Comes signed by Sonia Roberts
White Ally guides you in cultivating a deeply spiritual antiracism practice.
Learn how to cultivate an anti-racism practice using the framework of yoga's ten guidelines, the Yamas and the Niyamas. Examine your biases, conditioning, values and beliefs by exploring the philosophy of each guideline in every chapter. Brief guided meditations are provided at the end of the chapter to enhance mindfulness and self-awareness. Reflection questions are included at the end of the chapter for deepened understanding and self inquiry. Following the philosophy of each guideline, interwoven with examples and personal stories, invites you to become more mindful of recognizing racism within yourself and the patterns and systems of oppression in the world.
The Yamas and Niyamas guide you toward letting go of limiting and harmful behaviors and beliefs. These guidelines free you to see beyond your own desires into the collective good. As you become more mindful and begin to acknowledge systemic racism and injustice, you can use this awareness to become a more effective ally to people of color. Open your heart and mind, gain the awareness, skills and compassion to change the world from the inside out.
PRAISE
Written from the Heart
“I deeply care about people”: Author Sonia Roberts asserts in the first few pages of this book. That much is clear as she takes you through her journey of “being Black” in America and in westernized yoga communities with a culture of spiritual bypassing. Terms like truth, non-violence and self-reflection will take new meaning as Sonia discusses the Yamas and Niyamas through the lens of racism and anti-blackness and through her own, profound personal experience. If you are looking for some information or some quick quotes on racism, this book is not for you. If you know that systemic racism is real and want to live yoga in action as a way to start healing and making change, this book will lead you in that direction. We just have to do the work…
—Marian D.
Grace and Compassionate Teachings
"Sonia’s new book is about using Yogic teachings to practice antiracism, written in beautiful, easy to understand prose, with meditation exercises at the end of each chapter that helped me go deeper into the teachings. I love that she includes her personal stories which are sometimes sad, always insightful, and so inspiring.
She discusses a difficult subject with grace and compassion, and brings to light a subject we all need to think more about and practice everyday."
—Susan
Excellent Guide to Deconstruct Personal Biases!
"As a Black woman who walks into the 99.9% white yoga studio everyday, places her mat in the *front* row (because being eye-to-eye with herself is where she’s most comfortable), and has the *audacity* to take up space and breathe, I find yogi and author Sonia Roberts book, White Ally, to be the deepest exhale that me and the one other Black person who MIGHT be in the room, have been waiting for.
It is my sincerest hope that this book gets into the hands and hearts of white women everywhere in order to help shift the dynamics inside and outside of the yoga studio, to create a more authentic understanding and awareness of one's own (underlying) biases, and to take accountability in helping to perpetuate - or dismantle - racist behaviors, attitudes and tendencies.
BRAVO for this book!! Full of heart, insight and compassion."
—Delina
