Modern yoga and wellness environments often extract from Indigenous cultures without fully understanding the histories, systemic harms, and deep ethical responsibilities that come with those practices. This vital workshop invites educators into a grounded, human conversation about cultural reverence—exploring how to move, speak, and teach in ways that honor Indigenous peoples while actively reducing harm.
Led by Sequoia Garza-Keith, a mixed Indigenous practitioner and educator, this session unpacks how Indigenous traditions have been historically criminalized and appropriated, and how those realities echo in today's studios. Rather than centering shame, this workshop emphasizes curiosity, humility, and practical toolkits for navigating nuance with genuine care.
Core Curriculum Competencies:- Land Acknowledgments: Learn precisely when, why, and how to deliver a meaningful land acknowledgment that moves beyond corporate performance.
- Inclusive Space-Holding: Understand how to respectfully engage with Indigenous traditions under the assumption that Indigenous people are actively present in your class.
- Accountability Over Paralysis: Master specific tools to navigate linguistic or cultural mistakes with transparent accountability rather than defensiveness or shutting down.
- Lineage Ethics: Connect Western yoga ethics back to a living lineage of responsibility, relationship, and respect, rather than extraction.
