The wellness industry is a formidable force, valued at a staggering $4.5 trillion.
Among its many offerings, practices like yoga have gained recognition for their numerous benefits, including stress reduction, anxiety management, and mindfulness.
As more people turn to these holistic approaches for well-being, it’s essential to examine both the positive impacts and the complexities within the wellness culture.
What is the dark side of yoga?
I’m sharing my experience as a woman of color who taught yoga for many years for a variety of studios. Here’s some of the toxic aspects I discovered:
Spiritual bypassing
Toxic positivity
Racial micro-aggressions
Fat shaming
Abuse of women in yoga
Cultural appropriation
When I first began teaching yoga, I was struck by the notable lack of diversity in yoga studios, which predominantly featured middle to upper-class white women.
I stumbled upon Anusha Wijeyakumar in my search online to explore toxicity in yoga.
‘…yoga has become a hotbed for the spread of racism and COVID conspiracy theories — and it's fundamentally at odds with the teachings of yoga’.
(— Anusha Wijeyakumar)
Instead of taking action in dismantling injustice and racism, conventional yoga studios often rely on burning sage and saying ‘namaste’ as a solution to achieving peace and equality.
What is Spiritual Bypassing?
If you’re new to spiritual bypassing. It usually sounds something like this:
Peace and love will solve everything!
Let’s focus on love and light, ‘Namaste’, and pray as a solution to the worlds problems
We are one! Stop focusing on the bad stuff, you’re only making it worse
Spiritual Bypassing is a term coined by John Welwood (psychotherapist and Author). He describes it as:
Spiritual ideas and practices to sidestep personal, emotional ‘unfinished business,’ to shore up a shaky sense of self, or to belittle basic needs, feelings, and developmental tasks. (the goal of these practices being: enlightenment).
— John Welwood
As a woman of color, I have personally encountered racial microaggressions and spiritual bypassing within the wellness industry. Unfortunately, I often felt unsafe discussing these experiences, as they were typically met with responses that dismissed my concerns through spiritual bypassing.
This phenomenon allows individuals to avoid confronting the realities of racism, effectively sidelining crucial conversations. It creates an environment where the discomfort of acknowledging systemic issues is replaced by guilt for those who dare to speak out.
As a yoga teacher, I have faced these challenges firsthand, leading me to question my place within the yoga community.
At times, these experiences have made me reconsider my involvement in a culture that often overlooks the very issues in society that desperately need to be addressed.
My Personal Encounter With Racial MicroAgressions in the Wellness Industry
My initial encounter with racial microaggressions and spiritual bypassing occurred when I engaged a white male business coach and yoga teacher, Brett Moran of The Bodhi App, for marketing guidance for my business.
During our early sessions, I experienced a particularly jarring microaggression. While reviewing my website bio, which highlights my mixed heritage—Indigenous, Black, and German—I noticed his gaze lingering uncomfortably on my skin. He then remarked,
"You don’t seem like a Black woman"
…followed by laughter.
This comment was deeply hurtful and left me feeling invisible. As a mixed-race woman, I’ve always been aware that I do not conform to a singular ethnic identity, a reality I have grappled with throughout my life.
The life of a mixed-race woman is constant questions such as:
‘What are you?’
‘You don’t look Indigenous’
‘You don’t look Black’,
This experience was not unfamiliar to me. For much of my life, I hesitated to share my mixed ethnicity due to the bullying and judgment I faced as a young girl.
It took significant courage for me to include my background in my website bio, only for that moment to be undermined by his remarks.
After our meeting, I returned home with a pressing need to confront what had occurred, but I also felt overwhelming anxiety about initiating that conversation. He was a prominent yoga teacher within a predominantly white community; I questioned whether it would be possible to engage in a meaningful dialogue about such sensitive issues.
When I attempted to address his inappropriate comment, I was met with a wave of spiritual bypassing and racial microaggressions including:
He didn't see it as important to say my ethnicity in my bio and that ‘…it was causing a separation vs a connection’. I don’t need it in my marketing.
