Alex, 26, non-binary, tried multiple yoga spaces before finding one that felt safe. In studio after studio, they encountered the same subtle exclusions:
Teachers defaulting to "ladies and gents" or "guys" to address the class. Relationship examples assuming heterosexual partnerships. Adjustment demonstrations always showing cisgender bodies. Spiritual language that erased structural oppressions with claims that "we're all one." Collider- Functional Ashtanga Yoga Systems for the Next Generation · Creating Safer Spaces · Michael Joel hall
None of it was overtly hostile. All of it signaled: this space wasn't built with you in mind.
Alex finally found a shala because a friend explicitly said "the teacher uses 'everyone,' not gendered language, and actually talks about power and oppression, not just individual transcendence." Collider- Functional Ashtanga Yoga Systems for the Next Generation · Creating Safer Spaces · Michael Joel hall
The collider effect: Traditional yoga spaces unconsciously select for people who fit dominant norms. Then, looking around at who stayed, teachers conclude "yoga is for everyone" while not seeing everyone who left or never came. Collider- Functional Ashtanga Yoga Systems for the Next Generation · Creating Safer Spaces · Michael Joel hall
Inclusive language is structural change, not just politeness. It determines who can show up authentically and who has to perform conformity as the price of admission.
The system was working perfectly—to filter out anyone who didn't match its implicit assumptions. Collider- Functional Ashtanga Yoga Systems for the Next Generation · Creating Safer Spaces · Michael Joel hall
