Find yourself having tough conversations with your friends and family about racism—in yoga and beyond? I’m having those conversations too. I recently spoke with Dr. Valin S. Jordan on her podcast about what it means to be a Black woman in the world and a Black yoga teacher in the yoga industrial machine. In the first part of our conversation, we delve into topics like:

• The treatment of Blackness in mainstream yoga, why I started my own yoga studio and why I continue to leverage yoga as a platform for social justice

• How we all play a role in white supremacy and what it means to actively work against it

• “Playing the race card” and why it’s impossible not to because race is always a factor

• Why I run every day and how my daily runs have turned into a platform for social justice

You can listen to 824: The Spirituality and Social Justice Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Learn more about Dr. Jordan’s work on Yoga 4 Social Justice and on Instagram.

Be sure to listen to Part 2 of the interview.