‘Why do we need to tell people this?’
He also repeated - even though I explained why it was hurtful - ‘You don't seem like a Black woman’.
‘I wasn’t trying to trigger your ego or identity’
He described the situation as ‘darkness’ and that he was ‘bringing in the light’
Again, I tried to express to him how his comments are harmful to people of color in the wellness industry. He responded with more spiritual bypassing and racial micro aggressions:
‘I think life is way too beautiful to STAY STUCK, especially when we have our health, our youth, and we live on a tropical island with a ton of coconuts’
‘I do not believe identity is important, especially when people identify with a pain story.’
‘If more people identified with the truth, then yes I agree with you, that identity is crucial. There would be a lot more freedom, less hate and division in the world and we would rise up faster. But people do not identify with the truth, a majority of people cling to the thoughts and stories inside their head.’
‘I believe our true identity is beyond thinking, God, love, light, pure spirit, whatever you want to label it. Not the colour of our skin, our stories, the shape of our bodies, or our sexuality.’
‘Obviously, I understand people have had terrible times and been hurt in the past. I'm just baffled why they carry this story around for so long. Surely they would want to be free right!’
'I understand that this might sound like a spiritual bypass to some people. But I would question whether those people truly get it. Are they truly connected to the source or the false sense of self!’
‘For me, the identity you clung to is now creating separation like your email request clearly displays. But hey, it's all stories and we both see the world through different lenses. I honour and respect the light in you, but life is too short to entertain egos.’
He ended his email with: ‘I now think it's best we end the work here. I do not feel integral working with you’.
Confronting Toxicity in Yoga: A Call for Diversity and Authenticity
My journey as a yoga teacher has revealed the pervasive toxicity within the culture, an issue affecting both students and instructors alike. This harmful behavior is often cloaked in toxic positivity, raising critical questions about the prevalence of racism, microaggressions, and spiritual bypassing in the yoga community.
This experience has opened my eyes to an uncomfortable truth: the wellness industry can be deeply toxic.
As both a teacher and a participant, I have felt excluded and marginalized. For years, I attended classes predominantly filled with white women, which left me feeling isolated. I longed for greater representation but hesitated to voice my concerns.
As an Indigenous yoga teacher in Canada, I seek more opportunities to share my practice in a predominantly white industry.
The Bottom Line
Why do so many individuals within the wellness community respond defensively when discussing issues of racism and cultural appropriation?
What barriers prevent marginalized voices from being heard and valued? Why aren’t the lived experiences of BIPOC inspiring significant change in this industry?
The answers to these questions often stem from a sense of fragility.
Engaging in critical self-reflection can be daunting, and for some, the act of sharing power may feel like a threat to their own status. As a result, the instinctive reaction is often one of resistance.
In the yoga community, Black individuals and people of color are notably underrepresented, as are those of diverse ages and body types.
I encourage you to take a moment to observe your next yoga class, whether in-person or online.
How many participants are white? What is the general age and gender demographic? Does the class reflect true diversity?
As Dianne Bondy aptly points out in her article for Yoga International,
“White privilege includes the ability to comfortably be yourself in every situation; you NEVER have to worry that your skin color will separate you from others.”
It is crucial that we engage in these discussions, even when they feel uncomfortable. Spiritual bypassing is not a viable solution; it ultimately leads us nowhere. Let us work together toward greater authenticity and inclusivity within our yoga community.
Thank you for being here,
Joss | Yoga Therapist C-IAYT
Joss Frank
Hi! I’m Joss Frank, founder of Wild Womb. I understand how womb and body healing ignites when you look within for guidance because I self-healed from my painful periods, depression, anxiety, sexual assault, emotional and physical abuse… after years of failed efforts to feel better about myself. My failed efforts led to a revelation that true healing comes from within and it requires loving community.
Today, as a Yoga Therapist in my practicum, I help people with womb and body healing so they can reclaim their feminine power, LOVE their sacred feminine bodies, and feel more confident.
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