaching yoga to the young women from Sister’s Unchained during the school year. In addition I plan to collaborate with other women of color and offer yoga workshops that are affordable and accessible to everyone.
Melissa Alexis, our second scholarship recipient, completed her teacher training fall 2015:
My desire to become a yoga teacher rose up in me many years ago shortly after beginning to practice yoga in 2002. In every class I took, I wanted to go up to the instructor and ask about their own path to teaching and share my own urge to deepen my study. I am so grateful that I was able to finally see my way onto this path through the Yoga Diversity Initiative (YDI) scholarship and the JP Centre Yoga Teacher Training.
The training was exactly the kind of foundational training I was seeking. Rooted in the exploration of all eight limbs of yoga, and not just asana, the teachers, Daniel Max and Magi Pierce, provided a strong container giving space and guidance for deep self-study along with the study of the impact of teaching yoga on others through the decision to take the seat of teacher. Though I have been teaching another form of movement, dance, for over 20 years, it was an opportunity to visit being a teacher with a beginner’s mind and in a very different movement context. I found that I had a different relationship with my presence and my voice and had to learn how to offer guidance with the same level of confidence and energy I do in my dance teaching.
My greatest takeaway is the ability to build sequences for different types of classes with the same anatomical approach. After this training, my greatest challenge is continuing as strong a practice as during the training - continuing to refine the ways I provide myself with that container - and offering that container for others to practice. I am taking on the challenge that my soul began seeking about 13 years ago by teaching right where I am - in my home, at my job, in my dance classes, and soon in community classes. Introducing the practice of yoga to others, especially some who like me, are looking for someone who has lived culturally similar experiences and knows the texture of some of my suffering, is an incredible honor.
YDI's first scholarship recipient, who completed her teacher training summer 2015, shares her thoughts:
I have always been drawn to yoga teacher training with the hopes of deepening my own practice and exploring my inner teacher, but was never able to find a program that I could afford. I inquired at various yoga studios, asking if scholarships or work-study opportunities were provided but kept hearing no’s, until now.
I would not have the access to learn about and teach yoga had I not been granted the Yoga Diversity Initiative scholarship. My training was transformative; I connected deeply to the philosophical roots of yoga and its origins. Learning to write sequences that are practical yet spiritual has equipped me with a blueprint for teaching. This is the most tangible tool I've been granted. It has taught me that with enough practice and preparation, I can truly conquer my fear of teaching and achieve my goal of developing a disciplined yoga practice.
Since I began practicing yoga I've always sought the guidance of teachers of color. My most profound experience with the yoga teacher training program has been finding my voice as a leader and becoming one of those teachers myself. I was challenged to be present in my body and to trust my own direction. The spiritual growth I gained in this alone is beyond measure.
I am amazed that I am already teaching, paying it forward by providing open space and wellness to people in my community. I would have never imagined that barely one year after I reached out to JP Center Yoga, I would be studying in the very studio I'd dreamed of, benefiting from the exact opportunity I had hoped for. As a Latina woman it is a huge honor to represent my culture in the world of yoga and to be able to guide other people of color in the healing benefits of this spiritual practice.
